Giving Employees Time To Work On Their Project Ideas
When I launched TLSC I had to take on a number of employees within quick succession to meet the demands of the business. One of the things I started thinking about was how to keep work fun and interesting in a field that at times can be quite monotonous.
A few beers later and an idea had begun to form in my mind, I’d let them take one day a week to work on any project they like. What’s more - I”d pay them to come into the office, use our facilities and work on that idea … in return for a percentage of any profits of course.
The guys jumped at the opportunity knowing that if their project ideas failed, they could still pay their mortgages and the only one to lose out really would be me. It took a lot of trust in the team for me to do this and I’m happy to say I’ve been duly rewarded.
Looking over our figures for the last 4 months, nearly 25% of the businesses profit has been generated from projects that the team have decided to work on with their “day off”. These range from affiliate websites, paid subscription websites, product development – right through to a small property development.
I spent some time at a round table event a month or so ago and mentioned this to a couple of the business owners who were present, I know two of which have implemented the idea and have started seeing some great ideas come of it.
Not a bad return at all for simply showing belief in our people…
