Qumodo introduces flexibility and fortnightly personal development days to help boost retention

Qumodo is a technology company specialising in human interaction with Artificial Intelligence. As a small company that can’t always compete with the salaries of larger firms in the sector, Qumodo prioritises the non-wage benefits they offer employees, including flexibility, unlimited holidays, and fortnightly development days to attract and retain talent.

Key to their success has been the way leaders and managers role model these changes to embed an organisational culture based on flexibility and development.

Consider how flexibility and non-wage benefits can help attract talent

In addition to competing on salaries, Qumodo has focused on how to create a company where people want to work. Offering flexibility has been crucial to this.

Working in small teams fosters a culture of trust in the organisation, where employees are free to work the hours they like as long as they meet their agreed deliverables for the week. To make this work, managers need to be fully aware of who has what on in the team. Regular communication with teams has helped managers feel comfortable that work across the team is being delivered – something that Qumodo notes could be replicated across bigger organisations with regular check-ins and engagement.

On top of this, Qumodo offers unlimited annual leave. While signing off on holidays is still at the discretion of the company, the idea behind the benefit is to help promote trust: recognising that employees are capable of working out what they need to get done and when. It also acts as a supportive tool to boost mental and physical wellbeing, and long-term attraction and retention. Encouraging managers to have regular informal catch-ups with their teams has been key to understanding what benefits staff actually value – helping to determine what benefits the organisation should introduce.

Investing in regular personal development days boosts retention and productivity

The company also offers employees a personal development day once a fortnight. The idea is for employees to use the day to regroup, invest in their learning, and focus on the things they don’t normally have time for in the day job.

Qumodo notes that it’s been vital for senior managers to lead by example to encourage a culture where everyone makes use of the development days, rather than feeling like they need to carry on doing their day job. The CEO and executive team put this into practice by routinely sharing how they’re spending their development days with the wider organisation. For example, the companies COO and General Counsel uses the days to keep abreast of legal updates across the industry, and many of the developers spend time learning about the latest technology in the market to stay at the cutting edge of what they’re producing.

The days were initially introduced to thank staff for their hard work throughout the pandemic and in recognition of the detrimental mental health effects of lockdown, but as lockdowns eased, the company soon noticed it was viewed as a perk amongst employees, helping to boost long-term retention.

While some thought it a risk to lose a working day every fortnight, the company has in fact not seen any drop in productivity. Employees have noted that the days have helped their productivity and wellbeing overall, with many able to dedicate their time to achieving personal development goals – something which a lot of other companies don’t currently offer.