Page 152 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

Autonomy or not Autonomy? that Is the Question � 131

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Every person we’ve interviewed and every source we found has told
us that the key to creating a successful mobile workforce is to create
and set clear expectations; there must also be a focus on observable
results. Best Buy has introduced a new performance management sys-
tem, called ROWE, that takes that wisdom to its ultimate conclusion.
ROWE stands for Results-Only Work Environment, a human
resource development practice developed by Best Buy that facilitates
the mobile workforce in its purest form. The philosophy behind a
Results-Only Work Environment is that “each person is free to do
whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as work gets done.” 9
As long as people get their work done, Best Buy doesn’t care when
they do it or where they do it. In fact, they don’t care if workers come
in at all. So what does that mean?
First, no one has to worry about calling in sick or asking for vaca-
tion. No one requests time off to go see the doctor or to take one of
their children to school. Why worry about flextime, when you can go
anytime you want? And anyone who wants to be a mobile worker can
be, because it really doesn’t matter where you get your work done, as
long as it’s done.
In their book Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, Cali Ressler and
Jody Thompson share the Best Buy story. Both authors were the key
employees at Best Buy who helped the company, through fits and
starts, to develop what they would come to call a Results-Only Work
Environment. Let’s look at the results for Best Buy.
First, both types of turnover at Best Buy are going in the right
direction. Voluntary turnover is going down, as much as 90 percent,
which means that employees want to stay. Involuntary turnover, on
the other hand, is going up, as managers focus on performance. Poor
performers don’t get to stay at Best Buy. The result of that is millions
of dollars of savings in reduced turnover costs, and an incalculable
amount of savings from cutting out pay for people who aren’t doing
their work.