The SMZ team, like so many others, has spent 478 days working remotely. The output the team has produced for our clients (from home) is inspiring. We deserve a moment to take pride in our agency’s ability to deliver such great work during such extraordinary times.
Ok, moment over.
Now onto the news …
Shoes? Check. Pants? Check. That’s right, today we are starting BACK in the office in Troy. We are celebrating agency chairman Jim Michelson’s 80th birthday. We are eating together. We are marveling at 15-month-old curled-up printouts pinned to the conference room walls. We (the few who forgot to bring back their office chairs) are standing at our desks.
How’s our work going to work? We recognize that many at the agency want to continue to work remotely a portion of the time. Our goal is to preserve the SMZ culture and the benefits of being together while promoting a level of freedom and flexibility for everyone.
With this goal in mind, we are employing a hybrid work week where all SMZers spend three days in the office and two days wherever they work best. Everyone will be present in the office each week on Wednesday. In case you’re wondering, we have the option to work in the office four or five days a week. Or six or seven …
We are treating July and August as a pilot to discover things we may not already know or understand. We’ll be learning as we go through this first phase in the office. Once the pilot is complete, we’ll reassess to determine what might stay the same and what might change after Labor Day.
To our valued clients, vendor partners, friends and family, thank you for the encouragement and support. We know this past year and a half hasn’t been easy for anyone — but we got through it together — and that’s what we’ll continue to do! And please join me in wishing Jim Michelson a happy, healthy 80th birthday.