Smile Direct Club disrupted the orthodontics industry by demonstrating it wasn't necessary to make multiple trips to a brick-and-mortar dental office to get straight teeth.

So it was fitting that the teledentistry company, which calculates it has saved its customers more than $5 billion on the cost of braces since its founding in 2014, embraced telecommuting in a big way when the pandemic struck.

In spring 2021, Smile Direct launched a fully flexible virtual-work policy that allows its eligible employees–those not working in manufacturing or in its shops–to live and work from anywhere. Employees can go into the office if they want, work from home, or do a combination, working with their teams and leaders to choose the schedule.

“As the pandemic played out, we had kind of a big aha moment,” said Michael Linstroth, Smile Direct’s senior director of culture and engagement, speaking at From Day One’s September webinar on mastering the tech-enabled employee experience. “We knew that we had to double down with that same approach.”

Flexible scheduling has made it possible for the company to hire from a wider talent pool and has helped its employees achieve better work-life balance, Linstroth said. But Smile Direct knew it could not roll out the new policy without having the supports in place to ensure its success.

Enter Achievers, a provider of employee recognition and engagement platforms. Smile Direct had already been working with Achievers, which it hired in 2019 as it was scaling up, to help foster a workforce culture grounded in appreciation and gratitude, Linstroth said. The platform facilitates frequent, meaningful recognition, celebrating special moments and accomplishments, he said.

Pleased with the partnership, Smile Direct added more modules to the platform as time went on, Linstroth said, including a listening function in 2021 that lets employees provide feedback and has enabled the company to conduct its first full engagement survey. Results can be accessed easily, allowing leaders to create and implement action plans.

The recognition feature, which the company calls “Champions,” has been especially popular, quickly gaining a more than 90% adoption rate across Smile Direct’s workforce. “We had people hungry to give and receive recognition,” said Cheryl DeSantis, chief people and diversity officer at Smile Direct. “It became a flood where people were just like, ‘This is amazing, I can go in and I can share the greatness of the people that I work with.’”

As the company transitioned to its fully flexible work policy, it introduced a program to guide its employees through the process called “Creating the Space.” This component helps virtual team members set boundaries and block off chunks of time during the week for wellness, for example, or to focus on finishing up projects on Fridays before heading into the weekend.

Smile Direct is now testing a mentoring program through Achievers that it plans to launch later this year. The mentoring function will allow team members to connect virtually with new colleagues or catch up with old work friends.

Fostering a sense of belonging is critical to attracting and keeping talent in the new business landscape, said Natalie Baumgartner, PhD, chief workforce scientist at Achievers. Employees who report a strong sense of belonging are three times more likely to be engaged, committed, productive and advocates for their company, she said. Yet almost half of remote workers fear missing out on events and opportunities because they are not in the office.

“So what’s the secret sauce?” asked Baumgartner. “Well, there’s no question that one of the critical ingredients is technology–the type of technology that truly scales the experience of belonging and connection at work. The right technologies, used in the right way, help organizations to democratize a culture of belonging for all employees.”

She shared results of a recent survey conducted by her organization that showed that 85% of employees whose roles make working from home possible said they preferred remote or hybrid work. Asked whether they had changed jobs in the last two years and why, respondents indicated work flexibility was the top motivator for changing jobs, beating out career progression and salary.

“All of that means that there is high demand for roles that offer at least some flexibility. People are really determined to find work options that align with their needs. And they are simply no longer willing to compromise,” Baumgartner said.

Achievers’ research demonstrated that organizations with employee-connection tools in place enjoy higher engagement and productivity because their workers can see they are being offered accessible and reliable ways to connect and bond, regardless of where or how they are working, she said.

DeSantis agreed that fostering belonging is the key to attracting, engaging and retaining employees. When Smile Direct moved to its fully flexible work arrangement, “we knew very, very quickly that we were going to have to rely on technology to create those moments that matter,” she said. The company now leverages technology to celebrate personal milestones such as getting married and having a baby, as well as its employees’ professional successes. “We're super passionate about it,” DeSantis said.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner who sponsored this webinar, Achievers.

Susan Kelly is a freelance business writer based in Chicago.