Crossmedia Invests in Its 'Work Anywhere' Policy by Sending Employees on Group Vacations

Serena Smith spent a summer weekend at an Airbnb on the Jersey shore, laying out by the pool with her laptop in hand, going out to dinner every night and frequenting a beach within walking distance of her rental home in Stone Harbor, N.J. The Crossmedia analyst, who lives in San Diego, wasn’t technically out of the office—she was on retreat with her coworkers at one of five summer houses the agency rented this summer. Summer retreats are a new work perk for the independent media agency’s employees. Crossmedia leadership intends for the rentals to foster employee camaraderie during the age of remote work. If regularly working in Crossmedia’s New York office is no longer reasonable now that the agency has employees across 26 U.S. states, then why not bring a “remote office experience” to those who are interested? It's a unique solution to bring those disconnected agency employees together and goes beyond the standard company summer party. Employees can choose the house they’d most like to visit, turning the experience into a mini working vacation with between five and eight of their coworkers, instead of a mandated work gathering. Employees now embrace flexible work and all that comes with it, whether that’s an occasional disruption by a colleagues’ barking dog or delivery schedule, or understanding that a colleague might tailor work around their kids’ daycare schedule. The summer house experience similarly blurs the line between work and vacation and offers employees a chance to know each other better. “The importance of meeting other people and forming relationships and hopefully lifelong friendships that extend past this is so critical to people's feelings of inclusion,” said Crossmedia’s chief people officer, Kristen Metzger. A different idea Earlier this year Metzger reevaluated the agency’s benefits, rewards and recognition programs. She wanted to reinforce the agency’s “Work from Anywhere” policy and simultaneously allow employees to step away from their regular work routines. Metzger also knew that a whopping 60% of XM’s current workforce joined the agency in the last two years, and that they rarely had opportunities to meet in person. All of this pushed the agency’s leadership team to invest in the Crossmedia Work From Anywhere (XMWFA) Summer Haus initiative. The program kicked off this summer with three-night-long vacations. The retreats run until Labor Day across five locations that employees chose: Long Beach Island, N.J.; Point Pleasant, N.J.; Stone Harbor, N.J.; Lake Waramaug, Conn.; and Malibu, Calif. Housing costs are covered entirely by the agency, although employees must cover their travel costs. The experience Joseph Nolan, an account director at Crossmedia, was surprised when he heard about the program. “I feel like no one is doing anything like this,” he told Adweek. Seven XM employees, including Nolan, stayed in XM’s Long Beach Island house. The group spent time on the house’s decks, went out to dinner and bars and grilled burgers on Friday to bring XM’s Friday “Burger Day” routine to the vacation. Smith’s experience was a nice balance of working and team building. Many in her group opted to sit by the pool outside and work together. The experience is intended to blend elements of work and vacation together, and provide opportunities for employees across different teams to collaborate. “This was a work from anywhere location. It just happened to be not in your living room in a skyscraper. We made sure that the WiFi was strong [and] there were enough spaces and nooks and crannies of the houses where people could find someplace quiet to work if they needed to,” said Metzger. How agencies can replicate it Agencies are scrutinizing their work perks. WeWork’s “Summer Camps” gained notoriety in the press and popular culture when company leadership mandated all employees attend. Finding perks that actually benefit employees can be tricky and occasionally work parties incite dread instead of enthusiasm. XM’s summer house initiative is entirely optional—and survey data indicates employees enjoyed the experience. Those who have attended so far rated the experience an average of 4.75 of 5 stars, and 14 out of 16 people said they maintained the same productivity on the vacation as usual. 100% of employees said they would sign up for the experience again next year. By Labor Day, 20% of Crossmedia’s workforce will have visited one of the houses. “This is about building community and relationships, so certainly a huge part of it is making sure that there's plenty of time for togetherness and fun and mini golf and, you know, nice lunches together and burger days,” said Metzger. How Crossmedia U.S. CEO Kamran Asghar Grew the Agency From the Ground Up