Four Years into Remote Work, Blackbaud Sees
Employee Satisfaction, Greater Access to Talent, and Increased
Efficiency
CHARLESTON, S.C., March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the leading provider of software for
powering social impact, is marking four years of a remote-first
workforce by sharing the success the company and its employees have
seen. Blackbaud employees began working remotely at the start of
the Covid-19 pandemic, and the company made the official transition
to a remote-first workforce in November
2021.
"We've continued refining and enhancing our remote-first
approach to ensure our people thrive," said Margaret "Maggie"
Driscoll, chief people and culture officer, Blackbaud. "Businesses
face many important, distinct factors in deciding whether to bring
their employees back into the office or not. Today, we're
reflecting on the multitude of benefits we've seen that are
translating to the wellbeing of our employees, our customers, our
communities and our company."
"Our team's drive to innovate, stay agile and collaborate under
this new standard enables us to remain focused on serving our
clients and to overcome any challenge," said Mike Gianoni, president, CEO and vice chairman
of the board, Blackbaud. "We know how important our people and our
communities are, and our remote-first model is fostering a culture
where they can both thrive. In addition to increasing productivity,
we've been able to become more connected, enhance our already
strong culture, and access incredible talent."
Benefits Blackbaud is experiencing include:
- Employee Engagement: 80% of employees say that
working for a remote-first company and having the ability to
volunteer and give back are important factors in why they joined,
stayed or felt supported in their overall wellbeing.
- Access to Global Talent: Between external hiring
and internal mobility, Blackbaud has access to a broader pool of
skilled talent, and employees can build their careers regardless of
location.
- In the last four years, applications have increased more than
50%. In any given month, over 300,000 individuals around the world
follow Blackbaud's jobs or sign up for mobile updates on the
career site.
- Gathering In-Person: Blackbaud brings teams
together at its world headquarters in Charleston, S.C., and its international office
in London. These locations host
team-building events, annual planning sessions, customer meetings
and give-back opportunities.
- Regional connection gatherings were added in 2023 as half-day,
in-person events in locations around the world, giving executives
and employees a chance to connect on business updates, hold
open Q&A, share a meal and volunteer together.
Blackbaud has held events in locations including Austin, Boston, New
York, London, Toronto, Glasgow, and San José, Costa Rica, with more locations to come in
2024.
- Business Impact & Technology Advancement: With
the right tools and platforms, employees collaborate in real-time,
regardless of their physical location. From a business perspective,
Blackbaud has not only sustained but improved operations.
- Increased Productivity: Blackbaud employees have
become more productive due to fewer workplace distractions and no
commuting time. Product and engineering teams have improved
consistency in delivery of new capabilities by more than 20%, and
sales and support teams have improved both agent efficiency and
customer satisfaction simultaneously.
- Scaled Agile Framework: With this framework,
Blackbaud is managing work across teams more effectively, helping
to deliver innovative products and services faster, more
predictably and with higher quality.
- Resilience: During unexpected disruptions, such as
inclement weather or health events like Covid-19,
Blackbaud's remote-first infrastructure ensures business
continuity.
- Recognition: Since making the transition to a
remote-first approach, Blackbaud has been recognized as one of the
Best Companies for Remote Work by Quartz and has been a repeat
honoree on Forbes' list of America's Best Midsize Employers and
Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies.
Blackbaud's products have been recognized by review sites
TrustRadius and G2, and the company earned a BIG Innovation award
for its AI strategy and achievements. Blackbaud's teams have also
earned honors for Corporate Governance Team of the Year, Best ESG
Reporting, Ethics in Sales, and Customer Service Contact Center of
the Year.
According to a survey by career service site FlexJobs, over 50%
of employees prefer to work remote full-time. And according to
LinkedIn, 46% of all job applications in December 2023 went to remote positions, even
though only 10% of all job openings on LinkedIn in
December 2023 were fully remote.
"What we see across the industry is that people are telling us
they want flexibility, and they prefer remote work," Driscoll said.
"At Blackbaud, we find tremendous value in listening to and
learning from our people and prioritizing trust between our
leadership and our employees. This approach is paying dividends,
thanks to our committed, passionate people who have closely
collaborated with us to make this a success. We're committed to
remaining remote-first."
Sadath JeanPierre, a senior sales
manager at Blackbaud, shared his experience as a remote-first
employee: "As I head into my eighth year at Blackbaud, I've been
able to enjoy living in Charleston,
S.C., the Bay Area in California, and now Charlotte, N.C. Blackbaud has afforded me the
opportunity to connect with amazing K-12 schools and nonprofit
customers throughout that time. Working remotely allows me to
balance my family and work life in ways that create success for
both. I feel like I have more access to everyone at the company in
this remote environment, and we've still been able to connect
in-person through regional events!"
Leah Niblett, a customer renewals
manager at Blackbaud, added: "I am originally from Canada, though when I started at Blackbaud in
2011, I was in Charleston, S.C. In
2023, my partner and I decided to move back to Toronto to be closer to my family. Blackbaud's
remote-first strategy made the transition easy. Moving is always
stressful, but I have an incredible team, and with all of our tools
for collaboration, the only thing that changed was my Microsoft
Teams background! It's such a benefit to be able to maintain my
role and team and get to come back to my hometown."
Learn more about Blackbaud Careers here.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the
leading software provider exclusively dedicated to powering social
impact. Serving the nonprofit and education sectors, companies
committed to social responsibility and individual change makers,
Blackbaud's essential software is built to accelerate impact in
fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving,
grantmaking, corporate social responsibility and education
management. With millions of users and over $100 billion raised, granted or managed through
Blackbaud platforms every year, Blackbaud's solutions are
unleashing the potential of the people and organizations who change
the world. Blackbaud has been named to Newsweek's list of America's
Most Responsible Companies, Quartz's list of Best Companies for
Remote Workers, and Forbes' list of America's Best Employers. A
remote-first company, Blackbaud has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa
Rica and the United
Kingdom, supporting users in 100+ countries. Learn more at
www.blackbaud.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn,
Instagram and Facebook.
Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical
information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions
contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements
regarding expected benefits of products and product features.
Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these
forward-looking statements, it is possible that future
circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such
statements are based. In addition, other important factors that
could cause results to differ materially include the following:
general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business
and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales
growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other
risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with
successful implementation of multiple integrated software products;
the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated
with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles,
particularly in larger organization; technological changes that
make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk
factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for
Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the
SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's
investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names
appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Blackbaud, Inc.
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SOURCE Blackbaud