Last year, I wrote about the early success of Indeed’s open paid time off initiative (PTO). Now, I am even more convinced of this offering’s positive benefits for both employees and the firm after reviewing the results of 2017.
Simply put, I believe our open PTO policy has increased employee productivity and accelerated our corporate growth. In fact, I think every company can benefit from open PTO.
Not convinced? Here are some compelling data points from the past year at Indeed:
- Over 20 percent year-over-year increase in vacation days taken by our employees.
- A 30 percent increase in vacation day use in the US alone.
- An extremely productive 2017 with record company growth.
- Low attrition and high engagement
I’d argue that in today’s tight job market, companies need an open PTO policy more than ever to help attract and retain talent. Indeed chief economist Jed Kolko notes that wage growth has accelerated, upping the ante for employers in an already tight labor market.
That means companies need to consider other avenues to attract new employees beyond wage increases and popular benefits offerings like healthcare. At Indeed, we hope to hire 3,500 new employees globally in 2018. And we fully expect our open PTO policy to help with that effort.
Here’s how open PTO can be used to help attract talent and increase productivity:
- Attract Millennials – Studies indicate that employees, and particularly Millennials, choose flexibility and a good working environment over higher pay or more comprehensive health insurance.
- Showcase management engagement – An open PTO policy shows everyone at the firm is pulling together and the management is engaged, in turn attracting the right employees.
- Eliminate a potential hiring stumble block – No vacation time negotiation is necessary and everyone is happy.
- Show you treat employees as adults – Open PTO demonstrates that you trust your employees to manage their time and meet productivity goals on their own schedule.
- Attract and hire accountable people – Of course, open PTO policies can be abused, but companies that have tried it report that any isolated instances of abuse can be attributed to a hire who wasn’t a good fit in the first place.
An open PTO strategy can truly be a game changer, increasing productivity company-wide, improving employee morale, and helping to attract and retain talent. Try it! It works.
Paul Wolfe is SVP of Human Resources at Indeed. He oversees all global human resource functions, including talent acquisition, employee retention, compensation, benefits, and employee development.
Mr. Wolfe has over 15 years of experience as a human resources executive having served as a VP and SVP at number of well-known companies, including Match.com, Orbitz, Conde Nast and Ticketmaster. His specialties include talent acquisition and management, succession planning, performance management, and leadership development.
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