Unlimited vacation time, your own work schedule… it works! So they claim.

I read many of the new business books that come out daily, hungry for the next break through that will somehow make our roles as small business owners more effective, more profitable -and yes, more pleasurable.  Recently, I found a web site advertising a new method of managing employees called ROWE, Results Oriented Work Environment.

The idea of results oriented incentives is one I am very familiar with and support completely, however, never have I seen it exploited to the degree that these authors and consultants have done.

In a book called “Why work sucks and how to fix it” they explain their theory and the potential results. Unlimited vacation time , almost, (you do have to show up occasionally in order to accomplish your job objectives)  when you want.  Your own daily schedule, whatever works best for you.

Seems fairly ridiculous, and impossible to manage, yet Best Buy has modeled their operation using these theories as have other noted business operations.  Please see quote below from one user:

The developers claim the following;

ROWE creates sustainable business results including:

RESULTS-ONLY WORK ENVIRONMENT (ROWE)

A Results-Only Work Environment is one where your talent will show up energized, disciplined, fluid, flexible, and focused – always ready to deliver the results necessary to drive your business.  ROWE is a bold, cultural transformation that permeates the attitudes and operating style of an entire workplace, leveling the playing field and giving people complete autonomy – as long as the work gets done.

In a ROWE, people do whatever they want whenever they want as long as the work gets done.  In the park, in a coffee shop, in the shower.  At midnight, or 3 a.m., or on Sunday.  Whenever and wherever.

You can stop monitoring the hallways, and focus your energy on the business.

With ROWE:

• There is no need for schedules
• Nobody focuses on “how many hours did you work?”
• Nobody feels overworked, stressed out or guilty
• Work is not a place you go, it’s something you do
• People at all levels stop wasting the company’s time and money
• Teamwork, morale, and engagement soar
• There’s no judgment on how people spend their time

ROWE is all about results. No results, no job. It’s that simple.

• Elimination of waste from the system resulting in increased employee capacity and productivity
• Overall average productivity increases of up to 41%
• Decline in voluntary turnover rates by as much as 90%
• Productivity in production environments up as much as 20% per individual

“ROWE is one of those life-changing methods that come along every now and then and makes you wonder how you ever got by without it. Our company recently purchased The ROWE Launch Kit: Office Edition to lead us through our ROWE migration. The further along we got in the process, the more backward, archaic, and senseless the traditional work style appeared. Now that we are a full-fledged ROWE, it is amazing to watch other companies struggle with antiquated work arrangements that belittle, limit, and depress their employees. Every time I hear someone talk disparagingly about it being Monday, or talk about ‘putting in their time’, I am overwhelmingly grateful that Cali and Jody have developed such a revolutionary system that allows us all to get our lives back and treat each other like people again. There is no going back: ROWE is the future of work, and in our case… the present. Any company that does not embrace ROWE soon is destined to become irrelevant.”

Michael Reynolds, President and CEO

I  am investigating this further, and am in discussion with the developers of this plan.  I will report back to you my conclusion.  Will it work for every business?  They say “yes”, I say I dunno.

Interesting!?…Revolutionary!?  Who knows maybe it works.  I have many questions; lets see if I can get the answers.