We’re back again with James from Redox, this time talking about strategies to keep employees engaged, happy, and challenged at work – especially when a lot of them work remotely.
Redox has taken a creative and modern approach to retaining their employees. They understand that most employees these days aren’t looking for a life-long employer. As a result, Redox prioritizes employee growth and engagement so that if/when they decide to move on, they’re better off for having spent time with Redox.
Creating strategies with this in mind presents some interesting challenges for the leadership team of a growing company. James shared some insight on how Redox stays true to their values, creates an open (albeit virtual) door policy, and provides opportunities for growth.
Keeping great people
Lead by example
- The Redox leadership team leads by example. They know their values in and out, using them to make decisions, provide feedback, and determine product strategy. They encourage open conversations and make themselves visible and available to employees by leading the events discussed below and regularly meet 1:1 with all employees on their teams. Knowing that they’ve built a team of smart people, Redox is transparent about issues the company encounters so employees can participate in the resolution.
Create Community
- Every Friday the entire company gets together virtually to share and catch up. These meetings rotate in format between presentations, group Q&A’s, and small group discussions. Everyone participates in these meetings, can offer questions or answers, and can suggest topics – from brand new employees to the founders. These conversations can sometimes highlight new company initiatives and ideas or bring up socially relevant topics like diversity and inclusion.
- “Team weeks” are scheduled once a quarter for the entire company to come together in one location. Not always in Madison, these events blend work and play so that employees from across the country can get to know each other. During these weeks, the entire team reviews the 3-year mission and vision for Redox, their goals for the next quarter, and then teams talk about how they’ll prioritize their work through the next quarter. Everyone knows what the company is up to, how their team is a part of the bigger vision, and what their own contribution will be.
Prioritize personal growth and development
- Redox structures projects into 12 to 18-month “tours” for their experienced employees to pursue their areas of interest and passion. This conversation comes up after about a year, once employees become fluent in the products, industry, or business. If, after their tour, they want to explore another area in the company – awesome, that’s an option. If they decide that they’d like to move on from Redox then – great, they’ve been able to learn a lot and Redox will help them as they search for a new opportunity. This keeps employees engaged, always learning, and able to creatively address the problems they’re most interested in.
Taking these unique approaches to retain top employees allows for a lot of flexibility and autonomy within Redox, while also creating solid relationships between teams.
Is your company built for the needs of your employees? James would love to help other start-ups proactively create great teams and environments for them to thrive. Contact Carex to get the ball rolling!