Make Results Matter

By Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson 

In a results-only work environment (ROWE), each person is free to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, as long as the work gets done. Managers trust employees to accomplish their duties and are evaluated based on results rather than how much time they log in at their desks.

There is no need for schedules in a ROWE, nobody feels overworked or stressed, and no one talks about how many hours they worked. People at all levels stop wasting the company’s time and money. Teamwork, morale and engagement soar, and there is no judgment about how people spend their time. Work is no longer a place you go but something you do.

In 2004, when we implemented ROWE at the corporate offices of Best Buy in Richfield, Minn., productivity went up, on average, 41 percent, and voluntary turnover rates dropped as much as 90 percent.

We didn’t need a C-suite level mandate to institute ROWE at Best Buy, and neither do you. You can create a results-only culture in your organization starting with your team. Here’s how:

Step 1: Attach to your desire. It’s up to you to introduce ROWE to your team. Let us rephrase that: If you can no longer accept working against common sense, go through another bout of Sunday-night dread, or experience one more flavor-of-the-month program that ends up doing nothing for your team or organization, you need to introduce ROWE. Ask:

• Why is ROWE a better way of living and working?
• What could I achieve in my life in a ROWE that I couldn’t achieve if I stayed in a traditional work environment?
• How would family, friends, community or church benefit if I had a ROWE lifestyle?
• How would my productivity, creativity and overall business results be affected in a ROWE?

If your answers reinforce your resolve to seek a better way to work and live, and you decide to pursue ROWE, know that it will be a challenging journey. But it will have great rewards. Put your answers to these questions in a safe place so you can look at them when the going gets tough; they will keep you grounded in why you need to continue moving toward ROWE.

Step 2: Find a partner. Once you make the commitment to pursue ROWE for your team, enlist a partner. Together, you can meet the challenge and keep each other motivated. Most teams, departments and organizations meet the idea of ROWE with immediate resistance. After all, you’re going against decades of corporate dogma. The ROWE philosophy is bound to be questioned. And when that questioning turns into obstruction, you’ll be glad you have a partner.

When approaching a potential partner, ask:

• Has this person recognized that ROWE will have a tremendous impact on his or her life and the way he or she works?
• Will he or she hold steady as you gain buy-in for ROWE?
• Does he or she have political influence or a track record of gaining support for new ideas?
• Does he or she possess complementary traits to yours, and, if so, how can you utilize those traits to your advantage?

As a twosome, you will experience a range of emotions, and you want to ensure that your partnership can weather this exciting, though sometimes frustrating, journey.

Step 3: Find one leader. Find a leader from whom you can obtain support. You need one person willing to put the stamp of approval on a ROWE pilot for one team or department. If you’re in a small company, this may be the owner, president or chief executive officer, and the ROWE pilot could include everyone. If you’re in a mid-size or large company, this could be the manager or director or vice president of a team or department. Whatever his or her title, you’re looking for someone:

• Open to innovative ideas. You want someone who will express a healthy interest in a ROWE. It’s natural for people to have questions and "what if" scenarios, but those questions should come from a place of hope, not pessimism.
• Admired. In every organization, there are people who have positive influence over others. Their influence is exerted in indirect ways, but mainly, others look up to them for their histories of good choices, their steady voices in the face of uncertainty, and their abilities to lead employees and produce stellar business results through conventional and unconventional means.
• Steadfast. You want the leader you choose to be able to stand up to criticism from peers and stay the course.

When you think you’ve found a candidate, have a conversation. Talk about ROWE and how you think it’s a business strategy that could improve productivity, retention and employees’ sense of work/life balance. Have a five-minute presentation prepared, but avoid going too deep into the ROWE philosophy in this conversation. Look for interest. If you get it, set up a time to come back and talk more.

You and your partner may need to talk to a few people to find the right leader, or you may find one right away. However it happens, trust your gut. If you get a twinge that says, "He or she won’t be able to do this," steer clear and keep looking. We learned this lesson after lots of frustration. When we were migrating teams at Best Buy, we spent a lot of energy trying to convince leaders that ROWE was a sound business strategy. We realized that it was better to foster believers rather than try to convince naysayers. So be picky. Once word gets out that you are a fan of ROWE, others may even seek you out.

Step 4: Lay it on the line. Once you have a leader interested, secure his buy-in for ROWE. You’ve already screened him as a visionary leader and risk-taker who won’t get easily discouraged. He will appreciate the data supporting ROWE but will understand that there’s a larger human and societal impact to this kind of work environment.

Highlight points in each document that pertain to your team, department or company, and play them up. We know leaders have questions about the day-to-day logistics of running a ROWE, so we offer "Yeah, but" scenarios throughout our book, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: No Schedules, No Meetings, No Joke—The Simple Change That Can Make Your Job Terrific (Bright House Inc., 2008).

Encourage the leader to commit to leading the pilot ROWE team. Let him or her know that a pilot is only a test, and it doesn’t commit the entire company. Get the leader to agree to let results and metrics decide. The ROWE journey is a leap of faith for even the most forward-thinking leaders. When you receive commitment, celebrate. If you need to select another leader, work with your partner to do so. But remember that persistence pays off.

Step 5: March ahead. The first chapter in your journey, one of the most difficult parts, is over. You have the green light to conduct a ROWE pilot. Now, execute. Pilot a results-only work environment for six months, checking in periodically to address concerns that are hardest for co-workers, such as every meeting being optional. Once you’ve documented results, begin to share them with other departments to help spread the benefits and challenges associated with this way of working. When results are the only measurement, you can balance your work and life and effect change in your family and your community.

If you work in an office environment, you can have a ROWE. But no one is going to place it in your lap. You’ll need to do some work, but your hard work will pay off.