With 1.72m freelancers in the UK, and that number on the rise, it seems more and more people are seeking alternative models of employment to the traditional nine to five office job.
One of the major drivers of this change is a desire for greater autonomy – a greater sense of control over how, when and where people work. Numerous studies on motivation (particularly among Generation Y or the so called millennials) suggests autonomy is one of the top three sources of motivation for young workers.
Reflecting on my personal choice to become an entrepreneur, one of the primary reasons was definitely the sense of freedom and autonomy it provides. So something which has preoccupied me over the last few months is how I can empower my team and offer them the same notion of freedom and autonomy that I seek. Is it paradoxical to assume that it is possible for employees to be autonomous?
Here are four areas fellow business owners should consider when looking to transition towards a more autonomous workforce:
1) ‘The office’ is a state of mind
More and more people are choosing to work remotely and are often more productive as a result. I try and work at least one day a week from home, which saves me approximately two and a half hours by not commuting. Offering the choice of remote working will be appealing to new recruits. Our mantra at Enternships is: as long as it gets done it doesn’t matter where you are doing it from!
2) Embrace technology
In order to facilitate good communication between team members who are working from multiple locations it is important to have the appropriate technological tools that enable team members to interact easily. At Enternships we use Google Hangouts to communicate internally as well as Skype (mainly with external clients.) We also have VOIP (Voice-over-IP) phone lines, which can easily be re-directed to other mobile numbers when no-one is in the office to take the call. Other software tools such as Slack and Yammer are also worth investigating.
3) Say goodbye to the nine to five
With technology companies in particular the nine to five culture simply doesn’t exist. What you will find is that those working in technology roles, such as developers, often prefer later starts in the day and favour working much later hours – often throughout the night. Be open-minded when it comes to your employees’ working hours, especially where they are not in client-facing roles. Ultimately, I would rather my colleagues operate at their best and I am less concerned about them clocking in at 9am and then leaving at 5pm.
4) Trust your employees
If you trust your team members, more often than not they will step up and take responsibility. It then becomes less about the structures you have in place and more about the culture you wish to instil. If you can empower your team members to take ownership of their work and show them that as leaders we have full faith in their abilities, you are likely to be surprised by what they will achieve.
There is a lot we can learn from others who have trailblazed in transforming their cultures. Take Valve, a multi-billion dollar software company, which is often lauded as the poster-child of a flat company and ‘boss-less’ structure. They have created a unique culture and way of working which we can take inspiration from and have an employee handbook which is a must-read. It is however one of only a few examples we can publicly cite.
While work is being undertaken by the Holacracy movement to champion new forms of organisational structure and working, we need to understand more about the challenges and opportunities that arise when rethinking organisations.
In a connected economy every employee should be seen as a node and expert in their domain. I see my role as CEO as being the “Chief Energising Officer” – to act as a catalyst in providing the purpose and broader vision which the team can rally behind. It’s clear to me that in order to retain the very best talent, employers need to embrace change and their attitudes towards their employees. Startups are already leading the way in this arena and pushing the boundaries to attract the very best. While it can seem like relinquishing control, I predict that with the rise of the millennial workforce we will see a new norm emerge in the workplace.
Rajeeb Dey is the CEO of Enternships
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