Today’s EO Accelerator quarterly education day was on people and more specifically accountability. As part of the material there was a lengthy discussion on results only work environments (www.goROWE.com). ROWE is the idea that results are what matter, not people being in the office from 8am – 5pm daily.
Here are some tips when considering a results only work environment for startups:
- Start with one telecommute day per week for everyone in the office and work through the kinks of everyone being able to work remotely (e.g. laptops, phones, etc)
- Define the results for every position (the result for some positions is very simple like greet visitors at the front desk between certain hours whereas for others it can be more difficult)
- Implement a no vacation tracking policy (e.g the policy is two words: be reasonable) as a baby step to ROWE
- Make meetings optional and see who goes and doesn’t go as a proxy for the quality and value of the meetings
- Work with one department to be ROWE before rolling it out to everyone else
ROWE is continuing to grow and expand with startups being one of the best places for them.
What else? What are your thoughts on results only work environments for startups?
David Cummings on Startups 