Making a success of flexible working

Even before Covid, like many in the digital sector, we recognised that the way we work was changing. The traditional 9-to-5 felt like an outdated concept. Sitting at the same desk did too.

We formed Bloom on the evening of the first lock down in the UK, but our thinking on how to create a culture that could adapt to the emerging ways of work started many years before.

The cornerstones of how we work

The cornerstones of this are three-fold:

Working where we want. We all have different habits, patterns, techniques to get the best work out of us, but we need the right place to do so. Our team benefit from at least 5 key places to work. We have a studio that’s geared around relaxation and deep concentration down at the Toffee Factory in Newcastle. We have a space too at Generator Studios, sharing with forward thinking agencies like Gardiner Richardson and Route, which is great for collaboration and for catching up with people. We have, of course, our homes which we’ve kitted out with the same equipment as our workplaces. We have third spaces such as coffee shops. And of course we have outside when the weather is agreeable for some much needed vitamin D. So far, we’ve found this to be the ideal mix.

Working when we want. Yes there are some rules to ensure we’re able to connect with each other each day, but we don’t have specific set work hours, and our team can tailor their work around their life rather than the other way round. Our work patterns are adaptable and built on trust.

Working with the best software. We continually review and adapt our software stack, and it’s enabled us to work without downtime throughout the pandemic. Figma, Basecamp, Slack, the list goes on. All carefully considered, utilised thoughtfully, interplaying effectively.

The 4 day working week

There’s a great deal of talk about 4 day working weeks in the industry.

Our flavour of this is ‘Summer Hours’ working 4-day weeks in July and August to make the most of the longer summer days, with no loss of holiday and a reduction of hours (not cramming the same ideas into less days) for our team.

Our agency is lean, efficiency is high, and whilst some are rolling out 4-day weeks permanently across the year, our approach is to implement it in the summer so we can achieve everything we have in our ambitious plans for the rest of the year

Asynchronous communication

One of the greatest tensions we have is remaining responsive to requests but meanwhile creating the right working practices to get into a flow state each day. For this reason, we favour asynchronous communication. It means others can read information at a time appropriate for them when the natural points in the day allow it, rather than being interrupted in the middle of their peak flow state. We need meetings for collaboration, but we also value well written electronic communications that move us forward. Clear writing is a highly valued skill at Bloom.

At Bloom we’re evolving our company just as we’re evolving our products, ideas and client sites.