“It feels like half the company got a dog, according to our #puppiesandstuff Slack channel.”
Rapid7 Commercial Sales Manager Jeff Bielefeld told Built In Boston that life has changed in an adorable way for many of his colleagues, and his intuition is probably correct: 23 million Americans welcomed a pet into their families during the pandemic.
New furry best friend or not, employees have evolved their lifestyles over the last few years — and savvy tech companies are adopting new features and styles to meet them halfway.
“Many people moved out of the city, got a dog, rented places across the country and started families,” Bielefeld said. “We respect that shift and want to create a working model that fosters flexibility and collaboration.”
As a manager, Bielefeld revels in being able to offer his team the flexibility they need to care for themselves and their families. “Taking away the stress of a more rigid structure means they can work in a way that is most effective for them — and for the company,” he said.
Chris Gika, senior director of strategic growth at Teikametrics, echoed the sentiment. He explained that the company moved away from a reserved desk, onsite system to a more organic work environment. “This flexibility has empowered team members to be comfortable working from home and not shoulder the burden of commuting to the office,” Gika said.
For the sake of human children, fur babies, plant pets and beyond, tech leaders are enjoying the latitude they can provide their teams to lead fulfilling lives beyond the office. Built In Boston connected with managers from Rapid7 and Teikametrics to discuss the many upsides of hybrid work.
Rapid7 is a security and software company that strives to help organizations advance securely. Its technology, services and community-focused research are designed to simplify complexity for security teams — helping them reduce vulnerabilities, monitor for malicious behavior, investigate and shut down attacks and automate routine tasks. The software company has adopted a flexible hybrid policy when it comes to in-office time. “The overall message is that managers are encouraged to find the guidelines and practices that work best for their specific teams and our customers,” Commercial Sales Manager Jeff Bielefeld told Built In.
Briefly describe your company’s hybrid model.
Rapid7’s current hybrid model encourages employees to come into the office three times per week. Beyond that, people are encouraged to work with their manager to determine the right cadence for their team. We also have the option for employees to apply to become a 100 percent remote worker, depending on their role.
Our East commercial sales organization comes in on Wednesdays to be together one out of the three in-person days. When we are together, we’ve observed that the energy is higher, people have fun and there are more opportunities for spontaneous learning and problem solving.
I personally come in, at minimum, Tuesday through Thursday. This allows me to be a resource for those who do come to the office, to coordinate my one-on-ones in person and to network with my peers and cross-functional partners. When I’m not in the office, I’m able to have the flexibility to either be at home or to travel when I want to.
What do you most enjoy about your company’s hybrid work model?
As a manager, I like our hybrid work model because it allows people to maintain the way of life they created during the pandemic — while providing space for collaboration both remotely and in the office.
I personally enjoy being able to travel out of town for a long weekend, where I can work remotely Friday and Monday. But I also love the fact we have everyone on my team working together at least once a week.
I like our hybrid work model because it allows people to maintain the way of life they created during the pandemic.”
What are the biggest challenges associated with management in a hybrid workplace?
When onboarding new hires, it can be challenging to get a new team member ramped up in a hybrid environment. To combat this, our learning and development team re-imagined our onboarding program, using a blended learning model with in-person and virtual opportunities for connection, workshops and team building.
For my team, I encourage newer employees to come in more frequently the first few weeks. This gives them the opportunity to go through our onboarding and training program in-person with their new peers. Our team is very collaborative, and we’ve seen a lot of value in having new hires make these connections and be able to informally ask questions about their day-to-day role.
Additionally, I make sure that I am setting up at least 15 minutes a day to check in with new hires for their entire first month on the team. This helps me make sure their questions are answered, and they feel comfortable with the pace of learning through both our onboarding program and our own sales team enablement activities. A thoughtful approach at the company-wide and team levels have helped our newest hires to be ready to make an impact in a way that works best for all.
Teikametrics is an artificial intelligence company that seeks to help sellers and brand owners grow their businesses on Amazon and Walmart.com through the combination of data, AI-powered technology and marketplace insights. Teikametrics Flywheel, a marketplace optimization platform, is designed to connect and optimize critical ecommerce business operations including advertising, inventory and market intelligence. Senior Director of Strategic Growth Chris Gika discussed the company’s constant effort to evolve their hybrid strategies: “Regardless of our tactics to create a functional hybrid team, we’re constantly working to identify challenges and taking incremental steps to ensure we’re always improving the employee experience.”
Briefly describe your company’s hybrid model.
We have a flexible hybrid model: We don’t force our team to come in on specific days, but coordinate internally as a team on the days most prefer to ensure higher attendance. We believe that the balance of working remotely and in-office gets the most value from each team member and caters to individual needs and preferences. We know that higher attendance yields greater collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The hybrid set-up creates a flywheel effect of organic self-sufficiency and teamwork, which is always optimal.”
As a manager, what do you most enjoy about your company’s hybrid work model?
Working remotely gives team members the autonomy to unlock skill sets they might not have previously uncovered, while employees cascade know-how to others when we’re in an in-office setting. The hybrid set-up creates a flywheel effect of organic self-sufficiency and teamwork, which is always optimal.
What are the biggest challenges associated with management in a hybrid workplace?
As a growth-oriented company, we’re constantly adding new team members and integrating them into our company’s and our team’s culture. That’s come with some headwinds.
Three main challenges are: comfortability, camaraderie and support systems. While I think everyone would agree that commuting to work every day wasn’t the best experience, it did create a robust work community. Before we went to this hybrid model, some of my best friends were my colleagues — and still are. I still have that same feeling, but that daily connection can sometimes be missed.
We’ve solved that by having our teams involved in daily activities together. Examples include trivia, passion presentations and “most prized possession” sessions. This flexes personal guardrails and often allows for stronger connections to be formed for newer team members.
