Thinking about quality of life, the company from Santa Catarina opted to leave the choice of work model in the hands of the employee
The Softplan Group, one of the largest SaaS and digital transformation business ecosystems in the country, has had most of its employees working in the 'anywhere office' model for three years. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, employees have had the option of whether or not to go to the office, at their convenience and without the obligation of fixed days – a scheme that remains in effect to this day.
Alejandra Nadruz, Group People & Culture Director
According to company data, approximately 85% of the team — 2,125 employees — work in the hybrid model, generating greater well-being for employees, diversity in hiring and increased inclusion. “Talking about this model, which we call 'distributed work', is talking about diversity and talking about diversity in business is also talking about performance and productivity”, explains Alejandra Nadruz, Director of People & Culture at the group. Between 2022 and the beginning of this year, Softplan has already hired 650 new employees in the same work model, with emphasis on employees from 23 different states in the country. And the company continues to look at this path: it currently has 80 open positions in this work format.
Furthermore — and following the technology market trend — Softplan not only considers the hybrid model positive, but also presents many examples of how the benefit of the home office has changed people's lives. This is the case of Gustavo Copetti, 29 years old, resident of the city of São José (SC) and who has been working in the group for a year.
Copetti — who has muscle atrophy and uses a wheelchair — says that, when he received the proposal, he already knew that the job would be 100% remote. The quality of life offered by the company was the differential. “I wouldn't be able to work here, no matter how good the offer, if face-to-face work was mandatory. Having flexibility in routine, schedules, in the workplace gives me more autonomy, within my health condition, and this gives me an absurd peace of mind, certainly reflecting on my productivity”, he highlighted.
For other employees, the new work model provided greater attention to mental health, as well as the possibility of traveling more, seeing new places and living new experiences. This was the case of Petrine Mirela Moretti, 26 years old, Business Partner, who joined Softplan a year and a half ago. The employee has already managed to visit Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Angra dos Reis and will also travel through the Northeast during the month of May, thanks to the hybrid system, which allows her to connect and work from wherever she wants.
“I'm not a digital nomad, I'm super attached to my family, so I travel, I come back, I stay at my parents' house for a week, then I travel again and that way I get to know several cool places while I work — I organize my day accordingly with my demands and work schedules, but I manage to fit schedules into my day-to-day life and I can experience the culture of the place where I am,” said Moretti.
For solo mother Fernanda Cominski, 36 years old, marketing analyst, the situation has changed a lot since she joined Softplan, in 2019. spent almost three hours in traffic daily just to complete the trip to and from the office. “The logistics of a single mother are more difficult, so this flexibility brings me a certain amount of peace of mind to organize my routine around the house, get ready and work. Apart from the priceless benefit, which is being able to be close to my daughter, getting her ready for school, watching her grow, effectively participating in the creation of a being that will be part of our society in the future”, he revealed.
According to the company's Director of People & Culture, one of the advantages of the remote work model is that it is related to a horizontal organizational operation. “The face-to-face work generates symbols of power and brings us a very strong sense of hierarchy, which, at times, can make work less agile. And this horizontal organization model has worked very well at Softplan”, explains Alejandra.
As part of the group's policies for those who work in the remote model, the company offers a monthly amount to help with electricity and internet bills, in addition to another benefit consisting of an amount intended for the acquisition of equipment and peripherals that can help the employee to have a high quality in the execution of the work remotely.
Model provides greater growth and inclusion to the Softplan Group
Since 2020, when the company implemented remote work, there has been no impact on the growth of the Softplan Group, which during the period saw revenues grow by more than 80% — reaching R＄ 586 million last year, in addition to carrying out six acquisitions and the first company's debenture process, of R＄ 130 million, with the objective of guaranteeing more investments in acquisitions and technology, consolidating the Multi SaaS operation model during this period.
One of the ways the group maintains to generate more inclusion through digital is through the CEO Connection programs, fortnightly meetings in which employees can talk directly with CEO Eduardo Smith, and Conecta Softplan, a quarterly meeting of results and strategies with the entire group, which has more than 2,500 employees. The meeting turned into a talk show that today brings together all the directors to talk about the most relevant topics of the moment, such as acquisitions and HR issues.
