What Self-Employment Has Taught Me About Employee Experience

Like many of you, I have spent my entire career in corporate. I have been part of, led and built teams. I have been an individual contributor, and I have been a group leader. I have been remote, hybrid and fully in office. I have worked with amazing, inspirational leaders, ego-centric jerks and many mediocre leaders.

All that said, my move to self-employment has been one of the most impactful moves of my career. Self-employment has taught me more about what a good experience looks like than any job has offered. Both have their benefits and challenges and neither is the best way forward — our personality and our own needs will drive what works best for each of us. However, being self-employed offers unique insights into how key EX fundamentals of autonomy, flexibility and growth can drive larger organizations looking to improve their workplace culture.

Autonomy and Ownership

According to Daniel Pink, autonomy is one of the critical factors that drive engagement at work. When you're self-employed, you are your own boss, which is both a blessing and a curse. While I have absolute control over the work, who I work with and the opportunity to set my schedule, I am more at the whim of the marketplace as well as my own limitations — both in skill and time. Yet the autonomy of my day to day has provided huge exposure to new opportunities, new people and learning, and that is what drives me every day. 

Large organizations often struggle to balance strict processes, bureaucracy and set schedules, so autonomy is often dismissed as a luxury. Call centers have seen success by empowering agents to make real-time decisions without managerial approval. For example, a study by Smartz Solutions found that call centers that allow agents to handle customer issues independently saw up to a 20% increase in productivity and a significant reduction in employee turnover.

By trusting employees to manage their responsibilities, companies can create a culture of ownership and accountability, ultimately driving innovation and engagement.

How to Effectively Implement Autonomy:

1. Ensure Clarity — Autonomy doesn't mean working without rules or having free reign. You need clear guidelines and processes in place, as well as clear structure and communication about the required outcomes and methodologies. 
2. Define the Outcomes — To avoid chaos, managers need to be clear about what the work outcomes are. They then offer employees the freedom to decide how the work could be done.
3. Trust Your People — Hire employees who will be strong in their roles and train them to understand the culture and goals of the organization. Then monitor to make sure it’s working, and adjust as necessary. 

Flexible Productivity

Self-employed individuals enjoy greater flexibility in their work schedules — most of the time. Due to the nature of the work, there are busy times and lulls with little control over the timing of either. This flexibility forces us to balance our professional and personal lives more effectively because we must be ready when the client is ready. I, like many other freelancers and entrepreneurs, structure my days around peak productivity times. I am at my best from 7am until about 1pm. After that point, I start losing focus. My research, writing and deep strategy work are dedicated to those peak times. Admin, emails and other operational work are for the afternoon, allowing me to ensure my best work gets done each day. Of course, it changes every day but that is the approximate standard I try to set for myself.

A study by Stanford University found that remote workers experienced a 13% performance increase due to fewer distractions and more manageable work environments. Additionally, by using digital tools such as project management software and communication platforms, professionals can seamlessly collaborate with clients and peers across the globe, leading to continuous progress and effective task management. Many organizations are still leaning into the "in office = culture building" math, but culture is not confined to a location. Culture at its core is about employee behaviors. If the desired behavior is about effectiveness, efficiency and productivity, we must ensure employees have the tools to build those behaviors.

How to Effectively Implement Flexible Productivity: 

1. Create Clear Outcomes: Before starting any conversations on flexible work, ensure all managers and employees are clear on expectations and outcomes. What work is to be done each week, and what are the expectations for each employee and the team overall? 
2. Understand the Team’s Work Habits: Whether through surveys or focus groups, define clarity on the different work habits of your team. If there are team members who are best optimized in the morning, allow them to log off earlier and for those night owls, allow them to log on later without penalization.
3. Lean Into Digital Support: Digital facilitation tools like Teams and Slack allow for asynchronous work on projects, which makes more productive use of the day. Bring the team together a few times a week to check on progress, efficiency checks and output. By tracking the output of each person, the quality of the output and the efficiency of the team, employees can benefit from leveraging their peak performance without “play working” during traditional working hours. 

Personal Growth and Skill Development

Probably my favorite aspect of being independent is the amount of continuous, on the job learning. I have learned more in the past six months than I have before. Being self-employed requires ongoing learning and adaptation. We must stay on top of developments in our field and learn new technologies and techniques while learning how to budget, plan, strategize, design and everything else it takes to build a company. 

Many companies already have robust learning and skill development programs. However, employees face common struggles around finding time to take additional training and getting approval from managers to take lessons that might not relate directly to their role. For many hourly employees, time away from the tasks for training can often be overtime eligible and therefore discouraged, or unpaid, which leads to missed sessions by employees. In fact, according to research from McKinsey & Company, among employees who left their jobs because of a scarcity of career growth initiatives, 63% reported they didn’t have advancement opportunities, and 59% cited a lack of investment in their skills, knowledge and abilities. 

How to Effectively Implement Personal Growth and Skills Development: 

In addition to traditional learning platforms and upskilling programs, there are other lower-cost ways to build in ongoing training for employees:

1. Implement Stretch Roles: Companies can give employees responsibilities just beyond their current capabilities to create an engaged workforce and a culture of mentoring.
2. Offer Rotational Assignments: Companies can provide opportunities for employees to work in different departments or roles to broaden their skills and perspectives.
3. Provide Access to External Development: Encourage employees to attend conferences, workshops and seminars to stay updated with industry trends and best practices.
4. Create Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship programs where experienced employees can guide and support newer or less experienced team members
5. Encourage Peer Learning: Foster a culture where employees can learn from each other through knowledge-sharing sessions, workshops or informal meetups.

The world of self-employment offers valuable lessons that can enhance the employee and workplace experience in big companies. By embracing autonomy, flexibility and personal growth, organizations can create a more motivated, engaged and productive workforce. As the work landscape continues to evolve, these insights from self-employment can help big companies stay ahead of the curve and foster a thriving workplace culture.

Read more about improving employee experience:

• Creating an Employee Experience Mindset — Companies need to create a culture where everyone is an active participant in molding employee experience. Here are some ways to start.
• It's Time to Change the Narrative Around Employee Experience — With EX, DEI and wellness programs facing dismantlement, leaders need to reinforce the importance of employee-centricity.
• Busting 2 Common Myths About Employee Experience — Correcting common misconceptions can help leaders approach EX more effectively.

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