While most companies are mandating return-to-office (RTO) policies, one construction giant is celebrating ten years of doing things completely differently.
Back in 2016, Shawmut Design and Construction faced a talent crisis. Engagement surveys revealed that high-performing employees—especially women in their 20s to 40s—were leaving the firm at an alarming rate due to rigid work schedules. Instead of tightening the reins, Chief of Staff and Head of Mergers & Acquisition Marianne Monte launched a program called Shawmut Flex.
The strategy was simple: trust employees to manage their own schedules, whether they were working from a laptop or managing a job site.
Fast forward a decade, and the results of this trust-first experiment speak for themselves. Between 2016 and 2025, Shawmut transformed its business entirely:
- Revenue Doubled: Annual revenue scaled from under $1 billion to a massive $2 billion.
- Retention Skyrocketed: Turnover caused by work-life balance struggles plummeted from 10% to under 1%.
- Happier Teams: Employee engagement scores soared past the industry average to nearly 90%.
- Customer Loyalty: Happy, stable teams led to 80% repeat business from top clients.
By treating flexibility as a business strategy rather than a perk, Shawmut proved that rigid office attendance has very little to do with a company’s bottom line. The secret weapon wasn’t a strict clock-in policy—it was focusing entirely on the quality of the work being done.
For HR leaders struggling to justify rigid RTO mandates to frustrated teams, Shawmut offers a clear blueprint: stop watching the clock, start measuring the outcomes, and let your people build the flexibility they need to thrive.