Timeline of our history - Management
1940's - 1950's
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1940 - Bill and Dave issue bonuses
Bill and Dave decide that all employees will share in HP’s success. They issue $5 (U.S.) Christmas bonuses and adopt production bonuses, laying the foundation for the company's profit-sharing program.
1941 - Bill in the Army
Bill serves as a U.S. Army officer until 1947. Dave runs the young company while Bill is gone.
1942 - Health insurance pioneer
HP establishes a pioneering health insurance plan for all employees.
1942 - HP designs open floor plan
Construction begins on the first HP-owned building. Its open floor plan—designed for versatility—has the serendipitous effect of sparking creativity.
1957 - Employees receive stock
All employees at all levels with six months of service receive an HP stock grant and become eligible for a stock option program.
1957 - HP introduces corporate aims
HP introduces its corporate objectives to empower decentralized decision making. Spanning seven categories—profit, customers, fields of interest, growth, people, management and citizenship—the principles help distinguish HP from the top-down management style of most companies and serve as the basis for the HP Way.
1957 - HP's new headquarters
HP begins manufacturing in its first building in the Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto. The new site is innovatively designed to maximize employee creativity and comfort.
1958 - Self-sustaining product groups
HP establishes a division structure, with each product group becoming a self-sustaining organization responsible for developing, manufacturing and marketing its products.
1958 - Dave's 11 Simple Rules
In 1958, Dave Packard typed up "Simple Rules" in preparation for the company’s annual management convention. Discovered in Dave’s correspondence file, these rules show his philosophy of work and life.
1970's - 1990's
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1973 - 1st employee flextime
HP is the first company in the United States to institute flextime, designed to allow employees more time for family, leisure or personal business.
1973 - Management By Walking Around
Bill and Dave made it a practice to regularly drop by employees’ workspaces. This interactive approach came to be known as "management by walking around." HP has always encouraged open interplay between employees as a way of fostering innovation.
1982 - HP wins Deming prize
Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard wins the prestigious Deming Prize for quality
1994 - HP encourages telecommuting
HP becomes one of the first companies to encourage telecommuting, designed to increase job satisfaction, lower stress and improve employee retention.
1995 - Dave publishes The HP Way
Dave Packard publishes his book: The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company.