London Inc. May/June 2021 - 32

COVER

" Going into that first summer,
He thinks many of his coworkers will feel
our meetings got out of hand, "
the same, an attitude that was noticed by
says Randy Rektor, a content
management.
producer at the company. The
" People were thrilled - especially
video calls were getting longer,
after having established new routines
he recalls, there were more of
in their homes during the pandemic -
them and people were required
that we are offering this on an ongoing
to be in meetings that didn't
basis, " Ciccarelli says. " We've been able
really concern them. People were
to adapt our hiring methods, recruiting
getting stressed out.
tech talent from across the province. "
The key to turning things
around was that they caught
FOR OTHER LOCAL companies,
it quickly and listened to their
working from home has sparked bigger
employees. Management was
changes at the company.
already in the habit of sendWhen the pandemic hit, digital
ing around employee surveys,
agency 44 North Digital Marketing
Rektor explains, and in a com(www.fortyfournorth.ca) had just
pany-wide meeting addressed
begun ﬂirting with work-from-home
the issues that many of their
arrangements, largely at the behest
employees had been raising,
employee Jillian Mathies. She was
promising to bring in changes
the ﬁrst in the company to take her
to address the concerns. The
work remote, about a year before the
company set aside times each
pandemic, when she was moving with
week in which no meetings
her partner and didn't want to leave
could be scheduled, giving peoher job.
-Corey Shelson
ple uninterrupted work hours.
" I thought, 'Huh - what if I just
They also engrained in their
pitched [Corey] on it?' " she recalls now.
workforce " to think about who
" Everything we do is digital anyways. "
you're inviting " to meetings, Rektor says.
" At the time, I was quite apprehensive about it, thinkWhat works for Voices is clear policies and expecta- ing it wouldn't work out, " says ﬁrm founder and presitions, and importantly, giving employees the ability to dent, Corey Shelson.
set boundaries.
He recalls the usual fears creeping in. " Are your
" Tactically speaking, the ﬁrst thing employers can people going to be working? Are they going to be slackdo is encourage employees to set work hours in their ing off, abusing the time? That was my initial reaction
calendar system, " says David Ciccarelli, Voices.com - this feels like it's going to be a disaster. "
CEO. But ﬂexibility matters, too - especially for parents.
But none of those fears came to pass. " It worked, "
" We found the best policy is honesty, so if you have Shelson says. " There were no issues - she was super
to jump out of a meeting to log your kids into a virtual productive. "
learning environment, then just say so, " he says. " No
So, when Covid hit and the great work-from-home
need to give an excuse, it's just something you need to experiment kicked off, Shelson says, " We kinda had a
do, and everyone is understanding. "
year of this remote working thing under our belt. "
Those workplaces that have had success with
For Shelson, a former military engineering officer
designing remote and hybrid work arrangements tend with the Canadian Armed Forces, the success of their
to see it as a source of opportunity rather than a liability work from home system grows out of a dedication to
- a way not only to keep your employees happy, but to let healthy structure. " When your work is at home, it's
them work better, too.
hard to walk away, " he says. " We had to be pretty strict
Voices.com recently announced a new work-from- in terms of protecting our staff and their well being. "
anywhere policy. Rektor, for instance, works Monday to
They have managed to keep their work hours strictly
Wednesday in the office, Thursday and Friday at home. deﬁned - just as an employee is expected to show up on
" I found that balance was fantastic, " he says. " I would time, they can also expect their workday to end on time,
schedule certain tasks depending on where I was going and managers are strict about not messaging people
to be, " and " that Wednesday afternoon really feels like after 5 p.m.
a Friday. "
Recently, North 44 introduced ﬂex hours to their

" Are your people
going to be working?
Are they going to be
slacking off, abusing
the time? That was
my initial reaction
- this feels like it's
going to be a disaster "

32 | londonincmagazine.ca | MAY / JUNE 2021

http://www.fortyfournorth.ca http://www.Voices.com http://www.Voices.com http://www.londonincmagazine.ca

London Inc. May/June 2021

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