Q: What is ABD doing that is working?
As with most companies, ABD too has been affected by the pandemic and the “Great Resignation.” During the past year and a half adapting to change and modifying what has worked well in the past has been absolutely critical in order to stay successful. Employee happiness is one of the major components of a successful business.
One of the biggest changes that we implemented was a hybrid work schedule. Before the pandemic, ABD was a company that went into the office 5 days a week. When the pandemic started, we all worked remotely for several months. When the pandemic was looking a little better, employees had the option to come into the office if they preferred to. Most employees though worked at home for over a year and then in May we transitioned to a permanent hybrid work schedule. To ensure everybody’s safety, teams come in twice a week on a staggered scheduled so not everyone is in the office at the same time. Employees have found a lot of value in coming into the office to not only have the opportunity to collaborate, but just to interact and be social with others! There is a certain comradery when employees are in the office together that you just don’t get at home. On the other hand, most employees still do enjoy working at home, at least a few times a week, so we wanted to keep a remote work schedule in place. Offering remote work and flexible schedules are absolutely the future for companies. The pandemic certainly changed that for us.
Wellness counseling has also been included with our healthcare coverage during the course of the pandemic. We regularly communicate this with employees, in addition to, other COVID-19 related benefits that includes testing, visits, and treatment. Investing in good health insurance for employees has always been a priority. ABD pays for 100% of employee healthcare coverage. Having good health insurance and these extra benefits during this time has been important so no employee has to worry about what their health insurance covers, they can just do what they need to do to stay healthy.
Planning group events has been important to us too. Even when we worked remotely, we had virtual events that included trivia, our holiday party, a march madness pizza party, a card making afternoon for Meals on Wheels, and more. Next month we are looking forward to our in-person holiday party, which will include a fancy lunch, our annual raffle, and a service project for a local children’s hospital. Company events really help bring everyone together and allows them to step away from work and have fun with their team.
Birthdays are also a big celebration at ABD. We send out a happy birthday message to the whole company when someone has a birthday, we do social media posts for them, and feature them in our client newsletter. Traditionally, we also have a birthday cake celebration for them in our office, but we have postponed those celebrations for now with the pandemic. We hope to be able to bring them back soon though! Birthdays are a great way to spend a day recognizing someone at your company and help make their day feel extra special.
We also offer flexible scheduling for personal events. Whether it is a religious obligation or an event for a child, we allow a flexible schedule for them to take the needed time away from the office. We understand that employees have a personal life outside of the office and we don’t want anyone to be worried about needing to take time off because of something important to them.
Lastly, we have found a lot of value from promoting from within the company versus hiring someone new to fill a position. Employees that have been with the company know the business well and are setup for success when taking on a higher position. It has really allowed for a smooth transition of roles and the employee is always excited to start a new chapter within the company. It may not always make sense to promote from within (we have had great success recruiting new employees as well), but when it does make sense, I would encourage it.
