Spotify doubles down on remote work policy, Layoffs and their longer term business impacts
Plus, Home Depot requires corporate staff to work in retail stores.
Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the past week and see what we can learn from them.
1. Spotify commits to ‘work anywhere’ policy amid RTO push at other companies
As other companies like Amazon work to bring their employees back to their desks, Spotify is pushing in the other direction and reaffirming its commitment to allowing employees to work wherever they choose.
“You can’t spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children,” says Katarina Berg, Spotify’s CHRO. While she says she understands why some companies have returned to the office, “they are going back to what they know”, Berg is yet to find a reason to enforce a mandate for Spotify’s employees.
“We are a business that’s been digital from birth, so why shouldn’t we give our people flexibility and freedom?” she says. “Work is not a place you come to, it’s something you do.”
Berg’s willingness to back her organization’s employees so publicly in the context of Spotify’s history of allowing employees to work remotely is refreshing at a time when other companies scramble to justify reasons to get people back to their desks.
Speaking openly about the autonomy the company gives them in allowing them to make their own choices is a lesson in employee experience, employer trust, and employer branding that other companies can learn. Your employees are your greatest asset and give your company its identity. Treat them respectfully and like the talented professionals they are, and it’ll be a lot easier to recruit and retain people.
2. Report: Layoffs impact the business beyond job cuts
Nobody likes to talk about layoffs. But what about the longer-term impacts they create for companies that they happen to?
According to a study by Harvard Business Review, organizations that had “committed” employees felt layoffs even harder than those with less loyal employees. Additionally, intangibles like pride, future motivation, and recommendations to others outside the company each dropped by a factor of more than 10% following a layoff.
Layoffs do a lot more than just let go of valued colleagues. They serve as a reset point for organizations, and if they’re not carefully planned, companies risk poisoning their cultural wells. By running all layoff comms through a lens of empathy and commitment to mission and values, these impacts can be lessened, even if there is some inevitable sour sentiment.
3. Home Depot requires corporate employees to work retail shifts
Deeper interaction by corporate employees with front-facing workers can help create a deeper appreciation for the culture and function of the business. Home Depot is taking this a step further, and getting its desk workers to don orange aprons several times a year.
The policy mandates corporate employees to spend one full shift in stores quarterly to better gain an appreciation for the business and culture, Home Depot said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg.
“We need to stay connected to the core of our business, so we can truly understand the challenges and opportunities our store associates face every day,” Chief Executive Officer Ted Decker said in the memo introducing the program.
A company spokesperson said it’s been the company’s longstanding practice to ask staff to spend time in stores, with this new program being its latest initiative.
What better way for communicators to learn about who they’re messaging with and to than spending a day in the shoes of front-facing workers? Comms pros do their best work when they understand the culture and values of a company inside and out. Tying on the ubiquitous Home Depot apron and learning firsthand about the challenges and opportunities of your frontline audience is a great way to achieve that goal, especially with the blessing of leadership.
4. How about some good news?
- A junk dealer in Italy found a painting in a basement, later discovering it was an original Picasso.
- NASA is slated to send a spacecraft to Jupiter’s water-bearing moon Europa.
- Archaeologists discovered an ancient throne room in Peru.
- Ragan Training is great for communications pros to find inspiration and resources.
- You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!
Have a great weekend comms all-stars!
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.
