Clutter-free Fridays. ITI does not schedule internal meetings on Fridays, giving staff the end-of-week opportunity to catch up, recharge creatively, and focus. It also offers summer hours, which start in May. The office closes at 1 p.m. on Fridays, which “allows everyone to decompress for the weekend a little early,” Oxman said.
“I absolutely love it,” said ITI Senior Director of Marketing and Membership Natasha Goodwin. Meetings-free Fridays allow Goodwin to check off items on her to-do list and get to items she hasn’t tackled yet.
DEI culture groups. A core tenet of ITI’s mission is to integrate DEI throughout the organization’s culture. Staff-driven DEI culture groups develop educational initiatives and engagement opportunities. Recent efforts include finalizing ITI’s DEI statement and organizing group discussions on intersectionality and workplace allyship.
Skill development. ITI’s human resources team continually seeks out feedback from staff with surveys to find out what they need. The group offers staff access to LinkedIn Learning and earmarks funding so when they identify a specific learning opportunity they would like to pursue, they are able to access the resources to advance their skills.
Hybrid office. ITI is operating on a hybrid model and gives employees the choice of which three days they want to be in the office each week. “We know that having everybody physically in the same place at the same time is not necessary,” Oxman said. “The flip side of that is that flexibility is one of the things that makes us attractive as an employer.”
Funded workspace. ITI provided employees a stipend twice during the pandemic to purchase home office equipment they needed to do their jobs effectively. The funds allowed Goodwin to create a workspace in her basement with a desk, laptop stand, bookshelf, and printer-scanner.
Floating holiday. In addition to the standard list of federal holidays, ITI gives staff one floating holiday a year as part of its commitment to DEI. These are usually approved without question, Goodwin said, which enhances work-life balance.
These benefits are making a difference. “I feel like this company really values who I am and trusts me to do my work,” Goodwin said. “I’ve been in an environment where I’ve been micromanaged, and this is the total opposite of that. We trust each other, we support each other, and because of that I’m empowered to do a good job every day.”
For his part, Oxman is confident in the flexibility and latitude he is giving his employees.
“If you’ve got that track record as a team, it’s impossible for me to imagine any scenario where the flexibility we offer our employees is based on misplaced trust,” he said. “No regrets, no problems. This is the best it could be.”
