How VertueLab is winning with work flexibility

It’s not that VertueLab never wanted an office. It’s that they realized times have changed and working professionals have different expectations of flexibility now. They also did the math. The cost savings of a flexible model can’t be ignored either.

The VertueLab team at this Radious space.

While working from home has been a great solution for them overall, the VertueLab team values in-person experiences too. So they eventually sought options for occasional gathering.

Radious’ CEO, Amina Moreau, sat down with President & ED of VertueLab, David Kenney, to learn more about how he and his team have navigated the transition to become a flexibility-first organization.

Did VertueLab ever have an office?

Yes, we were in offices for our first 12 years or so, including a space at Portland State University, a local co-working space, and eventually subletting desks directly from a company right up until the pandemic hit. We were nine people, all based in one place sitting together, which was definitely a nice setup. We did have some folks that worked remotely part of the time. We've always been in favor of a flexible work environment, but mostly operated as an in person team.

When it was clear that the pandemic was going to last at least all the way through 2020, that summer, we gave our 60 day notice and left our office space, moved our desks into storage, except for a couple of people that took them to their homes. We have been remote ever since and don't have any office space dedicated now.

Has that transition to remote work been smooth?

Yeah, it was relatively smooth and I think easier for us than for a lot of organizations because we weren't serving people in a physical space where we had to figure out a lot of different changes. Most of our work could be done and transferred to remote.

We really liked meeting with people in person and I would say that was more emotionally challenging than actually physically getting the work done.

At some point, did you or the team start feeling like people just missed each other?

Absolutely. During the summer of 2020 we had one get together in a park where we all brought our own lawn chairs and sat at a distance from each other in a giant circle. And it was really kind of an emotional experience for folks because it was still really early in the pandemic.

And we still refer back to “the park hang,” as we called it at the time. It really was hard to have been away from each other for so long when we were used to seeing each other pretty much every day for many years.

I found it really hard to not be around people, even though I was seeing people on Zoom every day.

Despite the fact that you personally feel like you work better when you're surrounded by people, you didn't force that on your team. Why?

We've developed a culture of respect for each other and we've done a lot of DEI work that also recognizes that there's a lot of different types of people who are different in a lot of different ways.

We were also growing through the pandemic and knew that we wanted to expand our team geographically. And we started hiring people in the Seattle area while most of the rest of our team was based in the Portland area.

It was clear that even if we tried to be all back in the office it wasn't going to look like it used to. And so it was easier to think about what the new model could be.

How have you navigated giving people options to work in whatever style suits them?

We've definitely looked at how we can get people together periodically, in some cases as an option and in other cases as a mandate.

And we really only had one real mandated get together, which was a two day retreat we did with our whole team, which was fabulous. But besides that, we've created optional in person days where we've used Radious spaces for folks that would like to come together.

And those days, it's been a mix of really productive meetings and also just some really casual interaction time for folks.

As a remote-first organization, how valuable is it to gather in person occasionally?

The in person work days we've had have become kind of a high point for our team. People talk about it in advance when it's coming up in a staff meeting. It's like, “oh, I'm looking forward to seeing everybody this week on Wednesday” or “what was the highlight of your last week?” We do kind of check in with the whole team over Zoom in our staff meetings, and people will often point to the in person time.

The Radious environment has really made it a fun environment. It doesn't feel like a boring office. It feels like we're getting together at somebody's house, almost. Well we are getting together at somebody's house, not somebody on our team, but it feels like we're in a home environment and we're getting work done. But it really is a bonding kind of experience for folks.

You're using Radious spaces primarily for internal gatherings, but could you imagine using them for either one-on-one meetings with external stakeholders or groups?

Absolutely. I would consider a Radious space for that just because of the flexibility of location and amenities.

The beauty of the Radious spaces has been having both a common area — a living room, a dining room table, the kind of things where people can be spread out and be working independently but also be together in close proximity to each other — as well as having some dedicated spaces like a back room with a desk, with a door that closes so that people can do some of their other meetings in privacy.

And have you been able to use any outdoor spaces?

Yep, we've definitely done lunch around the outdoor patio table as a team, and then also just some one-on-one meetings, and it's nice. Being able to sit down on a bench in the backyard together and have a conversation feels different than a regular office or Zoom.

And I assume cost has something to do with your decision-making?

Definitely. Radious is cheaper than a lease or a co-working space for the way that we use it. We've had a little bit of experience with one that we've used in town where we did the on-demand day passes and rented conference rooms when we've needed them.

I would get day passes for everybody, so that they could be there for a whole day and then reserve conference rooms for the time we needed them, which can be $30 to $100 an hour. It adds up really quickly. Radious is far more affordable.

And I don't think any of us know what the future of work looks like. So having the flexibility to not be locked in to some multi year commitment is great because I don't know if people are going to start yearning to be back together more or if more tools will become available and styles of work that allow us to just continue to be as remote as we have been.

We've had people that want to do in-person meetings with clients where they're discussing sensitive information, and a coffee shop isn’t private enough. So they'll book a space for a few days to do consecutive meetings.

I can definitely see that model, especially if there are multiple one-on-one meetings or you could schedule two or three meetings in a row.

Because, honestly, the coffee shop also doesn't work for three hours of back-to-back meetings. I can't drink that much coffee. And I feel self-conscious about taking up a table for too long.

What other differences have you experienced between co-working spaces and the Radious model aside from the financial aspect?

The biggest one is privacy. It’s just our team there. And so you aren't worried about other people overhearing your conversations or just being disturbing to other people that are working.

And if a team only needs to be together, say, once a week, why on earth would an organization pay for a lease seven days a week?

Yep, absolutely. And for us, we especially don't need a dedicated space where it only covers part of the geography of where our team is.

What does your crystal ball tell you about the future of work and the role of flexibility?

We've really listened to our employees about what kind of flexibility they want and they need. And we have folks that pick up kids after school and are able to do that and not have to make some kind of arrangement for kids that need a ride home from school.

It's nice that they can work from home and do that most days and make arrangements for the occasional days when they need to be in-person with us or at some other meeting. To me it is part of providing an equitable workplace.

It’s about recognizing that family needs, personal needs, and work styles should be accommodated to get people's best work.

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To learn more about VertueLab, please visit www.vertuelab.org.

To browse Radious listings and book one in your neighborhood, visit here.