A Results-Oriented Work Environment @DevryBV
At DevryBV Sustainable Strategies, we are committed to inspire businesses to courageously serve humanity. To advance our purpose, we align it with stellar performance. We’ve spent the better half of 2024 discussing and researching the type of work culture we want to embrace that supports our performance, and we have landed on a Results-Oriented Work Environment (ROWE). By embracing ROWE, we prioritize outcomes over rigid schedules, fostering a culture of trust, flexibility, and innovation.
Why ROWE?
ROWE is more than a policy; it's a mindset that promotes accountability, autonomy, and excellence. Developed by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, founders of the consulting firm CultureRx, ROWE has been adopted by companies large and small over the past couple of decades. At our firm, ROWE means employees have the freedom to work when, where, and how they perform best. By doing so, they work at their full potential. Rather than hours spent at a desk, success is measured by impact, innovation, and meaningful contributions.
ROWE in Action at DevryBV.
Our firm’s core values–agility, passion, courage, curiosity, and The Stewardverse–are the foundation of our ROWE approach:
Agility. ROWE empowers our employees to adapt, innovate, and take ownership of their work while focusing on outcomes rather than rigid schedules, embracing flexibility, and operating comfortably in ambiguity.
Passion. ROWE allows employees to channel their energy into meaningful work driven by purpose and personal accountability rather than how many hours they work, bringing enthusiasm and excellence to everything we do.
Courage. ROWE encourages bold thinking and decisive action. Our team members have the autonomy to initiate solutions, address challenges, and drive sustainable change without unnecessary bureaucracy of reporting hours, leading with boldness and resilience and speaking truth to power.
Curiosity. Our employees have the freedom (and our management has the expectation) to explore new ideas, ask questions, and find creative solutions without being tied to a strict schedule, deploying the art of inquiry to challenge assumptions and grow.
The Stewardverse. ROWE allows our team to work in ways that preserve, protect, and prioritize people and nature.
What About the Downsides?
ROWE isn’t about a “loosey-goosey” work environment, and if a team member feels it is, then there’s been a communication breakdown on management’s part. The pitfalls with ROWE are well documented: what about people who lack discipline, motivation, or moral and ethical judgment? First, we hire people with an affinity for our culture, values, and work environment. Another key part of our ROWE approach is to “coach in the moment” while maintaining clear timelines and deliverables.
Each employee has a personal development plan with specific and measurable goals to achieve on a near-, mid-, and long-term basis. Regular meetings with colleagues are designed to benchmark progress and identify obstacles. We either succeed or fail as a team at DevryBV; it’s up to each of us to communicate and figure out the best solution to achieve our firm’s purpose and to live our company values.
examples of ROWE in action.
It’s important to show how ROWE applies to an employee’s everyday work life. Here are a few real examples from our firm recently:
Planning time off. An employee may desire to plan an extended vacation that exceeds a traditional fixed set of days (e.g., three weeks instead of two). She would plan well in advance (months), discuss it in detail with her manager and her team, set the time aside on the calendar, and benchmark the dates against any expected deliverables.
Showing up for family. Life happens. The kids need to be picked up at the school bus. An elderly parent has blood clots get in the lungs. Your spouse needs to jet off to care for a sibling with cancer. Guilt about time away from work commonly accompanies such events. That doesn’t need to be the case. It’s the combination of flexibility and structure with ROWE that helps an employee show up for others when needed without worrying about what others think in the office. They know you’ve got your work responsibilities covered.
Efficiency and safety. ROWE lets employees choose when to leave home for the office, allowing them to avoid peak rush hour and use their time more efficiently. Or if roads are icy and dangerous, they don’t need to risk injury or property damage unnecessarily if they can work from home.
As we continue to grow, DevryBV remains committed to a work culture built on trust, results, and shared purpose. ROWE empowers our team to work smarter—not harder—driving real change in the sustainability space while fostering a thriving, engaged workplace.
Becky Roehl is the Office Manager + Executive Assistant to the CEO at DevryBV Sustainable Strategies. She has worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Delta Air Lines, and Gateway Computers while wearing various hats in the human resources and training & development functions.
