How a Going Green Campaign Grew Happy Employees

By Candice Quinn Kelly, CMCA, AMS

When we began our “Maredith Goes Green” campaign at the beginning of 2009, I wouldn’t have guessed that it would culminate in a flex
work schedule.
Environmental activism and awareness had matured into a full-fledged social movement and as seen in countless companies around the
country, we also wanted to make a difference.
Maredith, a company specializing in the management of homeowners associations and condominiums, developed a simple plan. This employee-driven campaign converted 15 years of files into electronic format; implemented a state of the art pool pass system; formalized strong recycling procedures and conditioned
everyone to hang tough at the sight of a paper cut. I thought we were about to boast the conclusion of a successful campaign. Not
so. The funny thing about encouraging employees to think for themselves is
that think they will, and think they did, into an innovative and creative box. The question began floating around the office and finally reached a very loud crescendo. “If we are doing so much electronically, why can’t we work from home?” My response, “because we need to be open for our customers, and if everyone can’t
do it we shouldn’t start it.” Makes sense, right? Still I needed to know, why all this pressure to work from home. I asked the question and learned the reasons: to attend to family, day care, doctor’s appointments, school activities, down time and so on. Looking for an approach that would allow everyone to have time at home, the idea of a four day work week was proposed.
My employees lamented that by the time they
arrived at home, it was too late to do very much. They felt that once they had gone to the trouble to get to work, why not stay a few hours longer and work a four day work week? In addition, working only four days would save them money and the company money. I liked the sound of that! It all seemed to tie into our going green campaign. We would reduce energy costs, traffic congestion and fuel consumption. The incentive was clear and
the collaboration was hard to believe. Maredith staff hammered out a new personnel policy and
developed a schedule. Although we had reduced our work week by one day, we would expand our hours on Thursdays to remain open keeping our switchboard staffed with a live person from 7:30 AM until 6 PM daily and 7 PM on Thursdays. In January of 2009 we rolled out our flex schedule and I held my breath.
Almost a year later, I can say that the “Maredith
Goes Green” campaign was a success, especially the flex schedule component. Without a doubt it is one of the best business decisions I have ever made. Attendance has improved, tardiness has decreased, productivity has increased and happy faces are everywhere. The ten hour days seem like killer days to me, and from time to time I inquire if there is a need to re-visit this schedule. I hear emphatic NO’s. Another added bonus has been
the relationship building that has transpired as a result of the Go Green Campaign. Because
everyone was a part of this campaign, the trials and triumphs were experienced as a team. In short, Maredith employees bonded without taking an Outward Bound trip or retaining a high paid consultant.
There is cohesiveness among our employees that didn’t exist before, and the ten hour days afford more time for employees to build friendships.
Lastly, we had expected some pushback from our customers and were pleasantly surprised when most customers when learning of our flex schedule responded happily and even asked for a job application! They like our “commuter friendly hours” because they can stop by easily before or after work. That said, we continue to encourage them to visit us
virtually. We all look so much better when viewed via an LCD monitor!

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About Candice Quinn Kelly, CMCA, AMS

Candice Quinn Kelly is the owner and CEO of
Maredith Management, LLC AAMC. Maredith
manages over 13,000 units in homeowner associations and condominiums. Maredith is one of only 100 companies nationwide that has received this highly coveted designation of AAMC.

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