Like many companies, the pandemic showed our employees the value of flexibility at work and its impact on developing balance throughout life. As a purpose-led organization that focuses on working better together, understanding the satisfaction of everyone — and the evolution of that satisfaction — is imperative to creating a productive team. It was clear that flexibility provided our employees with harmony between work and life that everyone deserves and that our culture strives to provide.
The power of flexibility requires working together
At Advantage, we are able to harness the power of flexibility successfully because our employees live our company value, “Succeed with a high-performance attitude.” Every Advantager maintains accountability for their work, manages expectations and meets critical deadlines. Without this level of diligence, communication and commitment, flexibility at work would not be valuable to the employee or business.
As an organization, we are responsible for adjusting and refining our policies and operations to allow for a healthy virtual and in-person working balance. We know that social connectivity is integral to our company culture and are mindful that people’s preferences change daily. For this reason, we have a company culture that moulds to our employees’ lives and their preferred ways of working, shifting the ability to balance in their hands.
“It’s important to our culture that employees have ownership and accountability over their time. We believe empowering them to harmoniously blend their work and life leads to the natural prioritization of both. Our goal is that every Advantager enjoys where they work and can spend ample time doing what they love. There’s room for both, and we’re intent on helping employees achieve that balance.”
Cristina Noble, Vice President of Marketing and People
How we empower our employees with flexibility
1. Make work and life a priority
Advantagers are empowered to utilize flexible hours and flexible time to accommodate their lives and work according to the schedule that is most convenient for them. At Advantage, employees are encouraged to utilize:
- Flex hours – Advantagers can work a regular day but with hours that suit their schedule and well-being.
- Flex time – We empower Advantagers to use up to five weeks of vacation time throughout the year because we believe they understand best how to balance their work and vacation.
- Flex Friday – Advantagers have the option to increase their productivity throughout the week so that they can end their Friday early, giving them more time to spend doing what they love.
2. Work from the office or at home
The working environment is an integral component of an employee’s productivity. We know that every Advantager works differently and that what constitutes conducive conditions may change from day to day. For this reason, we provide space flexibility for all Advantagers by allowing them to alternate between virtual and in-person working.
Our human needs change, so we want employees to work where they are mentally and physically at their best and most comfortable. This may mean working from your home office or Advantage’s physical office.
3. Balance work and life with generous leave
At Advantage, we know that sometimes, life happens. Whether it be the loss of a loved one, the need to take on a caretaker role, family vacation, reporting for jury duty, or anything else that appears in life, we have provisions that allow you to balance it confidently and seamlessly with work. From generous vacation leave to a single volunteer day off, Advantage ensures you can mould our flexibility to suit your life.
We believe in more than saying we are flexible
Flexibility extends beyond a written flexible policy. Our organization knows that, behind the scenes, a lot of work must be done to ensure employees feel empowered to take advantage of our policies.
We promote flexibility by:
- Actively encouraging Advantagers – Team Leaders at Advantage should make their team members feel supported and empowered to take advantage of the flexibility when appropriate.
- Investing in flexible working spaces – We financially support Advantagers to improve their home office, ensuring their work environment is comfortable and conducive to productivity.
- Focusing on social connections – Part of our flexible work arrangement naturally leads to reduced in-person interaction, an essential component of our company culture. To mitigate this, we actively invest in virtual and in-person company events that foster connections.
- Checking in with employees – Part of our flexibility’s success lies in ensuring Advantagers are comfortable with their environment. Bi-annually, through our internal survey, we collect feedback on how employees feel about their physical working space. This gives us the information we need to make informed decisions about how we support flexible workspaces. In our September 2023 employee engagement survey, 86% of Advantagers were satisfied with the physical workspace available to them.
Advantage Group believes in empowering our employees through trust so they can work to the best of their ability in a productive and enjoyable environment. If you’re interested in joining our global team, please visit our Careers page for current job openings.
