Did you know that almost half of workers  considering leaving their jobs in the next three to six months? Instead of just dollars and cents, most of us know how much time is spent working so why not enjoy it - at least the majority of a workday?  We are all looking for a work culture that feels right and includes a healthy work/life balance.

At Vincit, we believe our success stems from employee happiness and customer satisfaction. To cultivate an exceptional company culture, we implemented a program called “CEO of the Day.”

Each month, one employee has the opportunity to act as the CEO for one day. They choose an initiative that will run for a minimum of 12 months  – with an unlimited budget. Some may not currently be in leadership roles, so this unique program strengthens employee decision making, fosters a greater sense of community and internal involvement, and builds a solid, overall lasting foundation.  

The Birth of an Idea

Vincit USA’s then CEO, Ville, regularly held annual one-to-one meetings with each employee. For one meeting, an employee sent him a meeting invite with the subject line, “Promote John to CEO?”

While this was meant playfully, Ville realized it could be a great opportunity. With the blessing of his management team, that was the spark. He promoted John to the role of CEO for one day with the challenge to make a decision that would help the company become a better workplace for tomorrow.

The parameters are:

1. Every month a peer selects one employee to become CEO of the Day.
2. The person will have an unlimited budget to improve our workplace.
3. Whatever the CEO of the Day decides, we all live with.
4. We encourage discussion among colleagues, but management does not influence any decision.
5. The Day CEO will announce the decision in our monthly meeting, and then selects the next CEO.
6. All employees will get their turn, but nobody goes twice.

The goal is to empower while replicating a CEO leadership experience. Although this only approximates the pressure of being a CEO, it provides an opportunity to sample leadership: no matter how much control or money available, the decision isn’t effortless. Our "Day CEOs" have a 30 day deadline; then they officially present it during our company monthly meetings. Their last task is to select the next CEO of the Day.

CEO of the Day Roundup

We’ve benefited from some great decisions that have improved the professional and personal lives of our employees.

Here are some notable CEO of the Day decisions:

• March 2021: Valerie decided to implement a Birthday PTO. Every year, employees get a PTO day for their birthday to enjoy  – while getting paid! This is an ongoing employee benefit. 

• April 2021: Ryan instituted Fun Fridays. Like a “Last Friday,” at the end of each month, the office can choose a new, fun activity to do for the day. Some examples are barbecues, ax throwing, and bowling, though it’s entirely up to the office how they spend their Fun Friday.

• June 2021: Alycia chose mental health resources with Boon Health, a holistic, personalized and confidential platform. Every employee has one hour of free therapy per month. It has close to a 70 percent adoption rate and has become a permanent employee benefit. 

• August 2021: Sean offered house cleaning services. Once a year, employees could take advantage of house cleaning, paid for by Vincit.

• September 2021: Austin instituted coworker lunches to improve interpersonal office relationships. Coworkers can attend lunch together in person or virtually, and Vincit reimburses the lunch expenses.

• October 2021: Jody chose to offer a fitness stipend. Each employee receives 25 ClassPass membership credits per month to reach their personal fitness goals.

• May 2022: Elli implemented Summer Fridays. To enjoy the summer season, we offer a change of schedule of 9 hour days with a half day on Friday, or 10 hour days with Friday off.

• January 2023: Jessica implemented Masterclasses. If you want to learn something new or develop a new skill, you can get a subscription for a year.  

With this program, even small gestures make a difference. Some CEOs have instituted tokens of appreciation like movie tickets that are reimbursed, snack, internet, headphone stipends, pet care packages etc.

Another CEO implemented a "donate" system. If you don't use a CEO of the Day initiative, you can ask People Operations to 'donate' the cash amount that isn't spent/or is earmarked for you to charity. 

We also have a Volunteer Day that Michelle, an Account Director chose. Since Fall 2022, our Arizona and California teams set aside a day to participate in hands on volunteer activities for local charities and shelters.

These decisions empower our colleagues, educate management, give a taste of C-suite decision making and, above all,  promote a strong company culture.

Build Your CEO of the Day Program

• Define an area of your company you want to improve (e.g. workplace, sales process, warehouse logistics…).

• Create guidelines for your CEOs of the Day.

• Announce the program and choose your first CEO of the Day.

• Set a deadline for the first CEO of the Day decision.

Each company is unique, and will need to assess and plan their own guidelines and goals.

You can create a Board of Directors made up of other employees. The Board helps the CEO of the Day to brainstorm, and improve or refine a decision before it’s announced.

Since its inception, Vincit has been able to coach and guide other companies to implement their own CEO of the Day initiatives.  

CEO of the Day has been featured in WorkLife with Adam Grant podcast, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Tedex, the Nordic Business Forum Speaker Contest Finals.