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Everything you need to know about Demand Logic’s new Four-Day Work Week

Written by Demand Logic | Sep 25, 2024

We are embarking on an exciting new chapter at Demand Logic as we officially implement a four-day work week after a successful year-long pilot. This decision reflects our commitment to fostering a healthier, more productive work environment while continuing to deliver high-quality service to our clients.

What is a four-day working week?

A four-day work week is a schedule where employees work for four days instead of the traditional five with the goal to maintain or improve productivity whilst providing employees with an enhanced work/life balance. 

How did we implement the transition?

We partnered with 4 Day Week Global, a non-for-profit organisation that is dedicated to helping businesses, individuals, and governments shift towards a future where productivity takes precedence over hours worked, and work/life balance is enhanced without compromising business outcomes. With their guidance, we undertook a coordinated design phase and a year-long trial period, with access to tailored support and tools to ensure success.

Why did we make the shift?

Our mission is to help clients create healthier, more efficient buildings by reducing energy use, streamlining maintenance & operations, and improving comfort & tenant retention. In the same vein, we recognised that optimising internal operations-like adopting a four-day work week-could similarly enhance employee well-being, increase productivity, and boost morale without compromising the quality of service we provide to our clients.

Midway through our trial we gathered feedback from our team on how the four-day work week was impacting them:

"Due to the benefit of a 4DWW as a company we are grateful and it gives us a boost of motivation to give back to the company we believe in even more so."

"It helps me maintain a great work-life balance and improves my time management by reducing unnecessary meetings."

“Given my personal situation having a 3 month old daughter, it has been invaluable to me.”

“It’s made a bigger difference than I thought. More energy and focus and drive for the 4 days.”

The results of our year-long pilot clearly demonstrated the advantages of the four-day work week. Employees were more focused, efficient, and enjoyed a better work-life balance, without compromising our high level of client service. Based on these results, we decided to make the four-day work week permanent!

What is our ‘non-working day’?

During our pilot period, we discovered that Fridays were quieter than expected based on external communications. As a result, we designated Friday as the company's 'non-working day.' However, this change will not impact our clients who operate on a five-day schedule.

How did we measure the impact on client delivery?

We crafted KPIs tailored to different aspects of customer success delivery within the business. Metrics were based on:

  • Deployment and onboarding lead times
  • User engagement
  • Renewal rates and customer satisfaction indicators

By comparing these KPIs before, during and after the pilot, we were able to ensure that the shift to four-day work week did not have any unexpected repercussions. Despite the quantitative approach one of the most telling indicators of the successful pilot was that the most common response, when sharing our news of the 4 day week pilot with clients, was “we had no idea, we haven’t noticed a difference in the service we receive”. 

How do we support clients on a Friday?

We understand that our transition to a four-day work week may raise some concerns, however we want to assure you that we’ve been working hard to put comprehensive systems and processes in place to maintain high-quality customer service for our clients. These systems and processes include:

  • Dedicated Account Management Rota: A rotating system has been set up to ensure that clients always have someone available for support throughout the entire week. If a primary contact is unavailable, another team member will be ready to assist promptly.
  • Operations Support Mailbox: For urgent issues, clients can rely on the dedicated Operations Support mailbox ops.support@demandlogic.co.uk which will be closely monitored. This email address can also be found in out-of-office replies and email signatures, making it easy for clients to find.
  • Personalised Support Sessions: To enhance client service, our Technical Account Managers and Building Performance Analysts now offer 30-minute drop-in sessions via Google Appointments. These sessions allow clients to discuss specific questions or ongoing projects and can be easily booked through links in email signatures.

How will we maintain platform access and handle disruptions?

Monitoring and maintenance: We understand the importance of uninterrupted access to our platform at any time. We have further strengthened and improved our advanced monitoring tools to identify and address potential issues before they impact our users. Ensuring that action is taken swiftly, when needed, remains essential to our operations. And the team is as committed as ever to ensuring maintenance and updates minimise risks and optimise performance.

Resiliency is a cornerstone: Our systems are designed with multiple layers of redundancy, ensuring that if one component fails, another can seamlessly take over. In the unlikely event of a major disruption, our comprehensive disaster recovery plans enable us to quickly restore services and minimise downtime.

Other questions

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Chief Operating Officer, Nick Smith, at nick.smith@demandlogic.co.uk or a member of your technical account management team.

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