Episode 160: The Value of Flexibility in Hybrid Work & Product Management: Jon Sadow Shares Scoop's Approach

Product Thinking

In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Jon Sadow, Co-Founder & Chief Product & Technology Officer of Scoop Technologies. Join them as they discuss Scoop’s journey from a carpooling application to a software company supporting hybrid work and workplace management. They explore the dramatic impact of COVID, pivoting the business, and the benefits of embracing flexibility. They also touch on the importance of building relationships and forging connections in remote and flexible work environments, as well as the future of work and the possibilities for innovation and improvement in remote and hybrid work environments.

Jon Sadow leads the Product and Engineering teams at Scoop, the company he co-founded in early 2015. A self-proclaimed builder at heart, Jon is passionate about building exceptional teams and products to help solve some of the world's important problems.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jon and Scoop focused on solving the employee commuting problem. They raised over $100m, partnering with Fortune 50 companies to create the largest and most successful carpooling network in the country.

Following the shift in focus to hybrid work and workplace management, Jon has continued to be driven by optimizing product development processes, user research, refining product design, and crafting positioning language.

Jon’s recent focus is sharing his insights gained from the ups and downs of Scoop with other early stage founders, with the ultimate aim to accelerate their own development curve, provide shortcuts, and increase their chances of success.

You’ll hear them talk about:

• 05:15- 09:11 - COVID drastically changed the way we think about the office. For a company based on commuting to and from the office, the impact is huge. The volume of traffic dropped overnight. People stopped going to the office. You then had to navigate through layoffs. For Scoop, then came the challenges of building a new version of the product to adapt to the changing work landscape, noticing a gap in the market and finding a new opportunity.

• 14.58 - 24.21 - The shift to hybrid working means being flexible. You need to understand employee goals and ensure that they can be productive and fulfilled in both remote and office environments. Companies' positive attitude towards flexible work, such as having work location flexibility, can increase revenue growth. With FlexIndex, policy decisions are backed with data, helping companies make positive data driven changes, not to mention the benefits of embracing hybrid work policies and how companies that recognize employees' needs for flexibility are likely to attract better talent and foster innovation.
  
• 26:30 - 29:28 - Forging relationships is different in remote and hybrid workplaces than when you’re in the office, five days a week, and able to have regular chats by the watercooler. Different doesn't mean better or worse. Remote onboarding is successful with a more structured process. This can include specific goals, scheduled meetings, and clear expectations. It all comes down to reevaluating what’s important and questioning the utility of legacy activities, such as long unimportant meetings, and replacing them with purposeful and targeted alternatives.

Episode Resources:

• Jon Sadow on LinkedIn
• Jon Sadow on Twitter
• Scoop Technologies Website
• Scoop Technologies on Twitter
• Scoop Technologies on TikTok
• The Flex Index Website
• The Flex Index on Twitter

If you enjoyed this episode, please visit:

• Angel Squad
• Productinstitute.com

Previous guests include: Shruti Patel of US Bank, Steve Wilson of Contrast Security, Bethany Lyons of KAWA Analytics, Tanya Johnson Chief Product Officer at Auror, Tom Eisenmann of Harvard Business School, Stephanie Leue of Doodle, Jason Fried of 37signals, Hubert Palan of Productboard, Blake Samic of Stripe and Uber, Quincy Hunte of Amazon Web Services
Check out our Top 3 episodes:

• Episode 177: The Evolution of User Research: A Conversation with Steve Portigal, Author of Interviewing Users
• Tackling Product Research with C. Todd Lombardo
• Episode 128: Scaling Product Operations with Blake Samic, Former Global Head of Product Operations at Stripe and Uber

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