PPB December 2017

by Jen Alexander WATER COOLER ROWE Your Company In A NewDirection Abandon the traditional idea of equating time and results, and see how much more can be accomplished at work. Your employees are spot-on when it comes to punching a clock. They arrive bright and early, and consistently put in the hours expected—sometimes more—while participating in activities not directly related to their work. But are the end results reflective of their time in the office? If not, you might consider an alternate approach to bringing out the best in your staff. Eschew the expectation that being at work equates to doing work, and try instituting a Results-Only Work Environment, or ROWE. This approach evaluates employees by the results of their work, not by the amount of time they spend at their workstations. It’s a giant culture shift, and certainly not ideal for every type of business. But for companies willing to give it a go, ROWE system creators Cali Resser and Jody Thompson offer these guidelines to make the transition as seamless as possible: 1 People at all levels only do the tasks that further the company’s goals or produce the expected results of their respective positions. 2 Employees are free to work any way they want, on a schedule that fosters productivity. 3 Time off is unlimited as long as the required work is done. 4 No one is judged by how they spend their time, or by when they arrive and when they leave. 5 Work isn’t a place to go—it’s something to do. Born out of an initiative to help electronics retailer Best Buy achieve the Employer of Choice recognition for its corporate headquarters, the ROWE philosophy was built on the employee sentiment, “Trust me with my time. Trust me to do my job.” The resulting strategies led to an increase in productivity that averaged 35 percent, and a decrease in voluntary turnover by as much as 90 percent. Johnson says ROWE works when managers make expectations for end results clear and are committed to consistent check-ins, whatever they may look like. When employees understand why they do their jobs, they can prioritize the tasks that help achieve that outcome. TECH TALK Maximizing Mobile Commerce Build a better mobile app for your customers with these features With mobile commerce use expected to grow to 45 percent of total ecommerce in the U.S. by 2020, chances are your customers will appreciate a mobile app for your business. A survey of more than 500 ecommerce app users revealed that consumers want an app that does more than let them browse and buy. Apps that offer a personalized ‘in- store’ experience, recommendations based on past purchases or customer profiles, and direct purchasing capabilities score big among mobile shoppers, according to results from the survey conducted by business resource provider Clutch. Whether you’ve already got a mobile app, or you’re considering creating one, you’ll want to incorporate one or all of these options to enhance the user experience and increase customer satisfaction. 1 Encourage socialization. Incorporating features such as chat capabilities and augmented reality features—showing clients how a product will appear in ‘real life’, for example—encourages users to interact with one another, adding another level of personalization. 2 Integrate a rewards program. Recognize loyalty among customers with a rewards program, and give users a way to cash in on it through your app, without a special account number or code. 3 Offer app-only deals and discounts. The chance to receive discounts makes users more likely to shop through a mobile app, and they appreciate receiving exclusive discounts on items similar to those they’ve bought previously. | DECEMBER 2017 | 61 THINK