Do you think it is possible to work less, while earning more and showing better results? Versa, an Australian digital marketing agency, has proven that this is real. After the employees were transferred to a four-day working week without a reduction in wages, revenue grew by almost fifty percent, and profits tripled altogether. Learn how company employees live and work, learn from today's article.
Tennis instead of work
Wednesday. The middle of the work week. For most people, a normal working day. But not for Versa employee Tiffany Schrauver. It’s nine in the morning, and she is already standing with a racket on the tennis court, practicing a kick to the left. The girl always liked this sport, but she could not even imagine that she would be engaged in her favorite hobby in the middle of the work week.
Since July last year, the company’s employees work on Monday, Tuesday, then go on Wednesday to rest, return to work on Thursday and Friday, after which they spend the weekend for their pleasure. No major events are planned for Wednesday. The only caveat: if there is an urgent order from the client, employees must answer the call and discuss the details. Actually, that’s all the work. There are no meetings at the office on Wednesdays, and urgent calls are extremely rare, because all customers are notified of the new work schedule.
Reorganization
Tiffany is a project manager. When she was first informed of the new schedule, she was extremely excited. The fact is that Schrauver is the main link between the company's employees and customers. If the project is not completed on time, then all the cones will fly to it. That is why she was scared to switch to a new schedule. An employee of the agency was not sure that this concept of a four-day work week would be effective.
However, her colleagues took the news with great enthusiasm. Not only that, they independently reorganized the work and distributed responsibilities so as to become even more productive and not let down customers. A common interest helped the team gather their thoughts and develop effective strategies in the new environment.
Dynamic tracking
Since the scheme of work was completely new and unknown, at first it was not clear how effective it would be. Then the leadership decided to hold a meeting every two weeks and monitor the dynamics, analyze what works and what doesn't, which methods bring positive results and which don't work.
Tiffany says that during this time she learned to be more flexible. Previously, she was not faced with adapting to new conditions and being somewhat of a pioneer. At first, working was not so much hard as unusual. Through trial and error, the agency’s staff, together with the management, have come up with the basic rules: Monday and Tuesday, to devote to work completely, so that the main and significant projects are ready for the environment. At this time, you can not relax and spend time on empty conversations. The second half of the week is calmer and less stressful.
results
What are the results? Labor productivity increased, employees began to take less time off and sick leave, and well, the company's revenue increased by forty-six percent. In addition, the atmosphere in the team has become more comfortable and warm. Workers began to feel more satisfied and happier.
The concept is not for everyone
Kat Blackham is the founder and director of Versa. It was she who came up with the transfer of employees to a four-day working week. The fact is that a woman opened a company, being with a small child in her arms. It was very difficult for her to combine career and motherhood, so now her goal is to help all working mothers. Kat believes that no work is worth sacrificing family and children. Employment should not affect the quality of communication with households.
Despite such successful experience, Blackham says that a four-day work week is not suitable for all firms. The fact is that the Kat agency has low staff turnover, and therefore the team is pretty coherent. She is confident in her employees and knows that they will not let her down. If the boss does not have confidence in the team or does not know the potential of all his employees, then the concept of a four-day work week may be ineffective.
Wise leader
The presence of a friendly team that works as a coordinated mechanism allowed Blackham to venture into such a serious experiment. The woman admits that she wanted to prove to other entrepreneurs that it is possible to achieve success even in such a complex industry as digital marketing, using innovative and innovative methods.
During the development of the new schedule, the question arose about which day of the week to make the day off. Kat thought that if employees were allowed to rest from Friday to Sunday, inclusive, then the weekend could be delayed for a longer time. But two “mini-weeks" are the best option. I worked hard for two days - then I devoted the day to family, hobbies, cleaning, talking with friends or doing nothing at all. Then he worked a couple of days - and rest again. A fairy tale, not a job!
Blackham immediately decided that she would not ask the employees when they want to take a day off. If everyone is given the right to choose, then there will be complete confusion: one will rest on Mondays, another on Thursdays, and the third on Tuesdays. Then customers will not be able to understand the agency’s work schedule. It is for this reason that Kat decided to provide the output environment on her own. And subsequently I did not regret my decision, seeing amazing indicators of innovation. Now the business began to grow faster and bring more money.
The experience of New Zealand colleagues
In March-April last year, employees of the New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian switched to a four-day week. Indeed, the indicators were almost the same as in the Australian company: workers took less time off and sick leave, felt happier. However, for some reason, after the experiment, the head of the corporation, Andrew Barnes, decided to leave a five-day work week.
Experts and the media were genuinely surprised as Barnes spoke positively about the new schedule. Only recently he admitted to reporters that not everything is as smooth as it seems at first glance. Andrew says employees were productive only two and a half hours during the day. This is the first minus. And the second - the corporation lost some valuable workers who were not satisfied with the new schedule.
Interest in a new concept
Despite the conflicting results of the experiment, companies from countries such as the UK, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States were already interested in the four-day working week.
By the way, some have already managed to try out the new schedule and also remained dissatisfied. In the Swedish State Nursing Home, they said that as a result of the experiments, they incurred additional costs for hiring new staff. One American firm also abandoned a four-day work week, arguing that employees were "more tense and the corporation uncompetitive." In general, not everyone managed to be as flexible as an Australian firm.