Democratizing the Workplace: Ethical Economic Ecosystems

Digital Digest

Author: Nate West

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Democratizing the Workplace: Ethical Economic Ecosystems

Our organization focuses on transparency and putting people before profits. To do this, we must lead by example in our efforts to democratize the workplace, becoming a leader in ethical capitalism.

Flat Organizational Structure

FiNC recognizes the issues arising from a tall company structure that puts many levels of management between Associates and Executives. There are many reasons why our organization uses a flat structure instead.

A flat organizational structure reduces unnecessary layers of communication. We all know the schoolyard game of ‘telephone,’ where a message changes rapidly as it’s repeated and passed along. The same thing happens in the workplace, making it harder for everyone to do their jobs effectively.

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FiNC is broken down into departments, each with one leader who reports directly to the company founder. Our founder, Travis, provides a healthy amount of input to ensure projects align with the overall company Mission without micromanaging teams.

We also benefit from effective collaboration between departments. Our teams hold regular virtual meetings to collaborate on current projects. During our meetings, we discuss the status of current tasks and how to move forward with future plans. Every employee has a voice, and the organization thrives on this intellectual diversity.

Employees are respected for the expertise and skills they bring to the table. Each department has a voice and is called upon to share relevant insight. FiNC trusts our employees and their experience. Our founder reaches out to specific departments for advice and best practices in their field. We respect the knowledge and perspective of each team member.

Additionally, the software and tools we use to create FiNC-Web, the Research Hub, and Digital Democracy allow us to make or suggest changes easily. Multiple parties can view these comments, offering feedback and reaching the goal more efficiently.

We’re adults and professionals. Our team is responsible and knowledgeable enough to take ownership of their tasks. There’s no need for excessive management layers that consume time and cost money. This model and our remote status provide a lower overhead than a vertically structured brick-and-mortar organization.

Approachable Leadership

If you’ve ever struggled with telling your boss you disagree or that you have a better solution to a problem, we feel your pain. At FiNC, our flat structure and approachable leadership offer open doors and receptive ears to employees at all levels.

Company leadership and department heads welcome input and feedback from their teams. Ideas are taken seriously and factored into big-picture planning. FiNC holds company polls to get everyone’s opinion and expertise on certain decisions.

FiNC’s leadership is flexible and understanding. We strive to be punctual and productive but also recognize that life happens. Employees are more productive and effective when they can focus on what needs to be done and are allowed to work when they’re at their best. This flexibility fosters creativity and reduces stress, resulting in high-quality work.

Play To Employee Strengths

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Some are natural, while others are learned or acquired. Our leadership asks for an honest assessment from each employee regarding what they excel at and where they struggle.

Certain challenges can be overcome with additional training and experience. Others present a greater obstacle, and that’s okay! FiNC looks at the entire person and not just as an employee. We place our team members where they can excel and grow. If a task is out of someone’s capabilities or seems overwhelming, we start by addressing the tasks, not the individual.

This approach allows each team member to be productive and feel accomplished. Happy employees genuinely care about their work, which is paramount to success.

Work-Life Balance

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One of the most important ways FiNC revolutionizes the workplace is by offering employees a positive work-life balance. Some jobs require employees to miss out on their kids’ soccer games or work through the holidays.

Not us.

The FiNC team is fully remote with flexible work schedules. We know that family comes first and allow our employees to be productive, get the job done, and still have all the time they need at home.

Employee burnout contributes to poor productivity, high turnover, and bad morale. Most of our staff is currently working part-time. However, once we acquire a strong footing, our expectations are 32-hour work weeks. Many studies show that productivity increases with fewer hours per week.

Why are so many Americans working 50, 60+ hours a week to get the same amount of work done as someone working far less?

Employee Benefits

In addition to offering employees a competitive salary, the Future is Now Coalition is also working to offer quality health and dental insurance and mental health support. On top of that, FiNC is looking at enhanced benefits to provide employees with group rates and assistance for expenses like transportation and childcare.

Our philosophy is that PTO (paid time off) should be used to enjoy life, not go to the doctor or run errands. A flexible schedule and a 32-hour workweek give our employees plenty of wiggle room to work around their schedules and life commitments.

Environmentally Conscious

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FiNC is a remote organization without a physical office, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work to reduce our carbon footprint. We also support green initiatives and companies, including competitors and partner organizations wishing to commit to ethical capitalism.

We hope to empower other companies with brick-and-mortar facilities to become energy-efficient and source materials from sustainable locations. Other processes, such as transportation and advertising, can also be analyzed and adjusted to ensure the planet stays healthy for future generations.

New Legal Structure

Corruption is all around us. It’s not just for-profit organizations, either. Non-profits are equally susceptible to nefarious intentions. Non-profits have a board of directors that is supposed to oversee the execution of the organization’s mission.

That sounds nice, but too often, the board is made up of the founder’s relatives, friends, or colleagues who are chosen to agree rather than oversee.

FiNC has a better way.

We’re working to build our legal team and develop a new legal structure that is responsible, accountable, and ethical. Many aspects will be similar to existing non-profits with a heavier focus on accountability, transparency, and putting people before profits.

Our structure will use team members to act as a board of directors and committees that oversee the executives. Decisions made by leadership can be appealed if a majority of the employees find it necessary to change course.

Employees, not a hand-selected board, will review executives’ expenses and compensation. The executive team’s salaries will be capped at a percentage of the lowest-paid employees.

This new legal structure will balance the power across the organization and bring greater accountability to leadership. We hope to impact other companies significantly and encourage them to transition to similar practices. Our model can be replicated and FiNC will provide the roadmap for others to mirror this structure.

Transparency

The key to accountability and democratic decision-making is transparency. For employees to provide feedback, they must be fully informed. Transparent leadership keeps associates in the loop and welcomes their input.

Being transparent also brings issues to light quickly. Recognizing issues swiftly allows them to be resolved sooner rather than later. Big decisions affecting the entire organization are shared with associate-level employees, and feedback is welcomed.

FiNC invites all businesses and organizations to adopt our vision for a better workplace. Let’s change the status quo and bring a new normal to the employee-employer relationship.

Leveraging Technology

Our mission wouldn’t be possible without the advancement of technology. Organizations face specific hurdles when working remotely. Thankfully, we have tools and software to alleviate these challenges. FiNC uses modern tech to collaborate, communicate, and manage projects.

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Our team holds weekly virtual meetings to share our progress and plan for the future. Video conferencing software and collaborative workspaces allow us to share, edit, and offer feedback for projects effectively.

Technology is also being used in the meat and potatoes of our mission. The FiNC-Research Hub and Digital Democracy platform are built using current web and software technologies.

We have plans to adopt Blockchain Encryption tech to provide a safe and unadulterated platform. Blockchain Encryption will ensure that information such as citizen feedback and polls are accurate, truthful, and haven’t been tampered with. API integrations with social media platforms allow us to display a politician’s accounts in one place.

Future Approved

FiNC is building a model for other organizations. We’re developing an outline for companies, non-profits, and other organizations to adopt to become Future Approved.

Future Approved organizations will be similar to a benefit corporation (B-Corp) but with several distinct differences. Where B-Corps tend to focus on charitable donations and sustainability, Future Approved companies will focus more on transparency, accountability, and sustainability.

Any organization seeking Future Approved status must adhere to our model of Ethical Business Practices. This includes holding executives accountable for their spending, overseeing their compensation, and sourcing materials from ethical and sustainable sources.

Our roadmap aims to make it easy for consumers and the general public to identify ethical organizations and weed out anyone practicing old-school predatory capitalism. Americans can start spending their money consciously and stop contributing to the widening wealth gap.

We welcome healthy competition from competitors who employ ethical business practices. Competition breeds innovation and helps to lower prices for consumers. Too many problems arise when corporations take advantage of their employees, customers, and the general public for the sake of another dollar.

Let’s stop monopolistic greed and unethical corporate behavior. It’s time to start putting people first.

Sound good?

It does to us.

FiNC strives to reinvent the workplace and empower employees to live their best lives. Hopefully, many other organizations will recognize the benefits of a democratic workplace. It all starts with educating the public and generating a demand for a different way of conducting business.

As citizens, we speak to the government with our vote.

As employees, we need the same courtesies and benefits to keep people prioritized over profits.

Support us in revolutionizing the workplace and creating the next chapter of American democracy.

Author: Nate West