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Total rewards for the remote workforce

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Why do you work? Why do you work at this particular job, in this particular company? The answers to these questions will be as varied and numerous as individuals within a company.

In an ultra-competitive talent market, it becomes more important than ever to know why your teams continue to choose your company, and to understand and appeal to what they value most. While compensation is undoubtedly the biggest factor in why we go to work, there is hopefully much more that forms the full picture of why we do what we do. It could be health benefits that dependents rely on, unlimited time-off policies, or progressive parental policies that match up with the family planning horizon. Most likely, it is a combination of these things.

What we know for sure is that people, and teams, value different things. And what they value, and what they need, evolves over time. That is especially true in today’s environment when many organizations are adapting to a workforce that is increasingly diverse, distributed and in demand. There are challenges with this new environment, such as different levels of access to benefits and resources across the globe. However, there are also opportunities, including an opportunity to customize your total rewards package in a way that keeps teams happy and engaged.

What do I mean by total rewards?

A total rewards program is key to the employee experience. When done well, a total rewards strategy elevates that experience, enhances the brand and creates value for the company in reputation and esteem. When done poorly, it dampens the employee experience, reflects negatively on the brand and breaks down that value creation.

The total rewards universe is broad and includes everything from compensation and benefits, to diversity and community impact, and everything in between. Below are eight primary areas that should factor into a total rewards program, and in-turn your employee experience.

There is no shortage of rewards available for consideration. The key is to thoughtfully manage the process of finding the rewards that match your business strategies and the desires of your employees.

Customizing total rewards for the remote workforce

Remote work itself can be a key differentiator in your employee value proposition. However, the reality is that more and more companies are offering remote work, even post-pandemic. It’s simply not the differentiator on its own that it once was. In fact, we now see employees demanding it, and many employers are making remote work a cornerstone of their culture and talent strategy.

Here are few of the ways that companies can do more than just make remote work an option, and instead make it a part of your total rewards package.

Prioritize mental well-being and teletherapy benefits

The NFP 2021 US Benefits Trend Report indicates that more than 1/3 of Americans have displayed clinical signs of anxiety, depression, or both since the coronavirus pandemic began. Not only is this a substantial public health issue, it also has a major impact on the success and health of organizations. By addressing mental health concerns, and more holistically well-being, companies can:

  • Improve morale
  • Increase productivity
  • Aid in employee recruiting and retention
  • Lower absenteeism and increase engagement
  • Lower employee health risks
  • Improve economic competitiveness

With a remote workforce, it can be more challenging to gauge mental well-being within your workforce. When you see people in-person every day, it’s far more likely you’ll pick up on bruises from an abusive relationship, or smell alcohol on someone’s breath, or sense when a once chatty co-worker is depressed or anxious because they’re dealing with stressors at home. While we might get a window into someone’s home environment through a Zoom call, there is a lot that isn’t seen through a webcam. Offering mental health benefits, and encouraging people to use them, can help.

The availability of resources can vary greatly across the globe. Luckily the number of companies offering telehealth and teletherapy benefits has exploded, which can help equalize the benefits offered across your entire population. Text-based mental health coaching, virtual therapy and psychiatry have increased exponentially and that’s a trend that we believe is here to stay.

Be thoughtful and transparent with your comp philosophy

Compensation is foundational to our working relationship. It’s also challenging. It’s easy to just look at the market or the competitive situation and say, ‘we will pay at the market rate or slightly above’, however, not everyone can or wants to do that. Compensation needs to be viewed through a strategic lens and be accompanied by a philosophical framework that reflects the employer’s culture and strategy. For example, a company in the early start-up and growth phase may choose to pay above market in incentive pay to motivate their team to reach growth goals, and pay at market in base salary, and offer a less robust benefits package.

This becomes more complicated with a remote workforce as there are different considerations on how to pay. It’s important to reevaluate your current compensation philosophy and ensure it still allows you to attract and retain talent in the new environment. There isn’t a one size fits all approach. For example, Google has created a calculator that allows employees to see how their pay would change if they switch to working remotely permanently. Facebook and Twitter also cut pay for remote employees who move to less expensive areas, while others such as Reddit and Zillow are keeping pay constant regardless of location.

Even if you have had a remote workforce for many years and don’t change policies, the focus on this issue may be raising questions within your team. Be transparent about your company’s philosophy, and how it fits into your total rewards package. You can find more on compensation approaches for a remote workforce here as you evaluate next steps for your company.

Offer a home office stipend or co-working space

Creating the perfect home office environment can be expensive. Providing a stipend or reimbursement program to allow your team to purchase the furniture and equipment they need, as well as the decorative or personal touches that make them feel productive and energized, can be powerful and support employee engagement.

An allowance toward a shared office or membership for a co-working space may also help solve some challenges for remote workers. Providing an additional physical workspace for those who may not have suitable space within their home (or who just need a change of scenery) can go a long way in improving productivity and enhancing creativity. It can also help foster connections and relationships between co-workers.

As with many remote work benefits, flexibility is key. Some companies may find employees prefer a stipend, while some might find it works best to arrange a co-working space on a team’s behalf – especially for companies that have large cohorts of remote employees in specific locations.

Create mentoring programs

Most people crave connections with their team. When employees don’t come into an office every day, mentoring programs can create this connection. They can also reinforce and enhance your culture, and develop skills needed to make your company successful. A strong mentoring program can also foster diversity, equity and inclusion and develop leaders of the future.

Mentoring programs have also been shown to increase retention, particularly among high performers. When designing your mentor program, look for matches across departments, functions and locations to enhance communication and understanding throughout your remote workforce. This article on how to build a mentorship program that actually works will give you a few ways to get started.

Communicate total rewards early and often

A reward that is unseen, unfelt or unused is not a reward at all, it’s an opportunity missed. This is why it’s critical to communicate your total rewards package to your employees in a way that is timely, relevant and personal. Total rewards microsites, regular emails and webinars are just three examples of useful tools that provide employees with access to the information they need.

Depending on the resources within your company, this may be a project for HR, internal communications or even your entire leadership team. You can find more ideas to get started in this article on why digital benefits communication is a must-have for your hybrid workplace.

Bring it all together

When your total rewards programs are integrated with each other, your employees’ needs and desires, and your organization’s mission, vision and culture, you will create an unforgettable, employee experience that will allow you to recruit, retain and engage top talent.

As you consider your total rewards for your remote workforce, think about the following areas:

  • Do you know what your employees value?
  • Are you intentional about your total rewards and how they work together?
  • How do you monitor and measure the effectiveness of your total rewards package?
  • How do you communicate this to current and prospective employees?

An early investment in total rewards will help you attract and retain the talent you need to grow, succeed and reach your ambitious goals down the road. Even if you don’t have an HR team, spending time now to understand what your employees need and desire beyond just compensation will go a long way in creating an impactful program to engage and reward your employees for the future.

Founder tips for starting, managing and navigating your board

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Establishing a board of directors is more than just an obligation — it can be your secret weapon. A well-architected and well-managed board gives founders access to a broader network, proven operational advice, and entirely new ways of thinking. And while anyone can technically start a board, making it successful requires careful thought and intention.

There are plenty of articles, books and memes out there about how to run successful public and non-profit boards, but not as much candid advice on what does and doesn’t work for boards in the private sector.

So we sat down (well, Zoomed actually) with two of the most talented board builders and members we know — Allison Pickens, founder & investor at The New Normal Fund, and Ryan Denehy, founder & CEO at Electric — to hear their first-hand stories and tips.

Below are a few highlights from that conversation, but I’d encourage you to check out the full conversation here.

Forming and norming

The process and timing for forming a board will look different at every company. Some founders form a board immediately but treat it more as an advisory group for years. Many wait until they take capital and create a more formalized board as part of that process.

There’s no one answer, but the consistent advice from Allison and Ryan is to first carefully consider the capabilities, experience, and personalities that will compliment you and your executive team as you grow the business. When evaluating board members, especially independents, spend time assessing how your team works and what experience is missing on the team. Perhaps this is your first company and you need more operating experience. Or you want to add a customer to ensure the Voice of the Customer is front and center. Or you need industry-specific expertise and connections. Or you want to see how a potential new executive thinks before bringing them on board.

When evaluating board members, especially independents, spend time assessing how your team works and what experience is missing on the team.

That said, the devil is in the details. Bring on board members you can feel confident working with throughout the good times and the bad. The members of your board should serve as an extension of your team and share a passion for your company’s mission. As Ryan so eloquently put it in the webinar, the last thing you want is to end up with “a group of part-time bosses.”

Aim to keep the number of board seats small at the beginning. This could mean keeping the board to just you and a co-founder. Or the founders, your investors plus an independent. An independent board member can provide a fresh, unbiased perspective to your board and help diversify your dialogue in meetings to spark new ideas.

An independent board member can provide a fresh, unbiased perspective to your board and help diversify your dialogue in meetings to spark new ideas.

Diversity should be top of mind when it comes to board makeup, both from a gender perspective but also race, ethnicity, abilities, sexual orientation and those with non traditional board backgrounds. While many board members will have a background in finance, product and operations, consider how valuable it would be to have a Chief People Officer or Chief Marketing Officer at the table when making business shaping decisions — especially in today’s environment.

It’s a founder’s fiduciary obligation to the business to ensure a diverse range of thinking. In our conversation, Allison recommends looking at diversity across your board and executive team as a whole, when architecting for diversity. Having a board and leadership team that reflects society as a whole sends a powerful message, from the top down, that diversity, equity and inclusion is part of the company’s DNA.

It’s a founder’s fiduciary obligation to the business to ensure a diverse range of thinking.

Finding diverse candidates in your existing network might not be easy, but there are entire organizations dedicated to presenting minority board candidates to the companies that need them. Organizations like All Raise, theBoardlist and Athena Alliance, can serve up a list of potential candidates “on a silver platter”. Work with them. Don’t be a hero.

Once you’ve assembled the best minds, aim for minimal overhead and avoid multi-layered committee structures in the beginning. If you’re a $5M startup, you probably don’t need an audit committee right away. However, at a certain scale, a compensation committee might make sense to instill discipline around pay and equity, especially at the more senior levels.

At a certain scale, a compensation committee might make sense to instill discipline around pay and equity, especially at the more senior levels.

There may come a time when a member has contributed all that they can to your business, and that’s okay. Remember, this is supposed to be a collaborative, beneficial professional relationship, and as the company evolves, so should your board. To ensure you have the room to restructure your board in harmony with the needs of the company, you may want to implement term limits for your board members or establish a mutual check-in date. This gives you and each board member the opportunity to align on expectations and the grace to make changes for the sake of what the company needs at that time.

Creating an environment to engage, not direct

The notion of big, formal, multi-day, in-person board meetings are becoming less common, especially in light of the pandemic and the pace of business today. Allison and Ryan anticipate that as things progress, there will always be a place for both virtual and in-person meetings. However, those in-person interactions make a huge difference when it comes to trust and engagement.

There will always be a place for both virtual and in-person meetings. However, those in-person interactions make a huge difference when it comes to trust and engagement.

Organizations differ greatly in how frequently they meet. Most meet at least once a quarter, while some in the earlier stages of a company might meet every 6-8 weeks. Aim for shorter meetings, no more than 3 hours for virtual sessions, with a big focus on the prep materials. Those prep materials might range from a 70-slide presentation with data and program highlights to a simple well-structured memo. To cultivate a productive meeting, send meeting materials to board members 3-6 days in advance so they have time to adequately prepare and come with questions.

Your board needs to know how your business is performing, but also understand the high-level narrative of what’s happening in the business — where you’re going, why, what opportunities are ahead and what challenges are you facing. Don’t underestimate the power of storytelling at the board level.

Don’t underestimate the power of storytelling at the board level.

Board meetings can also be used as a catalyst to force thinking within the executive team. Shifting your mindset from “what do I need to present”, to “what do we need to accomplish”, will shape your board meetings to be about more than oversight and governance, and create a forum for exchanging ideas, recalibrating goals, and debating big decisions.

One way to ensure you get to those meaty discussions in board meetings is to communicate regularly with your members outside the formal meeting. Establish a cadence that works for you. It’s a smart investment of your time that will not only make conversations go more smoothly during the meeting, but also enrich your relationship with the board.

Navigating board conflict

Managing conflict and make-or-break decisions aren’t a matter of “if,” but “when”. The tough conversations are inevitable. Every sticky decision won’t be a matter of intensely polarizing opinions or full-contact conflict, sometimes the more challenging conversations come from lukewarm opinions or indecisiveness (especially behind the shield of a group call).

In either of these situations, it can help to speak with members individually before and after meetings to understand their perspective. Initiating 1:1 conversations with board members, asking pointed questions and listening deeply can give you a more complete picture to make a better decision. Getting a deeper understanding of people’s opinions or concerns may in some cases sway your original stance on a subject like a potential acquisition or expansion area. In other cases, it might cement your decision but give you context to getting detractors on board, or least comfortable with, moving forward.

Initiating 1:1 conversations with board members, asking pointed questions and listening deeply can give you a more complete picture to make a better decision.

Allison also suggests using your independent board members to help navigate these tricky conversations. Given their “neutrality” in the situation, they can be a very useful perspective across the board. Pun intended.

While we only scratched the surface of board best practices in this 45 minute webinar, the stories and tips Allison and Ryan shared provide some great food for thought for those looking to hone their skills in this area. Because there’s always room for improvement.

Have a listen here, or if you have other questions or comments on this topic hit me up on LinkedIn.

A flexible work model equals more than remote work

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To say that the pandemic changed how we work is a bit of an understatement.

The pandemic, for all it wrought, forced us all to set aside decades of preconceived notions for what is and is not acceptable at work. It taught us that teams could work together and accomplish some pretty amazing things even if we weren’t in the same room. It taught us that while we missed being in that same room, we had the tools and creativity we needed to connect, collaborate and engage in other ways. Perhaps most importantly, it taught us that we could be human at work. It was suddenly acceptable (and actually kind of sweet) when our co-workers’ kids or dogs found their way onto a video call, and we empathized rather than judged when someone said they needed a mental health day.

The pandemic, for all it wrought, forced us all to set aside decades of preconceived notions for what is and is not acceptable at work.

Now that we understand that work is less a place to go, and more about what we do, employees have made it clear that going back to the status quo simply isn’t going to cut it any more. There is a reason why 41% of workers globally are thinking about leaving their current employer this year.

Companies, especially people-based professional services firms, are doing what they can to adapt and stay ahead in a labor market that some recruiters have said is the craziest they’ve seen. Firms are reassessing remote work policies, rethinking office layouts and revamping benefits and pay to keep up with employee expectations, but that will only get them so far.

With salaries increasing, voluntary attrition off the charts, and backlogs that continue to grow, it’s clear the power dynamic has shifted from employer to employee. And employees have been pretty clear that one of the things they value most is more control and flexibility over where they work, when they work and how they work.

Flexible work is about more than location

Flexibility extends beyond allowing people to work from home when they want. That’s just location and remote work has been happening for decades.

When we started Appirio back in 2006, we were one of the few IT professional services firms to have a virtual workforce. While we had offices around the world, the majority of our employees worked from home (or farms, RVs, beaches…you name it). It was a huge recruiting advantage, especially when you’re in competition with deep-pocketed brands like Facebook or Google in your backyard. However, it also contributed to an empowered and engaged culture that many former Appirians still talk about today. Appirio’s key to success wasn’t that we “permitted” remote work, we optimized for it.

Appirio’s key to success wasn’t that we “permitted” remote work, we optimized for it.

We weren’t the only ones. Best Buy was experimenting with remote work as early as 2005 with its Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). According to a case study this month in the New Yorker, in 2008 “more than 80% of employees at Best Buy’s corporate headquarters were operating in a results-only work environment.”

Today, hybrid workforces or even fully remote workforces aren’t unique. According to a recent survey from The Information, 42% of respondents said their companies didn’t place limitations on where they could work.

If you’re looking to provide a flexible work environment, then enabling employees to choose where they work is simply table stakes. If everyone is doing it, it won’t set you apart. The more progressive companies are showing flexibility in when and how work gets done.

Providing flexibility in when and how people work

The 9 to 5 work day hasn’t existed (at least in technology) for a very long time. The Internet made it possible to access our work from anywhere. Cloud computing exacerbated it and COVID cemented it.

Our ability to work from anywhere, at anywhere (and to be found anywhere, at any time) means our work and home lives are now intertwined. While many lament the negative consequences of this, it also means that employers can be more flexible when it comes to work hours. At Tercera, we talk a lot about how third wave consultancies should emphasize outcomes rather than output, and focusing on employees’ accomplishments and contributions rather than work hours is a great example.

At Tercera, we talk a lot about how third wave consultancies should emphasize outcomes rather than output, and focusing on employees’ accomplishments and contributions rather than work hours is a great example.

One large Salesforce consulting company is in the process of rolling out a whole host of flexible work options. New policies cover everything from sabbaticals (any employee who has been at the company for 3 years may choose to take one month off unpaid), to half day Fridays (employees can choose to work longer hours during the week and take off Friday afternoons), to phased retirement or return (employees can gradually reduce or ramp their hours when retiring or returning to work). Some of these new options are new and some have been in place for a while, but the company is now making a concerted push to formalize and proactively communicate them.

They aren’t alone. There are other models that companies can explore to get ahead in today’s talent wars and to appeal to a more diverse workforce. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a huge area of investment for companies, but many leaders struggle to find, recruit and retain underrepresented groups when everyone is looking for the same profile. Flexible work models can help.

Part-time work

Probably the most common flexible work model is part-time work. While many companies already allow some employees to move from full-time to part-time work, it’s typically a reactive retention mechanism used as a tool to keep someone who is burnt out or to convince someone returning from medical or family leave to come back.
In today’s highly competitive talent environment, companies would be better off putting more structure and consistency around who can apply for part-time work and proactively offering it as a benefit.

In most countries, employees need to work a minimum number of hours to receive benefits so it might not be an option for everyone, but part-time work could be particularly appealing for working mothers who want to keep their career on track while also being there for their children, those with a disability who might need to balance medical appointments with work, or those who want to go back to school.

The 4-day work week

The 4-day work week is making a comeback, especially with new research coming out that shows a shorter work week can lead to greater employee productivity and well-being. Companies like Microsoft have been experimenting with the 4-day work week for years, and many see it as a way to reduce burnout and attrition.

The 4-day work week is making a comeback, especially with new research coming out that shows a shorter work week can lead to greater employee productivity and well-being.

Implementation of the 4-day work week can vary. Some companies expect employees to still work 40 hours a week, while others have cut workloads to 35 or 36 hours. Some companies use the model to recruit hard-to-find roles, while others make it an option for all employees. Some have instituted the policy permanently and others have offered it temporarily — often during summer months or after intense peaks of work. If there was ever a time to reduce burnout, now would be it!

Job sharing

Then there is job sharing — two workers sharing the responsibilities of one full-time position. For those old enough, this term might bring to mind the classic ‘80’s film “9 to 5”, but the model is actually alive and well in many sectors and regions around the world. When done right, job sharing has been proven not only to increase retention and job satisfaction, but also to increase diversity, innovation, productivity and performance. It shouldn’t be surprising – two brains is better than one. According to one researcher, job sharing also “fosters transparency, collaboration and knowledge sharing”, which is good for the success of any organization.

When done right, job sharing has been proven not only to increase retention and job satisfaction, but also to increase diversity, innovation, productivity and performance.

However, I have yet to speak to a firm that is actively offering job sharing to employees. And therein lies another opportunity to stand out in a highly competitive job market, especially when employees are burnt out and looking for more control over their time.

When I’ve asked leaders about whether this could work for their organization, the responses were varied. Some raised valid concerns about how this would impact budgets and benefits. Others questioned how they would manage customer coverage or team collaboration. Some were already thinking about it, but weren’t ready yet. However, there are organizations proving this model does work, and luckily, there are a growing number of consultancies like WorkMuse to help companies design and implement job sharing programs.

There are a few approaches to job sharing. Some job share pairs split coverage by day of the week with a day overlap and work on the same projects (called the twin model). Others work independently of each other, splitting coverage by task or skillset (called the island model).

There is also the apprenticeship model, where companies pair a senior employee who wants to ramp down hours to pursue other things (whether that’s retirement, going back to school or even starting a side gig that “scratches their itch”) with a more junior employee looking to gain experience. With today’s multigenerational workforce, and the pace of change in business and technology, this set up could greatly benefit not only the employee but the employer as well.

Where to start?

The goal with any flexible work policy should be to both meet employee needs while advancing outcomes for the business. Selecting which policies are right for your organization and implementing them in a way that takes into consideration tax and legal implications, regional and cultural nuances, and what’s good and fair for employees and customers takes both time and expertise.

I am not an expert in this area, but here are a few tips from those who are:

  • Start by asking employees what they value. Don’t assume. This can be done through existing employee engagement surveys, focus groups or skip levels. Pulse surveys done over time can be very helpful to understanding how needs change over time.
  • Experiment first. Before jumping into a mass rollout, conduct a pilot program with a small group or specific team. Or consider a trial period for the change. Use this to measure the effectiveness of the program and work out the kinks. Then you can adapt or scale as needed.
  • Find a partner to help. Don’t try to do this alone. There are experts out there who have helped organizations through change like this. Let them set you on the right path.
  • Communicate, communicate, communicate. No matter what model you choose, communication is key – between job sharers, between managers and employees, across teams and throughout the organization.

The most important thing you can do is to at least explore what flexible work models could work in your business now. COVID has given us a catalyst and a window of time to make real, lasting changes, and the labor crisis has increased the urgency of the situation. Those who simply revert back to the old way or just slightly evolve their workforce practices are going to be left short, especially during a time when companies need to prove they’re different.

Why B Corp certification may just be the edge to differentiate your firm

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When I started my internship with Tercera earlier this summer, I knew there would be a lot to learn. As a junior at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business studying for a BS in Information Systems & Management (and the daughter of a small business owner), I felt I had a pretty good foundation for how businesses work. But I also knew there is no substitute for real-world experience.

During my internship, as I was researching all things cloud, tech and consulting, I noticed that quite a few firms in this space were B Corps Certified. I was familiar with the term. Patagonia had introduced the term to me a few years ago, but I didn’t even think about why a services firm would want to become certified. A certification aimed at verifying social and environmental performance seemed far more suited for product and consumer goods companies like Ben & Jerry’s than people-based firms (many of which have remote workforces). Yet there they were, services firms highlighting their B Corps certification on websites, social media sites and careers pages, and I was intrigued.

Over the last few weeks, I was fortunate enough to interview a few representatives from B-corp certified services firms who explained the process, benefits, and why they were attracted enough to go through the lengthy endeavor. An endeavor that one of these individuals described as their “North Star” for building a purpose-driven organization and a big differentiator when it comes to recruiting.

#Bethechange

If you’re unfamiliar with the term B Corps, here’s what you’ll find on its website: “Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy”.

Started by three ex-private equity professionals, B Corps was founded on the idea that today’s issues cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone. The Wall Street alumni reflected on the work they were doing in respect to the conditions of the world around them and decided they wanted to use business as a way to enact positive change.

The certification

The process begins with a tool, the B Impact Assessment, which companies use to measure their existing impact on workers, their community, environment and customers. The questions are extensive and require time and effort to sort through — the whole process can take up to a year and a half, if completed as a background gig. Questions are given point values and topics range from ‘how much PTO do you allow employees’ to ‘how is your company cutting down on energy usage’ to ‘how diverse is your leadership team’.

You need to reach an 80 point minimum threshold to pass, and the process then continues with a B Corps representative checking records and documentation that prove you answered the questions accurately and honestly. I will note that there are some questions regarding supply chain and sourcing that services companies will automatically miss out on, but there are plenty of other areas in which your company can make up for lost points. Lastly, the certification does require yearly dues and upkeep to maintain, which is why it’s nice to have a designated person or team to manage the project.

Is it beneficial?

So, why have 3,500 companies worldwide already taken the pledge to abide by these rigorous, higher ethical standards of business? Well, let’s look at the stats:

  • A 2021 Gallup poll found that 81% of American respondents say a business’ impact on its local community matters, while another poll indicated 69% of American workers say a company’s environmental record is a factor when taking a job.
  • A 2018 Accenture study found that 62% of customers want companies to take a stand on current and broadly relevant issues like sustainability, transparency or fair employment practices.
  • A 2017 American Express study found that 68% of Millennials want to make a positive difference in the world through their careers, and 81% said a successful business needs to have a genuine purpose.

If the stats above are any indication for how workforce expectations and customer demands are trending, the success of any company – product or service – will depend not just on financial performance but also how they act on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. As growing trends of conscious consumerism boom and employees demand that the companies they choose to work with take action, my hope and hypothesis is that this new standard will become the norm in years to come.

But does it apply to services?

My preconception that B Corps was reserved strictly for product companies like Patagonia that need to appeal to eco-conscious consumers was eradicated when I came to understand that professional services are seeing it as a way to differentiate, attract talent, and become more purpose-driven.

Jolene Chan from Traction on Demand, a Salesforce consultancy with more than 1000 employees across the globe, explained how the certification process and the metrics put in place by B Corps have been a “North Star” in guiding decision making. Jolene is Traction’s new Chief Impact Officer — a role you’ll likely see pop up more and more now that companies are bringing these issues up to the executive and board level.

Choosing to become B certified, or implementing other consciously-based business processes, seems especially important for people-driven companies where recruiting and team engagement are so important. Simone Marin from Trineo, another cloud services firm specializing in the Salesforce ecosystem said the B-corp process has helped shape the way in which the company makes decisions. Beyond the initial certification process, it has also been able to translate the questions into a way to monitor progress and continuously improve business processes.

Trineo isn’t alone. A number of services companies have highlighted talent acquisition and retention as a benefit. As stated on the B Corps site, Tiffany Jana of TMI Consulting, said her biggest surprise after becoming certified was “the social capital B Corp community membership gave me with millenials… I no longer search for high-potential staff; they now come to me”.

Simone emphasized this point as well, describing how the majority of Trineo’s potential new employees expressed that their initial draw to the company was the certification, which they’re also hoping to use in the future to attract clients who share similar values.

With the labor shortage happening now (and expected to continue) in professional services, companies will need a competitive edge in order to attract millennials and future generation workforces.

My humble opinion

Coming from someone who’s about to join the workforce and has spoken with many peers on the issue, I believe the majority of us will be looking to join companies that share values like those highlighted in the B Corps process. We understand how pivotal it is for our shared future to address environmental, social and community issues, and we want to work with businesses and business leaders who also want to ‘be the change’.

The very first class that business students are required to take at my school is BUS 101: Professional Responsibility and Business. It’s here that we were introduced to the framework developed by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in 2011 known as shared value, or value that accounts for employees, supply chains, society, AND the environment; not just stakeholders.

The fact of the matter is that companies now have an opportunity to hold themselves accountable, to take responsibility, and to become a force for positive change in a world that so desperately needs it. My generation will demand these practices be a part of the business model, and in some cases, will even become the “Why” for going into business in the first place. That was my reason!

If you want to attract the best and brightest of the next gen workforce, and keep up with today’s ever-demanding expectations, I would consider checking out the B Corps certification to see if it’s an attainable goal for your company. If not, there are still plenty of ways to make positive change; B Corp just gives you the verified do-good stamp of approval.

If you do decide to go down this path, my last piece of advice would be to act fast! B Corps is currently experiencing an overwhelming surge of interest, which, from my perspective, is extremely hopeful and encouraging, and from a business standpoint may just be the catalyst needed to get going on this grand, do-good venture.

27 questions to create your country playbook when expanding internationally

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For first-time CEOs and founders, the decision to expand internationally can be both exciting and daunting — as it should be. Expanding into new regions can spur growth and open up a world of possibilities, but it also adds a level of complexity that not every leadership team is ready for, especially without first-hand experience operating in that region.

In part 1 of my blog series on international expansion, I shared a strategic approach for how services firms can tackle international expansion, based on my own personal experience. It covered topics like when to expand, where to go first, how to work with partners, and ways to mitigate risks like culture dilution and financial readiness.

In part 2, I’ll dive deeper into what happens once you decide to make the move. Specifically, how to create a global operating framework that can support your expansion into each new country — what I call your country playbook.

What is a country playbook?

A country playbook is in essence an operating framework for international expansion, providing structure and information needed to expand into a new country or region in a disciplined, repeatable way. It’s the operating manual that brings your strategy to life.

A country playbook can align the leadership team with the new leaders on the ground in a new region. It can reduce risk, speed decision making and guide the new team to operate with the same vision for customer experience, culture and employee experience while still allowing for local flexibility.

While a country playbook should provide enough detail to answer the most common questions about expansion, it doesn’t need to be long or formal. It just needs to provide your leaders with the direction they need to understand and execute on your strategy—and feel empowered to make decisions that will benefit everyone involved.

What are the components of a country playbook?

There are two parts to a successful country playbook: a global overview and country specifics.

The global overview provides a high-level structure that can be used across countries, covering items like company positioning, sales differentiators, the scope of services to be provided, the customer value proposition, financial modeling and governance frameworks. This part of the playbook also includes information to help country leaders with hiring, providing clear expectations about alignment with your culture.

The playbook must also address country-level nuances linked to your overall strategy. For example, the specific roles you might need in-country for delivery versus what you can centralize through a center of excellence model. It might also include specific services or capabilities that best fit the customers and partner maturity in that market.
Since each country and situation is unique, this article will focus on the 5 areas that should be part of the global overview: 1) culture; 2) team; 3) services & go-to-market; 4) governance; and 5) financial model.

When thinking about each of these areas, look to expand through fractal growth. By this I mean branching off from an existing offering or point of strength, which helps to create consistency and alignment between regions. Below is an illustration for how this might look as you expand your market interactions, people processes and customer experience into a new country.

Culture

Solidifying and scaling your existing company culture should be top of the list when it comes to global expansion. You have to get it right, and so do the country leaders hiring your new team. Your country playbook gives you an opportunity to embed your existing culture into each new market from the start, weaving your mission and customer experience into the fabric of each country’s operating framework.

To help you get started, your playbook should address questions such as:

  • What is your stated vision, values and brand promise as a company?
  • When your company hires a new leader, how can the team make sure they’re aligned with your values and cultural DNA?
  • What are your norms and rituals as a company, and what can you/should you bring to the new region?
  • What kind of differentiated experience do you expect to provide to customers and employees in this new market based on existing brand expectations in other markets?
  • How can you translate your corporate culture into how you manage processes, performance and compensation while leaving room for local nuances?

 

Team

Thinking through how teams will be structured within and across regions in advance will not only create efficiencies of scale and limit conflicts down the road, it will also speed up recruiting and productivity. Your country playbook should provide guidance on how you will manage customer relationships inside and between regions, what kind of support will be provided from headquarters versus what talent is needed locally, and what you can serve out of nearby regions. This is especially important for customer-facing and leadership roles.

Certain economies of scale can come from centralization and filling some roles from nearby regions, however, these decisions must take into consideration regulatory, cultural and language differences between regions. You will likely want to fill in-country customer-facing roles (e.g. country management, sales, project managers, solution architects) by hiring local/native people, while leveraging global support functions for scale. Some companies will fly-in top experts or tap into global virtual delivery teams, or, when you have a first team in place and some traction, use nearshore and/or offshore facilities.

Your playbook should address questions such as:

  • What leadership roles are needed, and will those be hired locally or through existing leadership?
  • What is your delivery model? What are the services you need/intend to deliver locally or globally?
  • What is your partnership strategy for a given market?
  • How are you going to train your employees and manage their competencies?
  • How are you going to staff projects?
  • How are you going to structure work arrangements with subcontractors?
  • When it comes to forecasting how can you anticipate and prepare for demand?
  • How are you going to manage customer satisfaction?

 

Services and GTM

When it comes to the services, you’ll want to build a country-tailored portfolio mix and go-to-market strategy. This strategy should be based on the size and potential of the targeted market, the offerings most needed by your partner ISVs in that region, and the competition analysis you conducted prior to making the decision to expand. That portfolio shouldn’t reinvent the wheel, but instead be grounded in the services that already set you apart in your home market. For example, if 80% of your customer references are in the financial sector or are of a certain size, it makes sense to focus there in the new country.

Your playbook should address questions such as:

  • What specific services should we offer in each country?
  • What is the value proposition of those services?
  • To what extent will our offering differ from what we sell elsewhere in the world?
  • How does our pricing in this country compare to the rest of the world?
  • What markets or services do we want to say no to (e.g. public sectors, staff aug, etc.)?
  • What is your local plan to build/develop your customer-facing brand?

 

Governance

Governance frameworks and approvals should also be built into the playbook, breaking responsibilities down locally, globally and regionally. This part of the playbook should address who makes the decisions, and how that relates to your strategy and services.

Your playbook should address questions such as:

  • What level of decision making or approvals are needed when it comes to customer contracts?
  • How do we handle fixed-price proposals?
  • What are the thresholds on approvals and who needs to be involved?
  • Who makes the final decisions on hiring? Does that vary by role?

 

Financial model
Last but not least you will want to define your financial model and the budget implications of decisions being made. Your playbook should address structural models like how you’ll manage the P&L, and think through those decisions.

Your playbook should address questions such as:

  • Will we manage P&L by country, region or globally?
  • How do we align and create consistency between our P&L philosophy, incentives, compensation policies and governance?
  • How do we cope with intercompany subcontracting to ensure that countries/markets who host our expert resources are incentivized to support the start of new markets?
  • Who is financially responsible for budget overruns?

 

Once you have your global framework in place, you can dive deeper into the specific country-level detail. This should also be an evolving document. It will only continue providing value if it remains up to date and considers lessons you learn as you expand into more countries. So leave room for growth while ensuring your current playbook alleviates misunderstanding and miscommunication. Revisit the questions in here and add to those based on the situations that occurred in earlier rollouts and talk to your regional leaders to see what else would’ve helped them as they took their first steps.

If you’re a founder or CEO looking to expand internationally, and need capital or counsel to support your move, get in touch with Tercera. Or connect with me on LinkedIn with specific questions. We might be able to help!

Strategies to survive the talent war in the cloud’s third wave

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After working 15 years in talent strategy, recruiting and people operations for tech and IT consulting companies, I thought I had seen pretty much all there was to see when it came to trends in hiring. Then the universe laughed. Cue 2020, the year that changed the world, trapped us in our homes, and created unemployment levels we hadn’t seen since the Great Depression.

Now in 2021, we’re seeing demand for nearly everything come rushing back – especially demand for tech talent. Nearly everyone is short-staffed, but the problem is particularly significant for professional services companies, whose revenue correlates directly to having the right people to do the work. Cleveland Research estimates that many technology service partners are already 20-25% short on the people needed to deliver on their existing book of business.

With customer demand coming back faster than expected in some regions, and COVID still causing devastation in regions with a high concentration of tech talent like India, service providers are fighting a war to attract and keep top talent. Many companies are throwing money at the problem by raising salaries, instituting referral and signing bonuses, etc. This may be a necessary tactic given the current state of things, but there are other things companies can do to attract top talent that may have a more lasting effect on their employer brand. Before I go there though, let’s talk about how we got here.

What is driving the war for talent?

Even the companies who emerged from 2020 successful were cautious about hiring throughout last year, unsure of how the pandemic would impact their businesses and what a recovery would look like. On the flip side, employees were equally uncertain. Even those employees who had survived rounds of layoffs chose not to make job moves last year, sticking with the job they had so they could focus on juggling the unique nuances of the pandemic, like home schooling.

All that pent up demand is now being released as the economy recovers. Tech companies are resuming growth, with many seeing a huge spike in demand from customers that put off projects during the pandemic. The hiring required to keep up with demand, combined with the layoffs, furloughs and lack of hiring from the last year, means we’re now seeing 18 months worth of hiring squeezed into a few quarters – often from the same pool of candidates.

This is happening at the same time employees are feeling more optimistic and are starting to make the career moves they’ve been putting off for the past 12-18 months. Prudential’s Pulse on the American Worker Survey estimates that 1 in 4 workers is planning to look for new opportunities once the pandemic is over. While this data isn’t tech-specific or services-specific, it does point to a growing trend that seems to already be taking place when I see the growing attrition rates happening in firms.

While this supply and demand imbalance might feel incredibly acute right now, the challenges associated with hiring experienced and motivated tech talent will remain for years to come. Tercera’s recent ebook on the Third Wave of cloud computing points to a growing digital skills gap that cloud consultancies will need to address in the coming years.

This is why it’s time to rethink the way you recruit for talent, not only to get through our current talent situation but to prepare for the future. This new generation of talent has been shaped forever by a global pandemic, and convincing them to join a company now requires far more thought and finesse than simply throwing money at them and offering free food for offices they may not even visit.

Three trends changing recruiting in a post-COVID era

The interview process has accelerated.

In the past, even candidates for remote positions would typically come into the office for in-person interviews at the final stages of the process. Today, most companies have gone to all-virtual interviewing. This opens things up to move a lot faster, even if a candidate is interviewing with the same number of people as they would have before. It also means people can interview with many more companies at once from the convenience of their computer screen, allowing them to assess their options and the market more thoroughly. While these virtual-only interviews may get balanced out with in-person conversations post COVID, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see a full return to the old way of interviewing. Nor should we.

Candidates are all in on loving what they do.

For many, 2020 caused a perspective shift because it showed us just how short life is. People are rethinking their priorities; in response, employers need to meet candidates where they are, learning about what that individual is looking for. It’s more important than ever that recruiters can connect job tasks with a greater purpose – both for the company and for the candidate.

Companies may need to rethink offers.

Salaries for some of the most skilled or niche employees are already high, but the gap between supply and demand is boosting them further. While many companies default to boosting salary offers when fighting for top talent, they must balance this with offering other attractive benefits to lure people in. Otherwise, they risk having new hires stall out on pay once they arrive, because they came in at the top of the salary range. Companies are realizing they need to hire and develop instead of simply looking to find that unicorn candidate with the perfect set of skills and hoping they’ll stick around.

It’s time to build your employer brand

Companies need to build a brand that extends beyond one that customers want to work with, to one that employees want to work for. This is especially important for people-based businesses. You won’t have too many happy customers without great people to support them. When I counsel my clients at Cultivate Talent, I recommend they bring together the following elements to create a brand, story and processes to attract top talent in a post-COVID world.

Start with your purpose

People are looking for purpose and connection – a reason to work for your company beyond compensation. Make sure your organization, and everyone in your organization, understands why you do what you do and make it a core element of your employer brand perspective. This will have an impact far beyond just recruiting. Telling this story and how this purpose looks in practice on your website, in your meetings, on your social feeds and across future content will help you build a pipeline of candidates you can tap into 3-12 months from now. In the end, it’s important to convey the greater impact you’re trying to have beyond the services you offer.

Create an army of brand ambassadors

While you may not know it, your employees are the best and most credible advocates for your brand. They can become ambassadors by expressing their passion for your company and its work through their own social media posts, which is one great way to generate energy and interest. You can help your employees do this by creating content they can share. However, be sure you leave it open for them to preserve authenticity in what they say. That will resonate better than any produced message ever could.

Focus on culture

This one should already be at the top of your recruiting strategy but it’s becoming even more important. People are craving connection—particularly if they’re working virtually. Professional services firms will have to talk more than ever about their vision and values, centering their business and their people around these ideals. More companies are ensuring their job postings link to passion and fulfillment, telling stories through their current employees’ voices, sharing what they’ve done to make an impact in the last year and focusing on how they led their people and their businesses during 2020 or what it feels like to work there .

Change your recruiting mindset

Just as people should nurture their networks and not tap into them only when they need something, companies need to do the same. Don’t only reach out to people when you have an open role. Instead, create regular opportunities for people who are interested in your company to learn about you and what you’re doing. Create the expectation within your organization that recruiting is every leader’s job – not just HR’s. People go to work with people, especially in a services business, so capitalize on that and deploy your incredible leaders to bring in more top talent.

Rethink benefits

While candidates don’t make their decisions solely based on benefits, offering competitive and unique options can make them stay once they’ve come onboard. Unique benefits like four-day work weeks, more all-company holidays where everyone has off so people can actually tune out, or giving people paid time away from work to serve in their community are attractive and hard to replace.

Benefits should also prioritize mental health, self-care and wellbeing. Historically, mental health benefits have been overlooked or buried within an overall benefits package. Today, employees expect their companies to care about their health holistically, extending past traditional medical benefits to include gym and wellness memberships, free access to various mental health apps and more.

Optimize for remote work

It’s unclear whether the shift to “work from anywhere” will remain as companies shift to hybrid models or even a return to full-time, office-based positions. However, firms that optimize their operations for a virtual workforce, and who make in-person attendance the exception rather than the rule, will be much better prepared to recruit for the future.

The coming year will be both exciting and challenging for our entire industry. I hope this advice can make your recruiting efforts even more successful, although keep in mind, recruiting is only the first half of the battle. Once you’ve got talent in the door, the real work begins to ensure they stay engaged and enthusiastic to ensure your long-term success. Stay tuned for more insights on how to keep employees happy and connected to your mission once they’re onboard.

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