The last two years have seen a transformation in the business workplace. As a result of Covid-19, the days of a daily commute and working 9 to 5 in the office have been replaced by working from home.

During this time, Tide has not only navigated the pandemic, but closed Series C funding, introduced a host of timesaving features for our members, and grown our headcount by more than 60%. And this has all been achieved while working remotely. This success has proved that flexibility clearly works for one of the UK’s leading digital platforms.

In this post, we will explain the background behind Tide’s Working Outside the Office policy, or ‘WOO,’ as it is abbreviated, why it came into being and how it has now been updated to reflect a new working world. We’ll also explain how Tideans can benefit from flexible working patterns.

Table of contents

• Covid-19 and the rise of remote working
• What’s behind the new WOO policy?
• The four key features of the WOO approach
• Unlimited in-country remote work
• Flexible out-of-country remote work
• Great offices
• Keeping connected
• Wrapping up – just one of many Tide benefits

Covid-19 and the rise of remote working

When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit and large parts of the world went into lockdown in March 2020, we responded by creating our Working Outside the Office policy (WOO). This was established to enable Tideans to work outside of the office during the pandemic in locations that were right for them while adhering to local government restrictions. Being a global workforce, this could mean in the Tidean’s home country or from a different location altogether. Therefore this policy was named Working Outside the Office, or WOO for short, as it covered so much more than just working from home.

This flexible approach enabled Tide to not only function as normal in our mission to support small businesses during the pandemic, but to also grow and scale too. This can be illustrated by the fact that our headcount over the past two years has grown by 60% as we have expanded to become a truly global business.

What is behind the new WOO policy?

One of the main learnings from the past two years is that the benefits of flexible working are felt by both the business and employees alike. Tideans have appreciated not having to make long commutes into the Tide offices every day, instead being able to use this time to spend time with family, do the school run, undertake professional learning and development and take care of their health and fitness. In fact, many have said that having the flexibility to work remotely has seen their productivity increase.

“We’re thrilled to launch our updated Working Outside the Office policy. As a global company that strives to cater to the diverse needs and lifestyles of our employees, giving our Tideans the flexibility to choose the work environment that suits them is a no brainer. Whether that’s home-based to reduce commuting time, in one of our offices to collaborate with others face-to-face, overseas whilst visiting family, or a mix of all of these, it’s all about what works for them. This is just another reason for why Tide is such a great place to work!”

Liza Haskell, Chief Administrative Officer

Tideans appreciate having the flexibility to work remotely when needed, but also spend time in their office location for the opportunity to collaborate in person with colleagues. And we mustn’t forget the value of socialising with colleagues too. This forms a key part of Tide’s unique culture, as we recognise the importance of downtime. We’ve even introduced wellbeing and fun zones as part of our recent revamp and investment in our office space.

“Supporting my work/life balance, as well as that of my team, is really important to me. The flexibility Tide offers here is fantastic.”

Heather C, VP of Member Engagement Marketing

A further advantage is that being able to work remotely mainly means that Tide itself can recruit from a wider area, as commuting times are no longer a barrier to whether people are willing to work in particular locations.

The new Working Outside of the Office Policy has been introduced to further build on the concept. One of the main advantages to Tide is that it enables us to attract and retain talent, not just by offering greater flexibility to our workforce but by being able to recruit from a larger area.

However, alongside the facility to work remotely, we are also mindful of the importance of maintaining in-person contact and collaboration too. This will ensure Tideans feel part of both their team, as well as the wider organisation, and maintain Tide’s unique culture too.

The four key features of the WOO approach

As we know that happy and motivated Tideans mean they are at their most productive, our new Working Outside the Office approach has been created with 4 key features in mind:

1. Unlimited in-country remote work

Our updated WOO policy now gives Tideans the ability to work from anywhere within their assigned country or state. Alongside this, there will be no adjustment to salary if a Tidean should move to another region within their assigned country. Tideans will no longer be required to attend the office in their assigned country location for a designated number of days per month. This provides greater flexibility for Tideans to manage their own schedules and have time for family and other interests alongside work.

“Now, working remotely from home, I’m able to give more time to myself and to all of my family, especially as my wife and I are working parents.”

Daulat R. OM Team Lead

2. Flexible out-of-country remote work

We know that Tideans love to travel and see the world (and, let’s face it, who doesn’t after the past two years), so we’ve introduced the flexibility to travel and work around the world for 90 days per country each year. This means Tideans can combine holiday or visiting family overseas with remote working to enable them to spend longer in their chosen destination if they wish. All part of our mission to ensure Tideans strike the right work-life balance.

3. Great offices

Of course, we recognise that it’s great for Tideans to come together too, as our best work is done when people collaborate across teams. Spending time in the office is also an important part of Tide’s culture.

We’ve therefore invested in our offices to make them great environments for both connecting with colleagues and encouraging team-working. Our offices include comfortable meeting rooms, break-out areas for informal collaboration and regular Tidean lunches. Maintaining the health and wellbeing of Tideans is just as important, so we’ve introduced both a gaming area and gym into our London offices to provide space for downtime too.

4. Keeping connected

In addition to the investment into our office space, we are also committed to keeping Tideans connected in person by organising regular team gatherings and social events, both in-person and online.

Examples of the range of events we have organised include the Tidean Spring party for the whole company, the April Steps Challenge where the global Tide team was encouraged to collectively walk to reach a set target distance throughout the 30 days of the month, and even crazy golf events. As part of the new WOO policy, there will be an even greater emphasis on Tide events to help our teams to stay connected and build on the unique Tide team culture.

Wrapping up – just one of many Tide benefits

We’re understandably both excited and proud of our new WOO policy, which will give Tideans the best of both worlds by being able to combine the flexibility of working from home or another country with maintaining face-to-face contact with their colleagues too.

We’ll also be publishing a second post in our WOO series, featuring some testimonials from Tideans and how they have personally taken advantage of being able to work remotely.

Flexible working is just one of the many benefits that make Tide a fantastic place to work. As well as having the chance to work for a fast-paced, innovative and team-oriented organisation, we also offer a host of other well-being benefits, including mental wellbeing, private health cover, individual learning and development budget, and an extra 3 days off per year for volunteering or personal learning and development. Interested? We’re always looking for great new talent, so, if you’d like the chance to become a Tidean, check out our Careers page to see our latest opportunities.