Global small business platform Xero has launched its redesigned flexible work programme, allowing its product and technology teams to work where they feel they perform best.
The initiative will enable engineers, designers, data scientists, product managers and more to choose to work fully remotely, from the office, or in a hybrid model. It has been designed to ensure its staff of more than 3,600 can work where the organisation has a presence and also in close vicinity to the teams they collaborate with the most.
According to the business, it worked closely with its teams over the past 18 months to develop a policy that is clear and tailored for the future, with no surprise catches.
It will be rolled out in stages across the globe, beginning with employees in the product and technology teams in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK. It will be implemented in the US and for workers in other roles in later months, with the organisation set to continuously evolve the programme based on the needs of its remote workforce over time.
Xero, which already had longstanding flexible work policies in place, transitioned to fully remote work during the global Covid-19 (Coronavirus) lockdowns and developed more incentives and programmes to support its staff. It took what it learned from this in order to launch the initiative.
Nicole Reid, Xero’s chief people officer, commented that Xero has put a lot of effort and research into ensuring it is creating policies that make a difference to employees, with the programme having been designed to support every type of worker, from wherever they are.
“We’ve been quite particular about creating a policy that is clear and easy to understand. We’ve taken on research and feedback from our employees, and through our Future of Work group, developed a policy that is clear and upfront about what employees can, and can’t expect, without the fine print,” she said.