Your Questions on our “No Vacation Policy” Answered

We thought it would be worthwhile sharing our experience and the feedback that we have been providing to these inquiries. The no vacation policy is still in it’s early stages for us, so far, so good.

So we don’t track hours at all (here or out of the office) The expectation is that people are here – but when we have personal appointments, want to get out for a bike ride, have a vacation scheduled or just need some personal time – get out of here. We do want people to make sure that their roles are covered, and projects they are working on are on schedule (and they are not holding people up on another portion of the project).

We look at factors like goals that are met, attitude, contribution to projects, and to our internal education. We are fortunate that we have a great group of people who are focused on moving projects through. We also want to encourage the team to do research. As you know, this industry changes fast; we want people to take time to learn and teach. (wisnet University is our internal google+ community that we use to share ideas, tips, educational information, and more.)

The “no vacation” (flex vacation) concept allows us to easily setup/schedule time for personal appointments, longer vacation plans, family needs, and those times we want a break to get out and enjoy the weather. At the same time, we also want to encourage learning and research within the company. We are working on forming alternative or ‘study/social’ areas that will hopefully work well for getting away from your desk for a research or conversation break. These areas will evolve quite a bit as we see how they are used. I definitely want your input on how to make these areas more impactful.

I do want to keep your research time in the office for a few reasons. One of the main ones is that if we need you for a conversation or important customer update or call – we have access to you. The other main reason is that I have always been a fan of keeping your home/play environment just that – home and play. Having a solid separation between home and office is powerful in helping you get and stay energized.

– when you are out of the office – make sure you are out of the office – refresh/re-energize.
– bring your re-fleshed attitude and ideas each day (both to home and to the office). Your attitude impacts the enjoyment and environment of EVERYONE around you. Make it the best!
– research and brainstorm together.
– think fun – think happy – both in the office and at home.
– look forward to what you can do here at the office each day.
– look forward to what you can do at home each nite and weekend.
– appreciate the differences in environments.
– don’t feel guilty on taking vacation time. It helps you, it helps the company. happy you = happy company.

Has your company considered implementing a flexible policy?