Building an organisation fit for the future of work

TO FIND OUT HOW HOXBY LEADS AN EVIDENCE-BASED WORK REVOLUTION THAT BENEFITS BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS

The world of work has changed

Whether through choice or not, the way people work is shifting. So how should workers and businesses adapt to this changing landscape?

We built Hoxby 5 years ago as a prototype to explore whether a new, more innovative way of working could be not only beneficial to individuals, but also a viable option for businesses. To properly answer that question we knew we needed data. So we set up a research project to uncover the real-life impact of Hoxby’s work model on our community members (Hoxbies), as well as on our organisation.

The data backed up our hunch that what we are doing is effective. Really effective. The analysis revealed that the Hoxby community consists of a group of engaged, happy and productive Hoxby associates – everything an organisation needs for success and profitability.

We scored highly in many of the areas we measured, including the level of social support from co-workers, the appreciation they experience and the sense of ‘fit’ Hoxbies feel about their work (that is if their needs, desires and preferences are being met). These were some of the key factors in our success.

This article explores the Hoxby model of work in detail, takes you through the science behind our approach and gives a taste of how we do things. We’ll talk you through an evidence-based approach with examples of initiatives that you can apply to your own organisation: building the resources needed for your people and business to thrive, whatever changes are going on in the world.

And if you want to talk more about how we can support you in bringing these benefits to your organisation, get in touch with Annika, Hoxby’s MD of Futureproofing (pdf), at annika.hart@hoxby.com.

The Hoxby model

Flexibility Workstyle

Hoxby is an entirely remote, global organisation with no physical offices. Hoxbies can work any of the 24 hours a day or seven days a week they choose. For us, this is not about ticking the flexible-working box by allowing people to start work an hour later or work from home on a Friday. We are about something different. So different, we gave it a new name: workstyle – the freedom to choose when and where you work, so that your workstyle fits around your lifestyle.

Purpose-led and values-driven

It’s no secret that the traditional 9-5, office-based system favours certain groups over others. By allowing Hoxbies to set, project and respect their workstyles, we are working towards creating a happier, more fulfilled society through a world of work without bias. This is our purpose. By giving everyone the freedom to choose where and when they work, we remove the structural biases that get in the way of genuine equality of opportunity. We are a diverse community of individuals who live by and promote a set of shared values that reflect this mission.

Purpose and values are important. They unite people. They provide guidance on what workers and their leaders expect from each other. That is if it’s done right.

How do we ensure our values are a triumph of substance over style? That our values aren’t just soundbites to make us look good? By ensuring they are rooted in psychology, business and data. This way, we can be confident that each one of the Hoxby values encourages, enables and embeds the behaviours that we know are beneficial for both our community and our business outcomes, influencing success and profitability.

What the science says

Research points to many benefits for both workers and businesses that flow from the model of work that we have pioneered at Hoxby. Studies have shown that independent workers and employees with control over their working arrangements take greater pride in their work. And that working truly flexibly improves work–life balance, job satisfaction, engagement and productivity, while decreasing stress, exhaustion and turnover intentions. It has also been shown that efficiency increases as people are able to choose the working conditions that are optimal to them.

At Hoxby, we continuously experiment and contribute to the important research around the future of work. In 2018 we ran a pilot to explore the impact of autonomy on our community; this indicated that investing in the wellbeing of workers leads to a more productive workforce. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to give them more autonomy. This pilot helped us realise that other critical business questions could be answered with the right data.

Questions such as:

• Does the Hoxby model of work lead to higher levels of engagement, wellbeing and productivity?
• Is the time and energy that we spend investing in our people leading to better business outcomes?
• Are our values truly embedded within our community?
• How are we progressing in our mission to create a world of work without bias?
• Where can we do more?

So in 2019 we launched our pilot’s big sibling to tackle these questions: a longitudinal study (i.e. one that is repeated each year) across the entire Hoxby community. We called it the ‘Help Us Understand’ survey.

The ‘Help Us Understand’ survey

We mentioned earlier that our values focus on both what is good for the community and the business. And the two are interrelated. Certain resources are likely to have a positive impact on the work outcomes that are known to influence success and profitability: engagement, productivity and wellbeing. We have mapped the Hoxby values against these resources to determine where to focus our efforts.

At Hoxby we place huge value on being evidenced-based. Using evidence is about making more informed decisions and, ultimately, making better decisions. (Read about the basics of evidence-based practice (pdf)). So it was a priority for us to incorporate this approach when measuring the resources and outcomes within the Hoxby community.

We developed a survey¹ using measures (questions) that were already widely used in academic and industry research. We focused on measures that had good reliability and validity² and would require a minimal time commitment from Hoxbies. Because we used these existing measures, rather than others that are not academically validated, and because we decided against the use of one of the many freely available employee survey platforms, we knew we would be gathering the best data we could³. This would allow us to accurately measure (and react to) our trends year on year.

Results

What we do well

The data crunching revealed that our values at Hoxby are well embedded and doing a good job of building the employee resources that are critical to business success. To enable other businesses to replicate these benefits, we have considered which of our ways of working at Hoxby are responsible for our highest scores. Some of these are set out below, along with some prompts that we hope might inspire you to try them out in your own organisation.

Person/organisation fit – score: 88%

Everyone can join the Hoxby community by following a very straightforward application process that aim to remove bias from our recruitment methods. We simply asks all applicants to answer the following two questions in whatever format they chose to reflect their individuality and accommodate their needs:

• Why do you want to be a Hoxby?
• What does workstyle mean to you?

See examples of how Hoxbies have answered these questions (Google slide).

Applicants’ answers are reviewed by a team of trained assessors using a structured evaluation process that puts value-matching front and centre. This approach encourages prospective Hoxbies to understand what Hoxby is all about, while thinking about how to answer the two questions. It also means that the process of embedding our values in the community starts from day one.

Have you considered what you could do to ensure your organisation’s values are front and centre from the very start of your relationship with your workforce?

Experienced responsibility – score: 85%

For every Hoxby project we assign a project lead (PL), via an internal recruitment process that relies purely on the expertise, enthusiasm and workstyle compatibility of the applicant. The assigned PL is responsible for managing the progress and delivery of the agreed outputs, dealing with Hoxby’s internal processes, ensuring our clients’ challenges are addressed, bringing new experts in the team as projects pivot and building and supporting happy teams.

To support our PLs and project team, we’ve developed a RACI matrix – this ensures everyone has clarity on where accountability lies at each stage of a project, from kick-off to complition.

Have you thought about whether there’s something you could introduce to your systems and processes to ensure project responsibilities are crystal clear to everyone in your team?

Social support – score: 82%

As Hoxby is a fully virtual organisation, Slack is the beating heart of the Hoxby community. Not only does it allow for every Hoxby across the globe to get together, remotely, yet in one place, but it’s also fully adaptable to our needs. We have created a place where people want to hang around, to connect, share, learn and ask for help, and celebrate wins.

In Slack, we have:

• A water cooler channel for general chat: been to the hairdresser? Got a new plant for the garden? Need a recipe for brownies? Having ‘one of those days’?
• Shared interest channels: podcasts, cooking, parenting, pets, bookclub, TV, freelancing – you want it, we’ve got it. And if we don’t, Hoxbies are encouraged to set one up.
• Support channels for newbies, or for work-related questions, such as tech and finance.
• Local channels so Hoxbies who live near each other can physically meet up and share things of local interest.

Although all Hoxbies work remotely across 40+ countries, we love nothing more than a collective challenge. In 2018 we launched a collective fitness challenge where we aimed as a community to run, walk, cycle, swim, dance etc around the world. Using Strava to bring all the energetic Hoxbies spread around the globe together, we covered a staggering 29,204 miles, making it around the world on 19 October 2019, ahead of our target. There were sweepstakes for guessing the total distance covered in 265 days and the date we would complete a lap of the world.

And, we do love and value an in real-life meetup. Every year we organise Hoxby Refresh, a real-life gathering where Hoxbies can get together and hang out in person, allowing us to widen our network and share company updates, presentations and (for our 2019 Refresh) rum and sherry tastings. We also love a ‘Hoxby homes day’ where local Hoxbies organise meetups and spend a day (or just a few hours) coworking.

Autonomy – score: 80%

This is where workstyle really comes into play. Being fully remote, we encourage Hoxbies to make sure their Slack status is up to date with their workstyle information, we always ask about workstyle when planning and recruiting for projects and we encourage asynchronous working practices (such as document collaboration tools, ThreadIt, Slack messages) rather than defaulting to team meetings, where everyone has to be available at the same time.

Get in touch at annika.hart@hoxby.com to book one of our workstyle workshops for your team or have a think about what steps you could take to support virtual, asynchronous working.

Appreciation – score: 77%

In 2019, we introduced the all-community profit share, which benefits every member of the Hoxby community. This recognises that what drives our growth, success and impact as a community is the input of all Hoxbies. To make sure everyone feels appreciated, we also send out Hoxboxes, our Hoxby gift boxes, in recognition of excellent work and to those going through milestone life events such as having a baby, getting married, or recovering from illness.

What might your version of a HoxBox look like?

With our Hoxby Hero initiative, Hoxbies who have demonstrated some of our six core values are publicly recognised and celebrated. Anyone in the community can nominate a hero each week. We make the system as simple as possible by using automated reminders linking to a quick and easy Typeform. We share details of nominees in our Boardroom Slack channel, along with a bit of context describing what they did (and a silly celebratory gif!) to show appreciation and inspire others.

How do you celebrate those who live and breathe your values at your organisation?

Psychological safety – score: 77%

We are fortunate to have many great leaders and leadership experts across our community and have collated all this experience, expertise and academic knowledge, particularly on the topic of virtual leadership. One key aspect we focus on, both internally and in our client work, is the importance of trust: “Trust is the glue that holds virtual teams together”. Read about why trust is key for building effective virtual teams.

One example of something that we have found very powerful is sharing our failures as much as our successes. Hoxby founders, Alex and Lizzie, and the managing directors model this by showing that it is ok to get things wrong and extract the learnings so that we are always improving. This helps us create an environment where Hoxbies feel safe and able to be themselves and take risks.

Person/project fit – score: 75%

We curate a bespoke team for every Hoxby project. The curation process involves the project lead providing a detailed brief, covering both the skills and time commitments required to deliver the outputs agreed with the client. Hoxbies therefore can assess the opportunity against what they are able to bring to the project team, as well as their workstyle alignment with the project, before deciding whether to apply. Hoxbies are encouraged to apply to all opportunities that excite them and fit their workstyle, rather than being restricted by job titles and past experience in that specific area.

Business outcomes

As well as demonstrating the impact of Hoxby initiatives on our community, our findings also uphold the academic theory that these resources have a positive impact on work outcomes as we also scored highly for outcomes, productivity (78%), engagement (76%) and wellbeing (77%).

We’re not saying that the Hoxby way is the only way to achieve great business outcomes. What our research indicates is that spending time and energy on making these resources available is well worth the effort, both from a personal as well as organisational perspective.

Workstyle = good. More workstyle = better.

The data also shows that the more work someone is doing with Hoxby and the more involved they are in the community, the higher they scored across all of the measures. It seems that the Hoxbies spending more time on Hoxby projects, and therefore with more workstyle work in their lives, feel more positive about all aspects of Hoxby. They are even more productive, engaged and happy. This also supports our hypothesis that working this way is beneficial to both our people and our organisation.

Always improving

As one of our core values is ‘always improving’, we also explored what the data highlighted in terms of our development areas. Arguably the whole point of running a diagnostic like this is to identify where one can improve as an organisation. Rather than trying to guess and invest in the wrong area, the survey has enabled us to pinpoint exactly where we will get the highest return from our efforts.

We scored a little lower than we would have expected for knowledge of results and feedback from others. Our lower scores in these two areas suggest Hoxbies don’t always know how well they have performed or what they need to improve on.

This is not surprising given that we are all freelancers without formal review processes or appraisals. Therefore we are developing a structured process to support the giving and receiving of feedback at the end of each project and have already created this guide to giving internal feedback (Google slide).

We are also working to increase the opportunity for continuous development at Hoxby through our training academy. Currently this is our internal go-to for all Hoxby-related questions and resources. We are keen to take this to the next level, take full advantage of the huge array of talent and skills we have within our community and create academy modules where Hoxbies can share their expertise through workshops, discussions and webinars.

What else is on the Hoxby to-do list?

Collecting data of this breadth and quality gives us so many options. We can’t wait to do some more exploration with the goal of improving, not only the associate experience but also our performance as a business and community. We are also working with different universities to share our data, contribute to the academic literature and accelerate the impact we can have on the future of work.

In that spirit of efficiency we referred to earlier, we are excited to start looking in more depth at the interactions between various resources. For example, experienced meaningfulness, appreciation and opportunities for development are correlated with several of the other resources. Can we turbocharge our impact by tapping into these relationships?

This is the first year we ran the survey – next year we are really looking forward to kicking off the longitudinal analysis and comparing our data year on year. This will allow us to begin to identify trends and, in future years, with even more data under our belts, we will be in a position to draw firmer conclusions about the direction and strength of effects.

The takeaway

Our mission to create a happier, more fulfilled society through a world of work without bias requires traditional, prolific and ingrained working practices to evolve. We have done this at Hoxby through a combination of:

• creating and embedding values of substance within our community
• conceiving the concept of workstyle (not flexible working) and protecting it fiercely
• championing an experimental and evidenced-based approach
• arming ourselves with the best information, so we can build on our strengths, tackle our weaknesses and reveal pitfalls, meaning we can act, not react

We are aware that to convincingly lead a revolution you need to back up your assertions with research and data. Our survey supports our hypothesis that our innovative model of work promotes happier, more engaged, and more productive people. It demonstrates the value in taking an evidenced-based approach, building targeted interventions based on legitimate data.

We are passionate about sharing the benefits we’ve gained from working this way with others. We would love to work with you to design a diagnostic to help you really understand your organisation, allowing you to invest where you will see the biggest ROI. We can also advise on how to build these crucial resources into your own working environment and culture.

To find out more about how Hoxby can help your organisation contact Annika, our Futureproofing MD, at annika.hart@hoxby.com.

Update June 2020: this data was collected before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. We will be interested to see the impact the pandemic has had when we analyse next year’s data.

Footnotes