Though it’s safe to return to the office, our new policy allows some remote work to continue
Our new work-from-home policy is designed for flexibility, however our team is eager to return to the office
At Spoor Bunch Franz, when the pandemic forced us all to take our work home, we tried to keep our office culture alive, but it wasn’t quite the same.
Tonya Deal, who works as an Associate in the Client Accounting Services department at SBF, said working from home eroded her ability to help others in the office, to some degree. “There is such a great team approach at SBF, but when you can’t see that your co-worker is stressed or working extra hours you don’t know to offer your assistance,” she said. “Also, on a personal level, I was much less likely to hear what people were up to outside of work. No stories about what cute thing someone’s baby did or what trouble their new puppy caused.”
We asked members of our team to weigh in about their interest in working from home going forward, and we found that the team liked some of the flexibility provided by working remotely, but also truly missed the office atmosphere. We are proud of our culture — for two years in a row, SBF has been both a Tampa Bay Times Top Workplace and a Tampa Bay Business Journal Best Place to Work, both of which are based on anonymous employee survey data. Our team loves to bond during community volunteer activities, learn during all-staff meetings, and laugh together in the office.
As more and more people were vaccinated, case numbers in our area remain relatively low, and folks are more comfortable being around others, we knew we wanted to come back to the office. But we also wanted to respond to the need for flexibility and some team members’ continued desire for some remote work.
In response to what we heard, we have instituted a new work-from-home policy that allows most employees to work from home two days a week outside of our busiest period (January-April) and one day per week during our busy season.. Each employee will work with their manager to set their work-from-home schedule, agree to certain conditions and requirements, and continually check in on development, work quality, and growth. We took steps in 2020 to ensure the security of our technology systems regardless of where our staff were located, and that has positioned us to allow this flexibility moving forward.
Paul Charest, a Senior Associate in our Tax department at SBF, says he won’t work from home much despite the new policy because he has very small children at home and it is easier to focus in the office. However, he appreciates the flexibility. “The pandemic forced people to work from home,” he said. “This empowered employees who had never worked from home before because people realized they could easily adapt and work from home in most circumstances.”
In accounting, there are some tasks that are especially suited for completion out of the office. “Distraction can be a factor in the office, so when working from home, productivity can be increased, with an employee focusing on his/her work only,” said Laura Mehili, who works as an Associate in the Audit department at SBF. However, tasks like training and team collaboration are accomplished more effectively in the office.
Tonya Deal says the flexibility to work from home will make her life easier and ultimately be a positive for her work performance. “Being able to schedule appointments weeks or months ahead of time is a great advantage,” she said. “Most of my appointments are closer to my house, and this allows me to be away from work for a shorter amount of time.”
Our motto is “People Matter Most,” and that commitment is echoed in our new work-from-home policy. We value our time together, but we also understand the value our people place on flexibility.
