For many, commuting to the office every morning is an engrained daily ritual. We throw together a quick breakfast, get dressed in a sleepy haze and pour fresh coffee into our travel mugs before rushing out the door into the hustle of the world – or, more recently, take 10 steps to the laptop sitting at our kitchen tables.
So what happens when that ritual is disrupted?
Last year flipped the way organizations conduct business upside down and required a lot of quick thinking with little to no previous insight on how to transition to remote work in such a substantial way. This not only affected business practices, but the employees putting in the labor while trying to function in a socially-distanced environment. While virtual meetings and hangout channels entered into the standard work vocabulary, so did terms like “burnout” and “Zoom fatigue.”
After frequently consulting with remote teams, company leaders realized the necessity of access to additional benefits that were previously unavailable in standard perk packages. While it became clear that mental health and wellness were important, so was having access to other resources such as home office budgets, child care assistance and human connection.
“We had several benefits pre-COVID that we were not promoting nor taking full advantage of,” Audrianna Hart, human resources director at Gloo, said. “Since the pandemic, we have put more emphasis on our employee assistance program.”
Built In Colorado sat down with four tech leaders to hear about navigating the evolving benefits packages that have been introduced over the past year and the ways their teams have not only persevered, but thrived, since going remote.
Denver-based software company Fivetran replicates applications, databases, events and files into cloud warehouses so that data analysts can focus less on engineering and more on driving insights. Human Resources Business Partner Katie McDonald said that by transitioning from an unlimited time-off policy to a generous PTO accrual plan, employees were motivated to dedicate more time to wellness and prevent burnout.
How have your company benefits changed over the last year of working remotely?
To support working fully remote due to the pandemic, we implemented a work-from-home stipend to help staff with home office needs. We were also experiencing employees not taking enough time off to recharge, so we transitioned from an unlimited time-off policy to a very generous PTO accrual plan to encourage more time away.
What’s a benefit you had pre-COVID that you’ve doubled down on since going remote?
One benefit we don’t highlight enough is our employee assistance program that provides access to counselors over the phone for emergency calls or scheduled appointments. This past year has been so challenging for most people, and this is a great resource to have if you are struggling or just need support or advice.
[Our employee assistance program] is a great resource to have if you are struggling or just need support or advice.”
What’s a benefit you got rid of after going remote that you plan to bring back once your team returns to the office, and why?
We will bring back our office lunches, snacks and beverages, and team events and outings once it’s safe to be back. I am so looking forward to being together in person again and benefiting from the energy and focus our office brings me!
Gloo provides predictive analytics technology that empowers organizations to better serve and support their employees through personal growth. Human Resources Director Audrianna Hart explained that Gloo’s teams will be going fully remote after a productive 2020 and that the reinvented office space will be dedicated to promoting team culture.
How have your company benefits changed over the last year of working remotely?
After seeing the engagement and productivity of our staff in 2020, we have chosen to institute a remote-first policy. All employees will have the opportunity to work remotely and set their work schedule around Gloo’s core working hours. Additionally, we have reinvented our office space and will be using it going forward for culture, collaboration and community.
What’s a benefit you had pre-COVID that you've doubled down on since going remote?
We had several benefits pre-COVID that we were not promoting nor taking full advantage of. Since the pandemic, we have put more emphasis on our employee assistance program with its free counseling sessions; our parental support program, Villyge; and educating employees on the use of the fully-funded health savings account.
Since the pandemic, we have put more emphasis on our employee assistance program.”
What’s a benefit you got rid of after going remote that you plan to bring back, and why?
Pre-COVID, we had a weekly Friday social hour to allow employees to decompress and connect with cross-functional colleagues in a social setting. Since going remote, we have moved to a virtual replacement, which has seen less participation. We hope to bring the onsite social hour back later this year with smaller groups and a biweekly cadence.
Using next-generation sequencing technology, Invitae develops tests that detect the genetic variations associated with cancers and inherited disease. Since transitioning to a remote setting, the team created a web store for employees to acquire office equipment without waiting for reimbursement and expanded access to mental health resources, according to Benefits Manager Christine Conway.
How have your company benefits changed over the last year?
At Invitae, we have labs and offices located throughout the world that consist of a distributed workforce with many employees working remotely. Our benefit offerings have been designed taking this into account. Because our labs have remained operational during the pandemic, we do have some essential employees on site. For employees who are required to work on site, we began offering free COVID-19 testing.
In addition to our pre-pandemic benefit offerings, we started stocking our online Invitae store with standard office equipment that makes it easier to set up a home office, such as monitors and other computer accessories. This has allowed employees to save time by not having to research and seek out their own products or submit expense reimbursements. We also ramped up our offering of ergonomic evaluations for home office setups via Zoom. To help parents and caregivers who were adapting to children being home from school, we created a weekly support group and Slack channel to allow parents to vent, share tips and offer support and encouragement to one another. Our employee resource groups expanded as well, allowing for more virtual connection.
What’s a benefit you had pre-COVID that you’ve doubled down on?
We previously had a very generous mental health benefit built into our health insurance in addition to our employee assistance program, which provides three free face-to-face sessions and a 24/7 phone line. We also have a virtual yoga class twice a week. As a result of COVID, we added a biweekly virtual meditation session hosted by employees. We now provide Wellness Coach, a digital wellness platform that provides real coaching and tools for mental, physical, social and financial well-being. Another benefit we added at the beginning of this year is SpringHealth, which provides six sessions with a mental health professional.
We created a weekly support group and Slack channel to allow parents to vent, share tips and offer support and encouragement to one another.”
What’s a new benefit you’ve added since the transition to remote work that you plan to keep after your team returns to the office, and why?
In October 2020, Boulder-based ArcherDX joined forces with Invitae. The transaction resulted in enhanced benefit offerings for former ArcherDX employees, including very competitive medical and dental options, restricted stock unit grants and an employee stock purchase plan that enables employees to purchase company stock at a discounted rate.
Our office has a catered lunch two days a week and our break room is stocked with a variety of snack, beverage and grab-and-go meal choices. Having these amenities makes coming to work easier and site-required employees feel cared for. We plan to keep these benefits in place and add to them when more teams can safely return to the office.
Social enterprise company PAIRIN aims to make education more relevant and hiring more equitable by providing personalized tools for learning, professional development and hiring. Chairman and CEO Michael Simpson said that providing employees with more flexible schedules to spend extra time with family and experience new places simultaneously improved work results while decreasing stress.
How have your company benefits changed over the last year of working remotely?
When everyone began working from home, we provided a home office stipend to help our team create ergonomic workspaces. We added virtual gatherings to build relationships. We also changed our hiring plan to allow for remote-only hires — something we hadn’t planned to do for another year because we desired to build our local culture. Now we have one employee who lives on an island off the U.S. coast, another in England and several in other states.
What’s a benefit you had pre-COVID that you’ve doubled down on since going remote?
We’ve always focused on results and have been quite flexible regarding when and where people work. We encouraged our team to travel during the pandemic to spend time with family, stay healthy and get outdoors. Many rented Vrbos and worked in other states, so we gave them greater flexibility regarding their schedules. It was a stressful year in 2020, so we let employees take every other Friday off throughout November and December under the condition that they did something that refreshed them and shared it with the team on Monday.
The thing we are most looking forward to is the spontaneity of random connections.”
What’s a benefit you got rid of after going remote that you plan to bring back once your team returns to the office, and why?
The thing we are most looking forward to is the spontaneity of random connections; walking by someone’s desk and having a conversation, going to lunch together, office grill-outs every Friday, face-to-face happy hours. We really like each other and love spending time together. We will drink deep of the benefit of human connection and all that entails.
