Thryv Australia ditches the office, employees to work anywhere nation-wide
Thryv Australia, which recently rebranded from Sensis, has implemented a company wide ‘Work From Anywhere’ policy, enabling staff to station themselves from anywhere across Australia going forward.
The company that owns the Yellow and White Pages is historically based in Melbourne, said it is now adapting to changing working conditions, with CEO John Allan calling this one of the biggest decisions in the company’s 140 year history as the company’s office is no more.
“Companies across the world are grappling with ever-changing regulations, ongoing lockdowns and myriad conditions to choose the most appropriate working model for their teams,” said Thryv Australia CEO, John Allan.
CEO John Allan
The policy comes after an internal election, which results in Thryv’s several hundred staff members not being required in Melbourne.
Thryv will now transition towards hosting regular in-person meetings, both for brainstorming and social events, to ensure that distance and location is not a barrier for its team.
Thryv said that to ensure this new model works, it is implementing cloud based technologies, to ensure work can be completed anywhere, at least two ‘all company’ events annually, and a range of training, social and communication programs, delivered virtually.
Social connection and mental health are driving features of the WFA model, according to Thryv, and as part of this it will be delivering a series of Thryv Live events, to keep staff sociall connected. The first event was held recently, hosted by actor Tim Campbell, and featured comedy from Nazeem Hussain.
Comedian Nazeem Hussain
Allan said that having a remote model widens Thryv’s recruitment pool, as employees are no longer demanded to be in Melbourne.
We know that those first 90 days are critical in coming up to speed, understanding how things work and building professional connections across the organisation. This is certainly more challenging when outside an office environment.
Recently, VCCP implemented a new policy, allowing employees to work from anywhere in the world for up to two months, while OMD launched Heartlands, allowing employees work remotely using a combination of annual leave. Similar to VCCP, the initiative is in place for the next 12 months, with the option to extend it.
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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