Unlimited PTO as a sign of boundless trust in the company’s employees
The IT industry proved to be very competitive in the field of employee benefits by going above and beyond for their employees. Tech companies know that is not just about the high income, or applying agile project management- an employer should provide genuine care for the physical and mental well-being of its employees to make the company stand out.
Here, in Florence, we are fully aware of the fact that work occupies too big a part of our lives to let it feel dissatisfying or futile. So, we are continually striving to maintain a healthy workplace where our colleagues develop their talents, explore interesting projects and learn from their peers. One of our main goals is that our employees feel seen and encouraged to freely express their individuality.
The key ingredients in our formula are trusting our employees and giving them a lot of freedom. It may sound tacky, but we truly believe that one can learn a lot by simply listening to the company’s culture and employees’ feedback. Continuously reflecting on our culture in every aspect and giving consistent feedback to colleagues results in our team being more motivated, accountable, and encouraged to show initiative.
Even though many tools help us establish this working climate, the ones that reflect what it is like working at Florence the best are our benefits:
- Recharge days
- Flexible working hours
- Unlimited days off
It may seem odd, but these practices have been present in our day-to-day dynamics long before we started calling them a part of our benefits package!
Since they are not easily tangible to people outside our bubble, we’ll try to bring their meaning closer to you.
Recharge day- united against burnout!
Some weeks seem like a difficult case of Monday demotivation. It is easy to get caught up in complicated projects and fall into the risk of overworking. This proved to be true, especially during the pandemic. So, we introduced recharge days each month without a public holiday.
This small decision has proved to be the perfect way to steam off and come back to work with more energy and motivation.
Team members report that:
- It feels liberating being able to fully relax, knowing that the entire team is off for the day as well.
- It is a fantastic perk not having to count the days of your PTO
Flexible working hours – trusting, not clocking in and out
There are numerous interpretations of flexible working hours. Many candidates believe that working flexible hours means that if you work 6 hours on Monday, you need to work 10 hours on Tuesday. So, you either work from 9 to 5, from 10 to 6 pm or from 11 to 7 pm.
However, with us, there is no time-tracking software or time-management systems you need to abide by. This flexible working hours system enables employees to sometimes start earlier or to take longer breaks throughout the day, pick up their kids from school, run errands, etc. without having to work overtime or make up for these hours whatsoever.
In this manner, we shift focus from the sheer number of hours poured into working to the result of the project and people’s tangible contributions. On top of that, everyone, from our CEO from Atlanta to us in the HR department, regularly marks off slots in their calendars to run different errands during the day- this empowers the entire team to truly use this opportunity.
Unlimited days off – no, we wouldn’t cap them to our convenience
Every time we discuss this part of our benefits package, the candidates become skeptical. And it is no wonder considering how rare this model is. We always tell them that the best reassurance is seeing it for themselves.
We reap innumerable benefits thanks to this practice. Giving people space to dedicate time to their families, hobbies, and educational opportunities will directly contribute to their greater sense of responsibility, loyalty to the company, and overall satisfaction with their position.
How to choose candidates who won’t take advantage of these opportunities?
During our interviews, we don’t pose rhetorical questions. The whole interview process is the tool that helps us realize what a person would do and how would they react if they were put in realistic situations taken from our projects or interactions between our employees.
In this way, we create personality profiles that help us discern the candidates who would benefit most and thrive in our culture and work environment. We always encourage candidates to be honest. There are no wrong or right answers, we are here to have a conversation and, finally, to discover if we are right for each other.
It has happened that we reject the candidate with vast technical knowledge and choose those who still need to put some work into their tech skills because they are more in line with our values.
The best-case scenario is that both the company and the employee get the most from the collaboration.
Hard to swallow a pill- there is no cheat sheet you can copy from
We cannot stress enough how important it is to know your company through and through to set up a suitable set of tools to run it and motivate people along the way.
Remember, you cannot artificially impose rules, hierarchy, or benefits packages on systems and processes that do not support them.
Listen, interview, and feel the company’s pulse and results will follow.