Barring any new surprises, it looks like companies are on track for a return to the office. There’s a segment of the workforce that wishes to remain solely remote. Meanwhile, tech companies are championing a hybrid model—spending two or three days a week in the office and the rest at home or anywhere else—and Wall Street banks demanding people to be in the office five days a week.
There are forward-looking companies that offer a unique value proposition to their employees. Jelena Djordjevic, vice president of people at Thumbtack, a home management platform that enables access to skilled workers for homeowners, offers her insights into the company’s corporate culture programs.
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Thumbtack transitioned to a remote workforce and offered its staff the opportunity to work wherever they wanted. As time went on and the virus started to subside, the company sent out surveys to gauge the desired work style of its people. They overwhelmingly preferred a flexible remote model.
Thumbtack embraced a virtual-first model for its more than 950 employees, operating remotely in over 30 states. The company prioritizes a flexible, equitable and inclusive work environment. Djordjevic said that by offering a remote-first program, they’ll be able to recruit talent from all over the United States and other countries to cultivate a diverse and inclusive virtual workplace—with employees living in the same communities as the customers and craftsperson they serve.
Thumbtackers have the freedom to decide where they want to live and work. This model empowers employees to have a higher quality of life, while pursuing their professional ambitions. Conversely, had the company implemented a hybrid model, there would be concerns of proximity bias and people feeling left out of the conversation, as they’re not in the office and only seen on video.
The homeowner tech app has adopted a “library” office-style space in San Francisco that will be rolled out to other cities. The library is an “un-office” aiming to complement and enhance the virtual-first culture. The bespoke space was customized for socialization, in-person connections and virtual work. It primarily mimics a college library, where you can get work done without a lot of background noise and interference.
These new workspaces won’t be standard, old-school traditional offices. Instead, they’ll serve as individual working areas with the flexibility to join meetings and a way to take a break from being at home. The company plans Thumbtack libraries in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Manila, Toronto and other cities. As the company launches new locations, the intriguing concept offers two unique features, including one to host larger gatherings and socialize, the other dedicated to independent work, day-to-day.
Thumbtack plans to create high-quality, in-person events to unite people together. The company is introducing Camp Thumbtack. The mission is to provide in-person connections to cultivate a deeper sense of connection, build relationships, provide career growth opportunities and, most importantly, have fun together in events held outside of an office setting.
Thumbtack will bring teams together for events and offsites regularly. These gatherings will be focused on teamwide or project-specific meetings, like design sprints, product kickoffs, leadership team development and strategic planning. Most team members will attend two to four times per year and senior leaders will meet more frequently.
They’ll also come together annually for Camp Thumbtack. Days at Camp Thumbtack will be filled with meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones. Some of the events will include a companywide scavenger hunt, activities around shared interests, such as cooking classes and trivia, employee resource groups coming together in-person and attending talks from outside keynote speakers and panel conversations, as well as discussions for kickoffs and product launches.
The goal is for everyone to walk away from camp with a stronger sense of community, belonging, deeper relationships and personal growth.
Source: Forbes
