“Leave Early? Fine”: CEO Is Praised After Sharing His Result-Only Work Policies
Interview
Working a 9-to-5 from an office with zero flexibility is a thing of the past. This employer has just proven exactly that, highlighting his no-need-to-explain-why-you-need-a-holiday policy. Showing how he candidly approved his staff’s vacation, he also discussed how he trusted his team to get the job done regardless of how they chose to do it.
- CEO Tom Hunt went viral after sharing his flexible work policies including no-need-to-explain vacation approvals.
- He emphasized trust in staff to manage work and meet client satisfaction on their terms.
- Tom's flexible work options included working from home, cafes, or adjusting work hours freely.
Taking to his LinkedIn page, Tom Hunt, CEO of b2b podcast agency Fame, posted a now-viral message explaining how when one of his employees asked for a holiday, they didn’t have to justify why before revealing that he had adopted quite a flexible approach to work in general.
“A new team member asked me to approve his holiday,” Tom started. “I immediately approved it.”
The CEO continued: “He then went on to explain why he was taking the holiday.
“My reply: ‘I don’t need to know the details.
“‘I hired you to do a job and I trust you to get it done’.”
Tom went on to underline the adaptable ways he would allow his employees to work: “You choose how to get your work done: Go to a co-working space? Fine.
“9 to 5? Fine. Work from home? Fine. Leave early? Fine.
“Work from Wetherspoons after dropping the kids off at school? Fine.
“We are all human.”
CEO Tom Hunt’s viral message on LinkedIn showcased a modern and flexible approach to work
Image credits: Windows/Unsplash
The London resident further admitted that he didn’t need to know if a worker would be late “because of a dentist’s appointment,” nor did he need to know if a member of staff needed to leave early “to attend to pick up the kids.”
He added: “I am not a clock watcher. I trust you to get your job done.
“Keeping clients happy? I’m happy.
“Flexible work is the future. Agree?”
As it turns out, plenty of people agreed. With his post amassing nearly 70,000 reactions since last week, a LinkedIn user commented: “I came across this post and thought wow…this is the modern day working lifestyle.
“Someone who understands sometimes work has to work around your own life.”
Image credits: Fame.com
Another person wrote: “Trust and flexibility aren’t perks Tom Hunt.
“They’re the pillars of a forward-thinking workplace.”
While agreeing with flexibility, the person also emphasized the importance of “courtesy and communication,” writing: “Letting staff/leadership (I see this as a two-way street) know that you are running late, need to leave early, etc. helps the team know what to expect, it enables the team to adapt more easily / if needed, it opens up lines of communication for everyone, and lets team members know they are valued (and so is their time).”
Another employer said his team relied on 12 principles of a results-only work environment made of: “1. You have the freedom to work any way you want 2. Every day is a Saturday 3. Work isn’t a place you go, it is something you do 4. Stop doing any activity that is a waste of your time, clients’ time, or company’s money 5. You get unlimited paid time off, including holiday, sickness, etc. as long as the work is done.”
Tom said he valued flexibility, expressing trust in employees’ time management and emphasizing client satisfaction as a priority
Image credits: Tom Hunt
They continued: “6. Nobody talks about how many hours they work 7. Every meeting is optional 8. There Is never a wrong time to do the right thing 9. You don’t need to turn off anyone else’s light in order to shine 10. Doing the weekly shop on a Tuesday, watching TV on a Thursday morning, having a nap at 2 pm every day – all ok. 11. There are no work schedules 12. You are responsible for results and to call out anyone or anything at any level that doesn’t fit.” To which Tom replied: “Love these!”
Someone else commented: “Companies have a mindset they are paying for 9-5 and that if you are doing the job in less time then they need less resource or owe you less money.
“However what they are paying for is my ability to do a job.
“If I can do it in half the time as my colleagues why should I be paid for working fewer hours?
“I still did the same work as everyone else.
“The job is done, why not log off and use the downtime for something else?”
Image credits: Unsplash
Tom revealed that his results-only work approach applied to his company’s account managers, project managers, and creative team “because we have a well-defined, full remote/digital service.”
He told Bored Panda in an email: “I’m not sure how well it would work for people who need to be co-located/work with customers in person!”
Tom, who graduated from Imperial College London in 2011, pointed out several achievements of his company, indicating that few employees have left and that Fame has experienced significant financial success.
“We […] have been able to promote people to senior roles internally… and have been able to grow to $3m ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) and 71 full-time team members without raising any external funds.”
When asked if the flexibility offered at his workplace could sometimes lead to a chaotic environment, Tom replied: “I think we push the responsibility to the team, e.g. if their clients are in chaos, it’s their job to make them less chaotic… and if they don’t, then we have strong performance management processes.”
Recent research and analytics company Gallup’s data showed that remote and hybrid employees across the world were consistently more engaged than on-site employees, which correlated with higher productivity and performance, according to Harvard Business Review.
“Breath of fresh air,” a person commented on Tom’s LinkedIn post
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My current boss is a freakin micromanager. I have a schedule that helps me manage my chronic illness (I have an accommodation in place) and she wants to change it just because she can. There is no "business reason" to do so, she's just FLEXING. Fortunately I'm two years from retirement so I'll hang on. Effing annoying to. My reviews have all been "exceeds expectations" from her on all 4 points, too.
Time to punch her in the throat ... I know my bad BUT it's time!!!!
Load More Replies...
I am saddened that a CEO being a flexible human being actually makes the news. This has been the culture at my company since COVID. Is it really that rare?
It is, and understandably so. The vast majority of office type jobs are still 9-5. People have shared hours because there is an expectation that if they need to contact a coworker they'll be able to do so. I'm not disagreeing with his strategy though, because honestly I'd love to work somewhere like that. But at the same time it's easy to understand why most bosses like a 9-5 with predictable worker habits.
Load More Replies...
I work as a quality manager in a company that has flexible workhours, only limited by real business needs. I was a quality manager in a company that hat the strictest time management ever with absolutely no flexibility. And I can say, the flexile model has much better economical and financial outcomes as long as you hold employees accountable with a tight quality management. We have a pretty steep but fair quality management. Do the absolute minimum, fine, get base wage, be not eligible for promotions but have a relaxing workweek. As long as your baseline is done, you'll still have a secure job and we're happy. Show passion and initiative and do your work, but with extra caution, you'll get regular raises and offers for development, go up and above and you'll get generous raises, bonus payouts tied to company success and access to educational programs. We will give leniency to people in bad situations, as long as the overall output was good. And guess what? Everyone wants to work!
My current boss is a freakin micromanager. I have a schedule that helps me manage my chronic illness (I have an accommodation in place) and she wants to change it just because she can. There is no "business reason" to do so, she's just FLEXING. Fortunately I'm two years from retirement so I'll hang on. Effing annoying to. My reviews have all been "exceeds expectations" from her on all 4 points, too.
Time to punch her in the throat ... I know my bad BUT it's time!!!!
Load More Replies... I am saddened that a CEO being a flexible human being actually makes the news. This has been the culture at my company since COVID. Is it really that rare?
It is, and understandably so. The vast majority of office type jobs are still 9-5. People have shared hours because there is an expectation that if they need to contact a coworker they'll be able to do so. I'm not disagreeing with his strategy though, because honestly I'd love to work somewhere like that. But at the same time it's easy to understand why most bosses like a 9-5 with predictable worker habits.
Load More Replies... I work as a quality manager in a company that has flexible workhours, only limited by real business needs. I was a quality manager in a company that hat the strictest time management ever with absolutely no flexibility. And I can say, the flexile model has much better economical and financial outcomes as long as you hold employees accountable with a tight quality management. We have a pretty steep but fair quality management. Do the absolute minimum, fine, get base wage, be not eligible for promotions but have a relaxing workweek. As long as your baseline is done, you'll still have a secure job and we're happy. Show passion and initiative and do your work, but with extra caution, you'll get regular raises and offers for development, go up and above and you'll get generous raises, bonus payouts tied to company success and access to educational programs. We will give leniency to people in bad situations, as long as the overall output was good. And guess what? Everyone wants to work!
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