Micromanagement-free zone: DevFacto cofounders Chris Izquerdo and David Cronin aimed to create a company that values open communication and innovation. To do so meant embracing diversity, enticing creativity, and ensuring constant collaboration. Chris and David, software developers who had suffered through rigidly bureaucratic work environments in their own careers, felt that a self-directed and engaged workforce would drive efficiency and productivity. “The two most important aspects of our business are our culture and our people,” said Cronin.90 “If you give them a purpose that’s larger than themselves, you can lead them to results.”91 Thus their vision for DevFacto emerged as a team of doers without any micromanaging, needless policies, or even an HR department.

DevFacto is an ideas and solutions company in Canada based in Calgary. Started in 2007, it provides technology, services, and solutions for companies to allow them to focus on their core competences. Their services range from SharePoint business intelligence solutions to enterprise mobile solutions and application and software development.

The company has grown to 115 people on its payroll and is more engaged than ever. It has offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Regina and earned its third straight spot on the 50 Best Small and Medium Employers (BSME) in Canada. Its annual turnover rate is less than 3 percent, and 73 percent of clients are willing to recommend DevFacto. Not every employee is suited to be a self-starter, so the firm conducts a lengthy culture-fit interview with Cronin or a regional director at the satellite office. What Cronin looks for is intrinsic motivation that drives a potential employee to constantly improve. Since the company operates a flat structure, employees are regularly called for group interviews to assess candidates. Any employee can veto a hire who they do not feel will fit in.

Einar Westerlund, from the Queen’s School of Business Centre for Business Venturing, works with BSME firms and believes that self-direction is a major driver of engagement. Providing employees influence over their workload and ongoing projects “allows them to map a lot of their own work direction,” says Westerlund.92 Rather than bosses holding employees accountable for budgets and deadlines, employees do it at DevFacto. It promotes collective decision making and helps people understand their roles more fully. CEO Izquierdo takes this a step further with open-book management. The company uses an internal social network for checking in, with “all hands on deck” staff meetings and for sharing financial information.93

Its approach is not without challenges. Cronin is candid when he admits he spends a lot of time involved with issues that other companies handle via policies and procedures or micromanagement. However, these problems are rare and he prefers to let employees lead the way. “Our approach is: Let’s find something that’s a win–win. We talk about it.”94

Discussion Questions
What types of rewards are suited to this type of work environment?

Which contemporary theory of motivation is most applicable to DevFacto?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

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