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At HowNow, people are truly our greatest asset.
We’re committed to continually developing our perks and benefits to our people’s ever-changing needs.
In 2023, Work From Anywhere policies boomed, and so with our commitment to attracting and retaining best-in-class talent, we launched our Work From Anywhere (WFA) scheme.
Luis Goncalves and Gloria Reina, two HowNowers took advantage and shared their experiences with us.
We currently operate a hybrid working model at HowNow. Each week, our London team come to the office for two days and our Mumbai Team head in for three days.
With a diverse workforce we’re really proud of, it came as no surprise that they’d want to spend time working remotely to visit their friends and families, or just take time abroad to travel.
Our Work From Anywhere policy allows HowNow employees for up to 40 working days per year within certain countries.
HowNow’s take on remote working is ensuring that we provide the opportunities for a good work-life balance, whilst also ensuring each individual can make an impact and thrive within their role. Wherever you’re doing this from is up to you - it’s about the results you generate, rather than the chair you’re doing it from.
Luis: I used it to work in Portugal, which allowed me to spend Christmas with my family. It was the first time in a while where the whole family was present for Christmas, with 28 of us coming together. I was able to spend time with my grandma, uncles, aunties and cousins who I see every few months.
Gloria: I always use the Work From Abroad Policy to spend important special holidays and celebrations with my family like Christmas or birthdays. I love being surrounded by my parents, cousins, aunties and our dogs. They all live in a small 300-person - a quiet change from London.
Luis: HowNow’s flexible approach to work allows me to see my family multiple times a year, without the need to use annual leave. The time spent away from the busy city of London, and instead absorbing the scenery of a quaint village in Portugal, does wonders for my mental health.
Gloria: If HowNow didn’t have the Work From Anywhere offering, it would mean I’d have to use my holiday allowance to spend this time with my family, which would mean less holiday to use elsewhere.
Generally, I’ll try to work abroad for a week, and then take a week's holiday after to further maximise the time spent with my family. My career is super important to me, but so is seeing my family, so I’m really grateful for HowNow to be able to balance both.
Luis: I have a sense of trust from my manager when I’m not working in the office. They trust me to work regardless of where I’m based.
Our work is mainly on ClickUp (our Project Management tool), so there’s visibility on the work I’m delivering. We also have daily standups, which promotes collaboration and provides us with a focus of what we want to achieve within that day and week.
We have an international work-force, including a team that are based in Mumbai, so we are set-up to be able to work effectively with the team remotely and deliver on work and projects that move us closer towards becoming the most loved learning platform!
Gloria: While working from abroad I still have my regular meeting cadences with the team, so wherever I’m working from, they get the same output from me.
We also have other tools, such as ClickUp and also use Slack as a way to share important messages and stay well connected.
Whether I’m working from abroad, or in the office in London, I’m still able to effectively work towards hitting my individual and team goals In Q4 2024, I took 9 days of annual leave, as-well as using the WFA scheme, and was able to effectively hit 100% of my targets.
The ability to learn from your peers can be hindered when you work completely remotely, but our hybrid approach gives us the opportunity to spend time together frequently too.
When using the WFA scheme, I am proactive that I am spending time learning, given the lack of face-time with my peers.
For me recently, this has looked like using this time to do more virtual learning - e.g spending time with other Partnerships Leaders, sharing interesting information, documents, news, and virtual get-togethers.
These have really helped broaden my knowledge, and I have applied these in my role.
Similarly, we run Monthly KnowHow events, which are internal knowledge sharing opportunities. I previously ran an event whilst I was working in Spain, with really positive feedback from my colleagues and senior leaders.
"Great presentation Gloria Super Talented" - PM.
"Gloria Powerful presentation, thanks" - Software Engineer.
"Gloria that was glorious! You should be proud of what you delivered. Learned a lot. Thank you" - CEO.
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