June 8, 2020 – When you talk to just about anyone working, or looking for work and ask the question, “what would you like or want in your next role”, the number one answer is – total flexibility.

I’ll speak for myself as a CEO, this is a hard thing to give 100%. Why? Because you have to let go and trust.

I’m not saying for one minute I don’t trust my team, but I do know human nature very well – it’s all about the motivation levels to get things done when no one is watching, plus me being a perfectionist and a bit of a control freak. Providing total flexibility goes against the grain of how I have worked for a lifetime. 

However during C-19 lockdown, I was forced into this situation. I did put structure and strong support around my team and they stepped up, got on with what needed to be done in their homes and we became a tighter team because of it. Technology was used to a new level and it made me start to think about a new way of working.

At the end of the lock down I ran an internal questionnaire across all my team, asking a range of broad and specific questions about the experience we had just been through.

What came back in unison as the positives to lockdown were the flexibility of not rushing to work, getting more done without the travel, the internal comms as we spoke across the business more than once a day, and the effectiveness of technology to get the job done from home.

I decided to take a leap and change the way we work, for good.

I have since put our offices up for lease and I’m going to downsize and lease “hubs” or “home bases” as I now call it. The entire team will work on “ownership and accountability” and from this they have total freedom to come and go as they please based on those two words.

We will still have company wide daily meetups, a space will be provided to work and be part of the great culture we have, but I’m going to let go of my old way of working knowing my team will get on with their jobs, have a walk or go to the gym during the day, eat healthily and do what they want to do as long as they get the job done. 

I have invested heavily in new and very forward thinking technology to allow us to do what we do well in this new way of working. Our weekly team time together is still very important, as we feed off each other’s energy.

Last week I announced this new way to the business and I received a re-energised and excited response with emails and conversations around being grateful they all worked for a company that is going to embrace change.

C-19 gave me the opportunity to trial this, and the confidence to make this change for my team. I’m not sure I would have done it without that experience. I’m excited for this new phase.