“We recognize that this is a very stressful time for everyone collectively, and so it’s more important than ever that our employees take time for themselves, set boundaries and disconnect,” said Jen Garrison, Chief People Officer at Tinuiti. “More importantly, we understand that some of our employees have home situations where a day off is more stressful than relaxing, so we’ve ensured that managers are equipped to help their team’s find the balance and support them in a way that works for their specific situation.”
Additionally, Tinuiti has always closed their offices at 1:00pm every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but to help ease the burdens and stressors associated with the pandemic, a version of this policy has been extended through the end of the year known as Flexible Fridays. While it doesn’t necessarily mean a hard stop at 1:00pm, the idea is to work a shorter day on Fridays at whatever hours make the most business sense for Tinuiti to still meet client needs, with the goal of better balancing work and life. Leadership aims to create the conditions that will enable every Tinuitian to take at least 2-3 Flexible Fridays per month.
While the PTO is important and helpful, Tinuiti also understands that parents working from home with kids face more challenges than ever. Tinuiti is working to develop new parent support programs for the fall to recognize and support working parents in these new circumstances. Lately, it has been said often that, “we’re all in this together”, but Tinuiti truly aims to care for all employees because they are all an integral part of the company flywheel.
The culture of ownership at Tinuiti encourages each employee to treat the business like an owner would, which in turn ensures best in-class service to their clients. These changes were necessary in order for everybody at the agency to contribute at their highest level. While some of the company’s traditional perks, benefits and social outings do not make sense in today’s current landscape, Tinuiti’s leaders continue to ask and actively listen to 600+ employees about what they need to make their jobs and lives more balanced.
Tinuiti has always been powered by a people-first philosophy and while all employees enjoy unlimited paid time off (PTO), the People Team noticed that not nearly enough Tinuitians take advantage of this policy when it’s vital to do so during these times. COVID-19 has disrupted everyone’s lives to varying degrees and Mother Nature has not been helping matters with hurricanes and wildfires, so Tinuiti is taking action to address the physical and mental well-being of all of their employees around the country.
The hectic nature of agency life mixed with pandemic life is a real issue—one that Tinuiti’s leadership team is dedicated to alleviating. Since work-from-home mandates were put in place in March, it has been required that every employee take two days of PTO for mental health each month so that everyone feels more empowered to prioritize their physical and emotional well-being. This policy will be extended for the remainder of 2020.
