Why we value employee flexibility

As a dad, work flexibility is a personal thing for me because it’s enabled me to spend more time with my daughter, and balance mental and physical health.

As a cyclist and explorer, it’s enabled me to travel while still building a strong company. 

But as a CEO, there’s a bit more to it for me and my team.

Willo® just published new research on employee flexibility, featuring 20+ real case studies and insights from dozens of company leaders. 

But underneath the “how do they do it?” is a deeper question: why does it matter? 

Here’s my answer.

Why we care about flexibility at Willo

The Embracing Flexibility report had amazing quotes from leaders at Synctera, Remote, the HRPA, HelloFresh, and more about what flexibility means to their organizations. 

But here are my personal reasons as a CEO. 

1. We believe opportunity should be global

Whether co-located or remote, flexibility widens your talent pool. For example, not having to commute every day or being able to choose shift start times is a draw for many people—even locals.

The Willo team knows this benefit well. 

Today, our team is distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia, with everyone welcome in our Glasgow, Scotland head office.

2. We value productivity

For many, flexibility is about doing the right thing—but it’s also an ingredient of success: flexibility increases work enjoyment and employees who enjoy their work are 13% more productive. Specifically, they try harder, think more creatively, and typically stay with an organization longer.

This stat alone explains why flexible schedules was the second biggest trend in the Willo 2024 Hiring Trends Report. The first was AI adoption, which we covered in-depth in the Willo Hiring Humans Report. 

One quote from the Embracing Flexibility report encapsulates the “how” behind this sentiment perfectly. It’s from Zoe Schafer, the Director of People at Synctera. 

“Flexibility is about limiting friction, tearing down boundaries, and really focusing on getting the work done in the way that is most comfortable for our employees so that we're still being really effective, but we're not creating useless rigidity.”

3. We care about inclusion

Flexible working arrangements let employees pick the working structure that’s best for them. Rather than singling individuals out with special programs, people can design their life in a way that fulfils both work and life obligations without having to disclose personal details. 

Pulling another quote from the ebook to illustrate—this time from Jodi Kovitz, the CEO of Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).

"Flexibility is important for hiring, engagement, retention, and inclusion because it respects the different people who want to work—or are used to working—differently. Whether that’s a caregiving role, parents, or simply preference, it’s about giving people some autonomy to govern their day, within the context of the new work reality."

How we empower flexibility at Willo

Here are three ways we use policies and ways of work to empower our values.

1. Work from anywhere 

I will never ask where you’re working from, except to hear stories about how cool, convenient, or comfortable it is for you. 

To that end, our mighty team of just over 18 people live in the UK, the Philippines, Canada, and South Africa. 

But we work from even more countries. For example, I routinely travel to Spain to work, since the weather is a bit more conducive to my passion of cycling.  

We also have an HQ office in Glasgow, Scotland, where the majority of our team is either from or lives near, that all team members can work from if they’d like to.

2. Plain-language job definitions

We want you to know what you’re doing, what your colleagues are doing, and what future team members will be doing.

To that end, we write plain language job descriptions with clear bullets for responsibilities, what we’re looking for in a candidate, and the benefits we can offer in return. 

Why? So you can actually go do the work you need to—and when you need support, we can be there for you because we know what we’ve asked of you.

3. Conscious culture

When I told a mentor we were building a hybrid / work from anywhere company, he gave me a great tip: be aware of proximity bias. 

I admit I’m not perfect, but here are a few ways we’ve worked to avoid proximity bias:

• Connection: We schedule team meetings at a time when all members can join, regardless of where they are in the world (mild inconvenience notwithstanding!).
• Language: We consciously note who isn’t in meetings or physically in the room, so we can follow up to ask for their perspectives or keep them in the loop.
• Accountability: Our internal reporting shows how each department ladders up to overall business goals and how everyone is doing against those goals.

Every organization should be flexible

I truly think every organization should have flexibility, including remote work and location flexibility where possible or appropriate.

But the key is to build a flexible arrangement that works for your organization. 

You may love or hate the Willo model—that’s ok either way, because it works for us. All I want you to do is build something that works for you, your organization, and your people.

Our research found a three-phase process for doing just that:

• 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.