Skip to main content
Mark Ku's Blog

I believe that managers, especially in small companies, shouldn't treat everyone the same or apply a one-size-fits-all approach. To retain talent in small and medium-sized companies, some differentiation is necessary to attract and keep good people. Compared to large corporations, small companies can offer employees much more flexibility. Besides, employee contributions are inherently unequal, so how can treating them identically be fair? Creating small distinctions is actually fairer to those who have a proven track record and consistently perform well.

Therefore, when designing policies, there can be differences in the number of work-from-home days, opportunities to be on the interview panel, and other special perks.

But newer members will inevitably be confused about why certain benefits or treatments are exclusive to senior members. I always explain it again: It might seem a bit unfair to newcomers, but I have to consider team balance, so things won't be perfectly equal. This is because contributions and levels of trust differ, leading to different treatment. These extra benefits must be earned by proving yourself over time. When you perform as excellently as the senior members, you will naturally receive them.

Of course, if an employee's performance is outstanding, meeting the requirements for work quality and efficiency, and they genuinely need more support, a small to medium-sized company, in particular, is better positioned to discuss and grant extra flexibility.

Perhaps this is just my management style, but it's something I deeply believe in: the more mature and self-disciplined a professional is, the more trust they earn, and consequently, the more freedom they are granted.

Author

Mark Ku

10 年以上的軟體工程師,做過北美電商與 AI SaaS 訂閱收費系統。Read More

Found this useful?

The author's free tools, daily podcasts and newsletter are all here.

Mark Ku · This article is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit the author and link back to the original when reusing it.

Comments

Subscribe to Newsletter

Subscribe to get new posts delivered instantly — never miss a tech share.

By submitting, you agree to receive emails. You can anytime.

Popular Posts

View all
Mark Ku
··651

Oracle Cloud Always Free Tier: Linux Host and Static IP for a $0 Cloud Solution

Oracle Cloud Always Free Tier: Linux Host and Static IP for a $0 Cloud Solution
Mark Ku
··461

Say Goodbye to Postman's Fee Trap! A Hands-on Guide to Bruno, the Open-Source Git-Native API Testing Powerhouse.

Say Goodbye to Postman's Fee Trap! A Hands-on Guide to Bruno, the Open-Source Git-Native API Testing Powerhouse.
Mark Ku
··282

A Free, Open-Source, Notion-like Knowledge Base — A Complete Guide to Deploying and Backing Up Outline Wiki

A Free, Open-Source, Notion-like Knowledge Base — A Complete Guide to Deploying and Backing Up Outline Wiki
Mark Ku
··216

Setting Up Samba on Ubuntu to Share Folders with Windows 11

Setting Up Samba on Ubuntu to Share Folders with Windows 11
Mark Ku
··213

Building an Efficient API Management Platform: Deploying Kong Gateway from Scratch - Part 1

Building an Efficient API Management Platform: Deploying Kong Gateway from Scratch - Part 1
Mark Ku
··212

Training Your Own AI Voice: Hardware Requirements, Open-Source Model Comparison, and LoRA Fine-Tuning

Training Your Own AI Voice: Hardware Requirements, Open-Source Model Comparison, and LoRA Fine-Tuning

Readers also read

Performance and Trust in the Workplace

Mark Ku

·8 min read·29

Thoughts on Software Engineer Promotions

Mark Ku

·17 min read·28

A Retrospective and Reflection on Management Work

Mark Ku

·15 min read·25

A Journey in Leading People

Mark Ku

·30 min read·37