Data from the work management platform shows how reducing hours to a 4-day work week might not be as hard as people think – if the working processes follow
Scoro has today announced it is moving all 140 staff to a 4-day work week, with no compressed hours and no change in salary.
In an attempt to create a blueprint for companies considering a similar move but worried about its impact on productivity, Scoro will publicly document its progress as it introduces organizational changes that it believes are crucial to the shift.
Scoro’s move to a 4-day work week is supported by its own employee data and usage data from the 20,000 users worldwide who work inside the Scoro platform which suggests varying levels of productivity throughout the week.
For example, this is how user activity differs on Fridays compared with average weekly levels:
- All system usage of Scoro’s platform goes down by 23%
- Internal Scoro email usage goes down by 15%
- Internal Scoro Slack usage goes down by 24%
As an organization built on the concept of optimizing time, Scoro wants to show how specifically designed efficiency improvements can help the business achieve more in less time, so people can be more productive and happy.
Fewer hours alone won’t do the job
In pilots of 4-day work weeks up to now, increases in productivity have commonly been attributed to the boost in employee wellbeing. Scoro challenges this idea of ‘quick wins’ and argues that productivity-related organizational changes are needed if we are to reap the full benefits as well as minimize the risks of a shorter work week not working out.
Scoro Founder and CEO, Fred Krieger explains: “Organizations that trial a 4-day work week rarely commit to overhauling their operations to match new expectations. Consequently, they are likely to be disappointed, or worse, abandon the idea. We’re hoping that our openness makes us an effective case study for other companies to follow, taking our structure and performance metrics as a point of reference and inspiration for rolling out their own shorter work week.”
In order to align the organization and create a framework for employees to support the shift, Scoro has created measurable goals throughout its 12-month mission to boost productivity as working hours decrease.
Examples include:
- Reducing the time spent in meetings by 25%
- Transitioning 20% of meetings to being held asynchronously
- Changes in communication channels and practices expected to reduce the number of interruptions by 18%
- Increasing the duration of time spent “in flow” and amount of uninterrupted time blocks by 23%
- Improving the quality of time tracking and increasing time tracked in detail to 90% of working hours
- Improved planning and time management expected to save 1 hour of time per person per week
- Increased use of automation expected to save 30 minutes of time per person per week
An easy-to-follow blueprint to encourage adoption
Part of Scoro’s 4-day work week mission is to create a free resource for other companies so that they might optimize their own efficiencies and potentially adopt a short work week too.
To demonstrate how the move from an outdated 5 day working schedule to an optimized 4-day work week could be feasible for other businesses, Scoro will be mapping and measuring its own process from the company to the individual level.
Data and insights generated from the successes, challenges, and downsides will be used to create a transparent and public framework. This framework will be built around the actual outcomes across multiple business operations and backed up by analyzing statistical progress against the goals outlined above.
Scoro Founder and CEO, Fred Krieger: “As long as companies consider their processes, and use the right technology to streamline employee workflows and maximize efficiency, transitioning is not only possible – but potentially the best decision a company can make. We talk about ‘Reinventing Fridays’ internally because it’s not just an extra day off, it amounts to much more when you imagine what you can do with 40-50 extra days each year. Whether we use this to pursue a lifelong dream, spend more time with loved ones, or finally learn that language. The additional free time can change our lives.”
Scoro’s own work management software platform will be used to map and plan day-to-day actions and efficiencies, recording the company’s progress with accuracy and providing insight for improvements.
Scoro staff members are also on board with the scheme.
“I think for me the way Scoro is mapping out our 4-day work week is what makes it a real benefit, free Fridays with no strings attached. We won’t have a drop in salary and there’s no need to work compressed hours Monday to Thursday. I used to see a long sabbatical after five years of work as a really great benefit. Now that seems a lot less significant to me when I work at Scoro where I will get a holiday every single week!” said Maddy Trusewich, Head of Global Business Development at Scoro (UK-based).
Phil Georgiadis, Account Executive (US-based), agreed: “Being part of a global initiative like this is something really exciting, especially as I am based in the US, where the statutory holiday laws are quite restrictive. These extra days of holiday will definitely change the way I am able to enjoy my life outside of work. While other companies in the States are only just starting to offer trials of a 4-day work week, I’m glad to be part of an international company that is willing to commit completely to improving our work/life balance.”
Find out more
To find out more about how Scoro employees plan to use their new free time check this space…
Scoro’s software will be used to automate manual tasks and increase efficiency within employee workflows. By using work management software like Scoro, teams can eliminate manual work – giving staff a chance to focus on client projects and time-sensitive tasks.