Revolutionizing Work Culture:

Clarity is the heart and soul of the Result-Only Work Environment. As the quiet quitting trend proves, if you expect the bare minimum from people, many will be happy to deliver.

The traditional work model includes plenty of policies, rules, and regulations that managers are expected to enforce. But in a work culture where employees are expected to focus on following the rules and managers are tasked with enforcing them, whose job is it to focus on actually getting results?

Rather than putting all the emphasis on how, when, and where the company achieves results, why not just put it on....well, achieving results? The Results-only Work Environment is one where adults are free to work like adults.

Rather than being cast as strict elementary school teachers, managers are hired to manage work, not people. Their job is to ensure that everyone knows exactly what tasks they are responsible for and the results they are expected to achieve.

An employee from Watt Global Media had this to say about the difference that working in a ROWE makes, “The way I approach a task, both in the office and out of the office, has changed — for the better. I feel more responsible overall, and in control of my time and my results. My life feels more balanced; I’m happier, healthier, and more productive than I have ever been.”

When companies begin to adopt ROWE principles, many are awarded a surprising discovery – employees have great ideas too! Many traditional businesses are stuck in the trap of insisting that everyone approach their jobs using the same set of guidelines, all of which were constructed by corporate team members.

The problem is that many corporate bosses haven’t interacted with customers at the ground level in years. In reality, the lowest-level employees often prove to have some of the most valuable insights.

These are the folks who engage with your customers every day, understand their pain points, and work with them to find solutions. Leaders who choose to disregard their thoughts and suggestions are simply robbing themselves of countless dollars worth of priceless feedback.

A ROWE is a place where every employee is allowed to offer their suggestions or thoughts to any team member at any level. Even though we all know what happens to “a house divided against itself,” many companies continue to pit leadership teams and employees against each other, often to their own undoing.

Companies like JL Buchanan are a great example of what can happen when you bridge the great divide and unleash the full potential of your entire team. After an employee pointed out the flaws in one of the firm's processes and suggested a better alternative, the company was able to add a whole new revenue-increasing service line to its offerings.

At some point, almost everyone has experienced the treachery of being stuck in a job with no growth opportunities. Viewed through this lens, the quiet quitting trend makes an unfortunate amount of sense.

Why put in the work to go above and beyond if you’ll still get paid the same amount as the guy in the next cubicle who spends most of his day on social media? The Results-only Work Environment is all about motivating employees to achieve measurable results.

It's important to ensure that those who come out on top are rewarded with anything from peer recognition showcases to performance-based incentives. A key to retaining top talent long-term is providing them with plenty of room to grow and awarding them for their contributions along the way.

Part of making employees feel responsible for their own destinies involves providing them with the learning and development tools they need to excel in their careers. Rather than creating an environment where your employees are forced to wait for permission from their managers to grow, make the tools freely available and watch what happens!

This is not only a great way to advance from within, but to get the word out that your company is a place where employees can thrive. Dale J. Garabedian, President & CEO of The Garabedian Group reports, “The word is out that the ROWE system works for TGG; people are calling and asking if we have positions open for them to join the team.”

When you onboard new talent, ensure that they not only understand what your company is out to do but that they are a valuable part of achieving your mission. There’s nothing worse than feeling like an expendable cog in a company machine, yet far too many employees relate to this feeling every day.

No wonder they dread showing up to work! Rather than treating employees like a means to an end, ROWE creates an environment where everyone is working together to achieve a shared objective.

Creating an environment where everyone’s thoughts and ideas are welcome and encouraged makes for a powerful, engaging dynamic. As one Gap Brand leader described, “Management and employees report an increase in overall energy and engagement level, great focus on quality rather than simply meeting deadlines, and an overall sense of trust among employees at all levels of the organization."

The hard truth is that if your company’s employees are bored or disengaged, your company isn’t taking advantage of their full potential. The odds are, your office is full of bright, creative innovators just waiting for someone to notice the valuable skills and insights they have to offer.