The 4 Ways Companies Empower Flexibility At Work
In previous blogs in this series, we explained the key benefits of flexibility at work and the challenges organizations face.
Now, we’re sharing a preview of how companies actually empower flexibility at work.
These are not simply “best practices” plucked from brainstorming—they are actual, case-study based explanations of real organizations around the world.
This blog shares just a few of the case studies; read the Embracing Flexibility report for all the data.
1. Performance Management
How can you ensure work is not only getting done, but productivity is maximized?
A. Comprehensive Role Descriptions
Flexibility is easiest when employees know what they are supposed to do, what their colleagues are doing, and what future team members will be doing.
Global employee management platform Remote, for example, designs job descriptions based on what each role needs to accomplish for the business:
- A Sales role needs to drive revenue (in different ways depending on role type)
- A Benefits Specialist needs to design and implement benefits programs, including details like salary negotiations
- Management roles are accountable for overall team results, meaning the wrap-up of all their individual contributors’ job descriptions
This approach is the foundation of Remote’s specific, comprehensive job descriptions that can function as both recruiting tools and internal performance management documents.
B. Outcome-Based Accountability
Ensuring accountability is the next essential ingredient to any successful workplace, but particularly one that offers employee autonomy.
Andrea Dottling, CEO of learning consultancy IDLance, shared how two of her clients built outcome-based accountability programs:
- Working in public: A company-wide task tracker spreadsheet where employees input their work progress and milestones.
- Show your work: Employees submit hours via a custom ticketing system on JIRA, which then informs sprint planning.
“It's less about every single day, day-to-day, and more deadlines-driven,” said Andrea.
C. Cogent Pay Bands And Compensation Philosophies
Organizations with cogent compensation philosophies can better empower flexibility (and reap the productivity benefits) because everyone can see how they are compensated.
In our research, we found companies tended to anchor towards three core compensation philosophies: Regional, Geography-specific, and Universal.
Source: Willo Embracing Flexibility Report
2. Ways Of Work
If performance management is built for the employer, ways of work are built for the employee.
A. Removing Barriers To Flexibility
Some barriers to flexibility still remain, even if much of our work can be digitized or completed in different ways today.
Here’s how two organizations approached a solution:
- Change infrastructure: An EdTech company wanted to become hybrid with no roles requiring full-time on-site work, but all their server architecture was physical on-premise. By shifting to cloud architecture, IT employees could conduct the vast majority of their work remotely.
- Change work times: To enable 24/7 (or 24/5) support coverage, Remote hires based on specific time zone coverage; applicants can select whatever time zone is most convenient for them, regardless of where they live.
B. Intentional Connections
On top of designing an office space for the work it’s meant to empower, think about why people are getting together.
Leaders in our survey said the most common “IRL” activities are having a physical office space, encouraging co-working for remote employees who live near one another, and team-based group activities or retreats.
Source: Willo Embracing Flexibility Report
C. Upskilling And Training
If you’re changing ways of work, additional training helps promote mutual understanding and high-quality execution.
Training Example: Security Compass
Cyber threat modelling platform Security Compass ran two distinct trainings as the company evolved from a hybrid in-office environment to remote-first.
- Meeting alternatives: Using Slack Huddles or async communication rather than a full meeting.
- Running effective meetings: Content included setting good agendas, time keeping, and async pre- and post-meeting practices that improve overall meeting productivity.
3. Technology
Most interviewees acknowledged they could do “flexible work” with a remarkably similar tech stack to co-located work, such as:
- Communication: Slack, Teams, etc.
- Meetings: Zoom, Meet, etc.
- Tickets: JIRA, Zendesk, etc.
- Storage: OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.
- Collaboration: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc.
4. Employee Set Up
Different organizations do a lot for employees, from coworking memberships to global mobility.
Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote, said the company lets employees move anywhere in the world. The caveat is employees accept their new local standard pay and benefits package, which Remote shares in its Total Rewards Philosophy.
If the move would result in a pay increase (i.e. moving from a low cost of living region to a high cost of living region), Remote reserves the right to approve based on available budget.
The 3-Phase Approach To Empowering Flexibility In Your Organization
Flexibility looks different in every organization. Here’s how to build a program that works for your organizational context:
- Phase 1: Data Collection
- Phase 2: Trends, Interconnected Problems, And Opportunities
- Phase 3: Design Your Custom Solution
To learn all the details and read even more case studies of companies implementing flexible work arrangements, read the entire Embracing Flexibility report.
Read the Embracing Flexibility Report
