In response to employee demands for a more flexible time-off policy, a US-based startup has implemented a mandatory requirement of at least 20 leaves per year for all its employees. Go Nimbly, the startup in question, has fulfilled its employees' request for increased flexibility by enforcing this new policy.

In a detailed LinkedIn post, Kyle Lacy, the Director of People Operations at Go Nimbly, discussed how the newly implemented policy has contributed to enhanced employee satisfaction. Lacy emphasized that the primary objective of this initiative was to enable employees to perform their jobs effectively and successfully.

Lacy shared a personal transformation in his perspective on unlimited paid time off (PTO) policies. He admitted that he used to strongly oppose such policies, considering them "anti-employee," and was even willing to defend his stance vehemently. 

However, he revealed that a shift occurred when his company introduced a Flexible Time Off policy in the second quarter of the year. Lacy reflected on the outcomes of this change and questioned how he could reconcile his previous beliefs with the positive impact it had, prompting introspection about his newfound perspective.

Furthermore, Lacy acknowledged that the employees had been advocating for a more flexible leave policy for a significant duration. Despite his initial attempts to persuade them and explain his perspective regarding the reluctance to alter the policy, the requests persisted. 

Eventually, Lacy incorporated questions regarding the time-off policy in a survey, seeking input from the company on whether any modifications should be considered.

"We had been hearing employee requests for a flexible plan for months. I’d share my perspective on why I didn’t want to make that change, and then I’d move on. It didn’t stop the requests. Eventually, I opted to include questions about our time off policies in an engagement survey (s/o to Lattice) and directly ask the company if we should consider moving to a flexible time off policy. The results were overwhelmingly positive to change, which we shared in its entirety with the company," he wrote.

Elaborating on the introduced changes, Lacy explained that they carefully crafted a new plan with several considerations in mind. These considerations encompassed determining the minimum number of days off that employees should take, making necessary adjustments to incentive plans to align with the new policy, treating parental leave as a distinct plan, and actively seeking feedback and reviews from employees, among other aspects.

Illustrating the impact of the policy shift and expressing his contentment, Lacy stated, "We rolled out the policy like any other major change and continued to test for feedback via pulse surveys throughout the quarter. Today, we’re sitting at 94 per cent Agree/Strongly Agree with the statement “I’m happy with our Flexible Time Off Policy."