A recent murder from RTO mandates from large companies including Amazon, StarbucksAnd Goldman Sachs Show that the fight for remote work is not over yet. But some companies Are remain steadfast behind hers Remote control Guidelines.
Pinterest established its “PinFlex” for the first time flexible working model In 2022, employees will be able to choose to work in person or from anywhere in the country. Pinterest CPO Doniel Sutton tells us Assets that all 4,500 employees worldwide can work fully from home – but they still have access to the 22 offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Sutton says this when she saw the wave of CEOs Prescribe RTO Measures a few years agoit only led them to further tighten the company’s flexible work policies. And this latest wave doesn’t faze them. “Amazon and the others are requiring people to return to the office throughout the week, but we have remained true to our flexible work model, which is core to our identity,” says Sutton. “It allowed us to open the door from a talent perspective.”
Historically marginalized job seekers were eager to join the company due to its flexible work policy, said Sutton. Approximately 79% of all Black, Indigenous, Latino, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (BILNP) people who joined Pinterest in the past year came from outside the Bay Area, compared to 60% of non-BILNP employees. The advantage was too popular with women– The company’s number of female employees in the U.S. has increased 6% since launching PinFlex. Flexible working time models are particularly important for certain groups, e.g new parentssays Sutton, as do the people in charge of it Caring for aging parents. This is important considering that around 80% of the company’s workforce are millennials, and the number is increasing Care both their children and their parents.
Since launching PinFlex, the company’s headcount has increased by 22%. And the week after Amazon crashed his RTO hammer In September, Pinterest said it saw a 90% increase. Increase in applications. But even though PinFlex put one on larger and more diverse candidate poolSutton points out that a virtual workforce comes with its own obstacles.
“Although the benefits are great, I think it creates challenges from a management perspective,” she says. “Our personnel managers are player-coaches, which means they have to be really effective in this virtual environment. We have a lot of new young managers who haven’t necessarily developed the ability to lead virtually.” This problem is not limited to Pintrest – only 28% of managers were actually trained in managing hybrid workers, according to a 2024 study report from Gallup, a workplace consulting and research firm.
To address the problem, Pinterest introduced a manager kickstart program in the first fiscal quarter of this year. Required for all new supervisors, it provides access templates that explain how to handle one-on-one meetings, teamwork agreement outlines, and career development guides. Manager Kickstart offers skill-building courses on topics such as hiring, onboarding, developing feedback mechanisms, and how to reward employees while managing flexible teams. Pinterest also conducts internal manager effectiveness studies through a partnership with Worklytics, a workplace analytics software company. The company says the results of these studies will help supervisors adjust the way they oversee their teams. Later next year, the company plans to launch a multi-year leadership development strategy to train managers to lead diverse and distributed workforces.
Sutton says the success of any flexible policy depends on a highly connected workforce. And that means ensuring that management is capable of leading their teams in virtual settings.
“The people you build, the teams you build, they have to be very effective,” she says. “You have to take time to understand what good management looks like.”
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
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Around the table
A roundup of the most important HR headlines.
Kraken, one of the largest crypto exchange platforms, will cut around 15% of its workforce as part of corporate restructuring and the appointment of a new co-CEO. New York Times
The head of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which represents about 391,000 workers, urged members to vote for Kamala Harris in the best interests of the union. The Guardian
Technology company Dropbox will cut 20% of its global workforce, or more than 500 employees, due to slowing business growth and economic difficulties. NBC News
More than 500 Amazon employees signed a letter to the company’s web services chief examining his comments on the five-day RTO mandate and urging him to reconsider his stance. Business Insider
Water cooler
Everything you need to know Assets.
Advance warning. Jack Dorsey told Tidal employees that another major layoff is imminentbecause he wants the music streaming platform to function “like a startup again”. —Kali Hays
WFH payout. Companies that are well rated for their flexible work options have better long and short term stock pricesaccording to a new study. —Sasha Rogelberg
Brain drain. A new report shows that the A typical British worker feels unable to work 50 days a year due to mental health problems – and for those under 30 this number rises to 60 days. —Orianna Rosa Royle