Desk-less by Design: How MMWW’s Early Bet on Remote Work Paid Off
By: Josy Amann, Co-Found + Managing Partner
We were remote before people could even conceive that was possible. In 2005, there weren’t many companies that were ditching their office to re-invest their budget from real estate into talent. Now, since the pandemic has made “working from home” a thing, companies are trying to figure out how to balance the new standard of flexible working environments. They are balancing productivity, inclusivity, culture, and the bottom line.
For small companies, investing in talent can be more of a long-term investment strategy. By finding employees who worship working from home, you typically find individuals serious about getting their work done. At MMWW, we didn’t realize it at first, but over time, we figured out that hiring people who LOVE working from home are typically more experienced employees. They have been there, done that with the foosball tables and happy hours at agencies, and are now looking for more flexibility in their workdays. Yes, experienced employees cost more, but thatinvestment in talent has built an environment that cultivates the highest level of customer service, and for that, our clients are thankful. Experienced employees also don’t need as much oversight, which allows for the fully remote culture in which we have 50 employees across 16 different states.
Another thing we learned over the last 18 years of remote work, is that a healthy work/life balance increases productivity and decreases churn. People have grown to love their morning workout, to be there for their baby’s bath time, and to save commuting costs and aggravation. However, they also know in order to enjoy those freedoms, the work needs to get done. You can flex time as you need, but accountability for your work needs to be of utmost importance. Clients are also very receptive to our culture. They are respectful of our boundaries, and they enjoy
lower turnover on their account, which can be a source of frustration in the client-agency relationship.
In addition to a happy workforce, remote work also sets up a level playing field for employees, including new parents, those with commuting challenges, people with disabilities, and many other examples of where dropping the commute can give people the opportunity to remain and thrive in the workforce doing what they love. The mostly in-office and even hybrid office/WFH workforce can be generally less inclusive and tends to favor people who don’t have children, aren’t in a primary caregiving role, or are extroverts. It is also generally recognized that if there
is a group of employees that are always in the office – they have more opportunities to get in front of management teams that tend to spend more time in office within the new hybrid structures that have rolled out. Remote workforces are more inclusive because they support those who need a more flexible schedule or environment.
It’s a difficult issue that modern companies face. You have hip companies like Nike bringing employees back from hybrid to three and now, four days a week in-office for 2024. You have Google, one of the biggest employers in the U.S., adding “in office” to their performance reviews. ResumeBuilder’s recent survey claims that 9 out of 10 companies will have employees RTO (return to office). This is likely also swayed by which coast you live on, as generally, companies on the West Coast were already offering hybrid working schedules before the pandemic and are maintaining that flexibility. However, the problem across the country for companies to look to bring employees back into the office is two-fold. First, they have already hired talent away from their office, and second, people who have grown accustomed to remote
or hybrid roles have come to expect this flexibility. Having people move back or come into the office most days of the week to retain their job, has the potential to create an unwelcoming and awkward environment and a resentful workforce.
MMWW has long embraced a remote workforce before it became “normal”. It’s more than just an output from the pandemic, it symbolizes how we think about the balance between life, work, family, and how we spend our time. One thing that MMWW can hang our hat on is that we are proud to have built an agency that authentically created this environment from the beginning because, as Co-Founders and the people who made the rules, we needed this flexibility. Over the years, this created a culture and support system for a happy remote company. Happiness is
the key. We have a company filled with smart, collaborative, and brilliant trailblazers… and people who love working from home. This has been a major secret to our success. By prioritizing talent over foosball tables, we’ve not only grown a culture of inclusivity and flexibility but operate at a higher level of productivity. This has also translated into having an agency where people generally stay. By leading the charge in remote work for over 18 years, we stand by remote workforces as an investment in our employees and the future health of our company. We are very proud to be a part of redefining the boundaries of the modern workplace