If you’re feeling under-appreciated and undervalued at work consider this: there are some employers out there doing some particularly creative things in order to attract and retain the best talent.
We’re not talking about the usual incentives (and, granted, often most useful things) an employer deploys in order to attract women — such as great maternity leave and support programs, networking, mentors and flexible work options — but rather the bold and innovative lengths certain companies will go to in order to show they care and want you to stick around.
Last week, Virgin boss Richard Branson announced his head office staff now have access to unlimited leave, whenever they want and for as long as they want. Writing on his blog that he was inspired by a similar ‘non policy’ at video-streaming company Netflix, Branson said offering unlimited leave enables employees to focus on getting their work done rather than worrying about the hours they’re working.
“Flexible working has revolutionised how, where and when we all do our jobs,” he wrote. “So, if working nine to five no longer applies, then why should strict annual leave (vacation) policies?”
Netflix and Virgin are not the first companies to make such an offer — however, they may well be some of the largest and most high profile ones doing so.
But you don’t have to be large and high profile to offer such incentives to employees. Nor do you have to work at one to receive them.
Indeed, last week we were contacted by local start-up StyleRunner, owned by twin sisters Julie and Sali Stevanja, which is also offering unlimited leave to employees. The online clothing store (which has experienced significant growth since launching almost two years ago) has 11 full-time staff members and a headcount expected to grow to 20 by the end of the year.
They see company culture as one of the key drivers of success, aiming to foster long-term staff commitment by offering “respect and rewards”. Monday mornings at StyleRunner involve attending an all-in “locker room” motivational session. Each Friday they host a “Kudos hour” celebrating the week’s success, while employees have also experienced a number of random “in the moment” surprises — including Brazilian dancers who arrived to entertain staff one day, and 100 helium balloons sent to the office.
All up, they’re measures that are ultimately underpinned by trust — the trust that employees will stick around and do an amazing job if their talents are rewarded, rather than monitored.
As Branson writes on how the unlimited leave policy works at Netflix and why he believes it will work at Virgin: “It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours, a day, a week or a month off, the assumption being that they are only going to do it when they feel a hundred per cent comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business — or, for that matter, their career!”
Branson adds that some of best workplace innovations are often described with adjectives like ‘simple’ and ‘smart’ — words he believes can be applied to his latest initiative at Virgin.
Finding the right people is difficult. Trusting those people who were good enough to hire will actually be good enough to do their jobs shouldn’t be all that complicated.
Would unlimited leave encourage you to work hard?