Smucker’s hybrid work policy receives minimal kickback from their once-remote corporate employees. These employees must come into the office during “core weeks,” which are decided a year in advance.
With a portfolio of over 40 products, including Jif peanut butter, Smucker’s fruit spreads, Folgers coffee, Meow Mix cat food, and Milk-bone dog snacks, the J.M Smucker Company is a well-known Fortune 500 company. Even with their grand size and revenue, they haven’t forgotten the importance of happy employees.
While other companies, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Walmart, are bashing remote work and calling their employees back to the office with strict full-time or hybrid working hours, Smucker is taking a different approach.
The J.M. Smucker Company has approximately 7,300 employees, but only 1,300 work corporately. The other 6,000 are not included in this hybrid work plan since they work on production lines or in labs.
Breakdown of Smucker’s Hybrid Work Policy
Smucker’s hybrid work policy is simple. Each year, the company posts a calendar with 22 core weeks. This works out to almost two weeks per month, but during the holiday months, there is usually only one core week.
During these core weeks, employees are expected to spend some time in the office. On average, employees spend three days in the office during these weeks, some more and some less. It averages out to working remotely about 75% of the time.
In a recent interview with CNN Business, CPO Jill Penrose says the company wants employees to be together for “collaboration, relationships, spending time together, and working on difficult problems or challenges.” She also shared that these changes have not only helped the company retain employees but also attract more.
Each company lightens the return-to-office blow in different ways. For Smucker, it’s flexibility. For others, it’s paying relocation costs. However, since the J.M. Smucker Company doesn’t require their employees to live within a certain distance of the office, they do not provide travel and/or relocation costs.
Their 1,300 corporate employees are in charge of how they arrive at their headquarters in Orrville, Ohio, and where they stay. Some choose to stay in a hotel, others rent an apartment, and others stay with family or coworkers.
What Do Smucker’s Corporate Employees Love About This Policy?
Smucker’s unique approach to hybrid working encourages trust and connection between employees. Employees love the flexibility of being able to live wherever they choose and coming into the office as they see fit during the core weeks. They can select the days of the week that work best with their schedule. Ultimately, they’re only in office 25% of the time, at most.
With Orrville, Ohio, being fairly central, employees can easily commute from or through many major cities, including Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.
While not directly related to the subject, but worth a mention, their “campus” is one of a kind. It features a wellness facility with a gym, massage center, and medical care center. Their cafeteria is called The Orchard and showcases local and seasonal ingredients. Smucker’s campus also has a child development center so that parents can stay close to their children at the office.
How Can You Implement Something Similar?
Of course, every company is structured differently and has different needs. A few of the best aspects to take away from Smucker’s hybrid work policy include:
- Flexibility. The exact day of the week (and how many days) the employees need to be in the office is up to them. Where, when, and how work can be done are the three most vital types of flexibility employees seek. Consider giving employees vast options of in-office days instead of strict ones.
- Advance notice. The core week schedules are published a year in advance, allowing employees who live further away to search for travel and accommodation options with ample time. Alerting your remote employees of a schedule well in advance helps them, and you, better prepare for it.
- A sense of community at the office. Smucker’s headquarters has personal office spaces and many shared spaces that encourage interaction and relationship building, which makes employees look forward to core weeks instead of dreading them. Create an exciting and inviting workplace for employees to return to.
- Blue collar vs. white collar. The J.M. Smucker Company has approximately 6,000 employees who work on production lines or in laboratories. Unfortunately, these careers can not be done remotely. Instead of trying to equalize schedules, create a work policy that benefits those who can reap it.
