We recently had a Fortune 500 CEO email us asking: “Is ROWE a good Work From Home solution? That’s what we need.”
We wanted to immediately email back, saying “NO— It is SO much more than that!” But we bit our collective tongues and Jody emailed this response.
Dear XXXX,
ROWE is not a Work From Home program.
ROWE is a business strategy and an adaptive change, like committing to eating healthy, or becoming a parent. You are not always sure what you are getting into, or IF it is going to be worth it, but 99% of the time, it IS worth the effort. As your culture shifts to being Results-Only, dedicated office space becomes less important as it's no longer the default location for getting work done. In a ROWE, the work outcome dictates whether the office is the right tool at any given moment for achieving success and serving the customer. Offices don’t go away, but they are utilized differently.
ROWE creates an environment of productive turnover. Employees that are under-performing get the coaching they need (regardless of where they work) and if they continue to under-perform, you can confidently determine who is and is not a fit for your organization.
In a ROWE, the collective focus shifts from putting in time, to ensuring excellent customer service.
ROWE creates an unprecedented level of loyalty to organizations and ROWE teams around the world are achieving higher levels of productivity. Many experience increases in productivity of 20% or greater in the first three months after adopting a ROWE. These results are common-place for teams that complete ROWE training.
ROWE shifts the focus for managers from permission-granting to performance-guiding, while the focus moves from managing the people to managing the work and it is not about doing less work; it’s about doing the right work more effectively — and shines a spotlight on wasteful practices, marking them for elimination.
So what are you buying? Simple:
A ROWE instills a work culture that demands clarity around setting outcome-based goals and measures, expands individual and team capacity, and infuses 100% accountability and 100% autonomy.Productivity: More work accomplished by the existing workforce
Retention: Keep productive talent; eliminate talent that isn’t producing results
Attraction: Attract the best talent from all generations
Elimination of wasteful practices: Sustained elimination of unnecessary tasks and processes
A workforce that’s fluid, flexible and accountable: Ability to perform in a more agile, continuous manner with clear, measurable goals for every employee
Optimize Space: No need for 1:1 workspace requirements
Life balance for all: Environment is inclusive and fair with no judgment about how people spend their time
Improved employee engagement, morale and loyalty: Intrinsically motivated employees create a healthier bottom line, are more dedicated and produce better results
Communication and Collaboration: Interactions become more genuine and focused; ROWE teams report a higher level of quality communication and the ability to collaborate in common sense, productive ways based on the expected outcome
Let me know if I can send you Case Studies or the summary of the deep dive HARVARD Business School did into ROWE.
I am available for a call end of this week or early next week.Yours in Results,
Jody Thompson
CEO and Founder of CultureRx
Creator of the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE)