English Businessman, investor, and founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson is a firm believer in empowering employees – not ruling over them. In his recent blog post, Richard Branson discuses his decision to give unlimited leave to his employees. Branson is testing this new unlimited leave policy with his employees at Virgin Management. By giving employees the ability to take longer holidays Branson hopes that they will fulfill their objectives efficiently, instead of fulfilling a time quota. With the introduction of this new policy Branson is demonstrating his belief that “companies should give their teams freedom to make their own decisions and express themselves”.
This new policy that Virgin is introducing is very different from the strict holiday leaves that many other companies offer to their employees. However, this policy may be more effective. Employees often feel ‘controlled’ by company rules and policies. By giving employees the ability to make their own decisions they feel valued and trusted by the company. Most employees will enjoy their job more, choose to work efficiently, and be loyal to the company, given these opportunities. Therefore, I believe that Richard Branson’s new unlimited leave policy is one that more companies should consider.
Sources:
http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/empower-your-employees-dont-rule-over-them
Media Source:
http://alexlovellsblog.blogspot.ca/2010/10/sir-richard-branson-six.html