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6 Myths about Results-Only Work Environment

Dec 5, 2011 » by Cali & Jody

People don’t like change, as a general rule.When you start talking about changing the way work gets done, that’s the kind of change that really excites and scares people at the same time. Changing work culture isn’t simple, but it can be done. We’ve helped many businesses and organizations go through the process of  changing long-held beliefs and presumptions about how work should get done.

Over the years since we created the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), a lot of myths and misconceptions have sprouted up. We wanted to take a moment to share some of the most common myths about ROWE and set the record straight.

 

1. ROWE is telework, flextime, and work from home program.

Absolutely not. There’s a great tendency to focus on time and place when it comes to work. When people hear that ROWE employees can work anywhere, anytime, as long as the work gets done, they leap to the conclusion that ROWE is about working from home. It isn’t. ROWE is about meeting results. One example we like to share is a child-care center that recently went through ROWE certification. The teachers obviously cannot work from home. To meet their results (taking care of children) they must be in a specific location.

2. If people get their work done in less than 40 hours, then they need more work.
The reward for work done well… should not be MORE work (usually somebody else’s, who has fallen behind in their work). Rewarding your high performers by commanding them to do the additional work of your slackers is not a reward at all. That is punishment.

3. Not every business can be a ROWE.
We’ve already established that ROWE is not about telework. Of course, ‘working from home’ doesn’t work for all job tasks. But focusing on results does work for all jobs. To hear people say that ROWE doesn’t work for some jobs is simply saying that not everyone should focus on results. And that’s just silly.

4. Not every employee can be trusted.
It’s amazing what businesses are doing because of the obsession with tracking time; for instance, hiring private detectives to follow employees if they take a sick day. Are people really so untrustworthy? Do employees deserve to be treated like adults? There’s a good reason why people play hooky from work, and it’s because they’re being treated like children.

5. In a ROWE people will take advantage and slack off.
Quite the opposite. In fact, most companies that go ROWE see tremendous increases in productivity and efficiency. Here’s what the CEO of Ripple, had to say about employees slacking: “..no one has tolerance for non-performers anymore, and non-performers don’t have anything to hide behind. They are either getting the results, or they are not.”

6. Managers need to be in the office for their people.
Like this one, most of the myths we’ve heard have something to do with not knowing how to manage people you may not see every day. How do you know they’re working? What will my role as a manager be if I don’t have to keep track of schedules? Jody Thompson is presenting a webinar in January on the topic of “Managing the Virtual Worker.” You should sign up for this one or pass it along if you have questions about this particular myth.

What myths have you heard in defense of the traditional workplace? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

  • James Patterson

    Love this. I have a question about #2 though. I understand not piling someone else’s work on, but what about, say, tasks that were scheduled for next week that could be started this week? If I get my work done in 30 hours instead of 40, in a ROWE what is to stop my supervisor from telling me to get started on next week’s tasks?

    • Bev Wiesner

      what would be bad about starting on next weeks work? dont you have to do it anyway?  doesnt your employer have a right to expect that you are working ?
      -just asking

      • calica

        Your employer has a right to expect that you get your work done on time. So if your work is done, and you’re on track to meet all your deadlines, then no, your employer does not have a right to expect that you spend additional time working.

      • http://twitter.com/caliressler Cali Ressler

        Exactly – your employer owns the results of your work, not your time.  Beautifully stated, @calica!

      • KellyK

        Sure, if you’re non-exempt and paid by the hour.  (Though in a lot of those cases, there are still more efficient ways to use people’s time than just “get started on next week’s work” or “find something to work on.”)

    • Anonymous

      A supervisor can always ask you to start working on next week’s tasks. In fact, in most companies people ask you to do work that isn’t even part of your job description all the time!

      I think that people feel like if they work “less hours” than they are worth “less money.” But that’s simply not true. What matters is what you do and how you do it, not the number of times the hand went around the face of the clock!

    • http://twitter.com/PersephoneK PersephoneK

      I think the bigger question I have is why is your supervisor asking you about tasks?  That is not ROWE-speak.  A supervisor should be asking you about outcomes.  Do you have a deadline for next week?  That still stands.  Work on next weeks tasks if you want to or not… as long as you meet your deadline, work on whatever you want to work on.  Or go home.  Or to a movie.  Your supervisor asking you to work on “Next week’s tasks” is no different in my mind from them saying “great job on getting your work done, but we work 40 hours so here’s a bigger pile of work as ‘reward.’”  Not cool.

    • http://twitter.com/caliressler Cali Ressler

      James – PersephoneK hit the nail on the head.  In a ROWE, a supervisor would never ask you to “get started on next week’s tasks.”  As long as your outcomes are being met, that’s what matters.  The reward for reaching milestones or outcomes, or pleasing the customer is time.  Time that you can decide what to do with.  As @614f0f86323059a8308ed38da6e8be2b:disqus mentions, in her organization, people are asking for more work or using that time to help co-workers.  For others, they may want to spend some time gardening, reading, watching a movie, going to the gym, etc. 

      So what’s to *really* stop your supervisor from asking you to get started on next week’s tasks?  Peer pressure.  Collectively, supervisors in a ROWE start to see that rewarding people for being efficient leads to higher productivity, better customer satisfaction, better retention rates, etc.  As a group, they band together to make sure the culture evolves in that direction.  If they hear of a peer who is behaving counter to that, they will address it. 

      Perhaps @Scarolyn500 has some stories to share about that? :)

      • James Patterson

        Thanks for the great reply, Cali. I really love the idea of the team aspect of ROWE. Everyone working together to make everyone’s lives better, because that’s what we all deserve.

  • Emily

    Cali & Jodi, 
    Great post!  Re: #1, I would also say that while ROWE may not be all those things in the literal sense, a telework program within any organization needs a strong focus on ROWE in order to have traction and be succesful.

  • Scarolyn500

    Have you ever tried to fill 10 hours with nothing??!!!  We’ve found that people are actually asking for more work to fill that time!  When you’re working in a ROWE, you’re focused on the outcome of the work and commited to your team’s goals. When you finish your part of the work, you have choices (which ultimately is what working in a ROWE is all about, in my opinion):  help out your team by doing more tasks or teaching someone a skill, develop your own skillset and professional networks, get started on next week’s work, etc.  You won’t make the same choice each week and you certainly won’t be hearing “do this because I said so” from your boss. What you WILL do is up to you!

  • Anonymous

    #3 is the trickiest one on this list. The challenge is that the word “results” really is tremendously comprehensive.

    For example, a salesperson who is paid on commission is a “results-only” worker. But that commission structure needs to be smartly designed, or else the salesperson may take shortcuts or make unreasonable promises tom get paid faster.

    Ultimately, every job and every company becomes results-only. The marketplace just works that way. But every business *can* be a ROWE—you just have to be willing to dig deep into what it means to be results-only in each individual case.

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  • KellyK

    The answer to #4 is that the people you can’t trust to be honest about where they are are the same people you can’t trust to get things done, or to be honest about where they are on a project.  Treating people like grown-ups can absolutely include firing them if their goals are reasonable and they continually don’t meet them.  And with so many people out of work, it’s not as though you won’t be able to replace them.

  • http://twitter.com/BlaineZuk Blaine Zuk

    The challenge comes in measuring deliverables.  I have heard a story about a man complaining about how much the dentist charged for a 5 minute tooth extraction, to which the dentist replied – ” well… I can take as long as you like”
    Many organizations have not focused on what results are desired and so stumble about compensating on whats easy to measure – time.  determining the value of service can be like ‘pulling teeth’

  • J.

    I know this has been posted a while ago, but when I talk to by boss about ROWE, he always says that he prefers to create a closely-bounded team and that coming to the office in order to share and create together is a better way to achieve this. For him, ROWE = never seeing each other and working individually all the time. He is even planning on buying a bigger floorspace, installing crazy amenities and providing everything so we can be at the office all the time. I believe this is absolutely crazy and I totally hope for something different – like Results management and time/location freedom. What do you answer to people thinking ROWE goes against team-building? 

    • Christy Runningen

      J – Wow, some fun stuff going on here, huh?  Yikes. One good way to respond to people who think ROWE foes against team-building is to first acknowledge their fears. When they feel like they are being listened to, they may not be as likely to push their point even more. With this particular boss, I would probably ask for clarity regarding what outcomes he would be looking to achieve by people being present.  Maybe he’ll realize that physical presence isn’t necessary or that other ways of participating may be just as effective. You might want to have a brainstorming session where you can discuss all the ways in which the various players can contribute. Also, a reminder that if you want to achieve diversity of thought and style, you might find people from all over the country and world that would best contribute…which means they probably would be participating in a way that is NOT in the office.

      Let’s not forget, too, that team-building doesn’t have to be spontaneous, either.  The best team-building happens when it is planned out in advance with clear outcomes and roles for everyone.

      Good luck!

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