Defining Our Hybrid Work Model

Since March 2020, the Maven People team, like HR teams everywhere, has navigated a constantly changing public health crisis to keep employees safe. At the same time, we have experienced incredible growth, nearly doubling our workforce to meet the demands of our fast-growing business. As we began to look to the future, it was clear that a return to the old ways of working would simply not work in this new world, and we needed to design something new.

Our planning and decision making was driven by a key company value, “Do right by each other.” With more Mavens working remotely and more hybrid teams than ever before, we are emphasizing these pillars as we transition to the next phase of collaboration:

• Being inclusive of Mavens regardless of where they work so everyone has a great work experience, 
• Supporting and empowering each other to achieve our individual, team, and company goals,
• Remaining flexible in our plans to adjust to the rapidly-shifting developments of COVID-19 and feedback from teams as we begin returning to the office. 

Our hybrid work model is grounded in ownership, empowering employees to own the where and the how of their work more than ever before.

Piloting a Hybrid Model

At Maven, we weigh feedback from our employees in every People decision we make. That’s why we surveyed Mavens who live in or near our headquarters—New York City—when evaluating what a new office experience would look like. When surveyed, 75% of Mavens said they would prefer to work in the office 3 days per week rather than 5 days. With these findings in mind, all employees will choose to be on one of three teams once our office reopens: 

• Office Team: Mavens who intend to spend 3 or more days per week in the office
• Home Team: Mavens who intend to spend just 1 or 2 days per week in the office 
• Remote Team: Mavens who live outside of a commutable distance — roughly 90 minutes on public transit

Employees won’t be held to a particular team indefinitely, but establishing these teams will help us facilitate the logistics for an in-person office environment and create a sense of stability. In the spirit of flexibility, we plan to pilot this hybrid model and make any adjustments as needed to ensure our employees feel both comfortable and supported.

Returning to the office, in any capacity, is sure to present a new series of challenges whether that’s re-establishing a daily commute or solving connectivity outages. To help ease any growing pains caused by this shift, our employees will receive a monthly stipend to support commuting and/or maintaining a good remote work-life through Wi-Fi, ergonomics, equipment or other tools.

Listening to Employees As We Move Forward

Our hybrid model was developed based on feedback from Mavens, and we’re continuing to seek feedback every step of the way. As we pilot our new vision of hybrid work, we will continue to create spaces for teams to make their voices heard and iterate on this model collaboratively. We’re starting by building guidelines on hybrid work etiquette for employees and forums for each team to meet and share feedback on their experiences. The whirlwind of this pandemic has taught us — and many other employers — that we cannot create policies and programs in a vacuum.  We need to listen to employees to best support them.

If this hybrid environment sounds like it could be a fit for you and your work style, take a look at our open roles and join us on our mission to change the health of the world — one woman, one family at a time.