What's the Work-Life Balance Like at MVF?

What does flexibility in the workplace look like for you? What practices/policies are in place that support it?

Flexibility in the workplace is a non-negotiable for modern business operations. We are well aware that people have life outside of work, such as dependents, life administration and hobbies and passions to enjoy, so flexibility is a requirement. From a business standpoint, we see this flexibility lead to greater productivity. We have lofty goals and targets as a business, and each individual has a clear contribution to the overall success that we are driving toward. We have trust in the people we work with to have the attitude to drive their own portfolio performance and understand what is needed to be successful in doing so!

We do employ a three-days-per-week policy at our centrally located Austin office, but how that is accrued is in the hands of each individual. In practice, this is not a policy that we have to police. Working in a successful company within the industry we operate in means working quickly and being agile, and oftentimes, popping your head over a monitor for a quick chat is the most effective way of getting things done. Our office is also full of a great bunch of humans, so the combination sees so many people actively wanting to come in more than the three days that are required.

Why is flexibility an important element of MVF’s culture? 

We have an award-winning culture that starts from the moment of hiring. Reed Hastings, the CEO at Netflix, coined the phrase, “We don’t hire brilliant jerks” — a quote that has been drummed into all MVF leaders’ consciousness through rigorous management training. We hire great people; we should be trying to get the best version of them, and flexible working is a tool that supports that. 

For example, according to the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, the average Austinite lost two days a year while commuting in 2024, which has increased year over year since 2021. Two days of your life per year gone but not forgotten to the I-35 or MoPac is enough to turn the best of people into jerks. As a result, most of the people in our office choose to work from 8-4 P.M. to avoid the peak travel time, which also comes with the added benefits of longer sunny evenings as well as increased overlap with our U.K. office. It is a no brainer. We don’t hire jerks, and we should do all we can to avoid creating them!

What tools or meeting structures ensure that a flexible work setup works for everyone? Is there certain software you swear by, or informal happy hours that you love?

Slack is the obvious tool which, when used well, creates all sorts of flexibility, and MVF’s usage is a chef’s kiss. Firstly, we run a narrow set of clear focused channels to post any content that requires any element of audit trail and/or eyes from stakeholders not engaged actively in the discussion. These posts have a hashtag followed by a three-letter acronym to denote what product or products the content is in relation to for easy recall. If there are call-to-actions on any of the content or just a need to show that a message has been received, there are dedicated emojis for each team to add to the posts to show that they have seen it. 

There is also a level of — jovial — self-policing on Slack usage with certain emojis: “mega-thread-alert” to denote too much back and forth, signaling that a meeting might be more efficient; “slack-police” if the post is not in the right place or in a useful format; and the dreaded “pickle” emoji if you have had to delete the post content. Whether this is posted at 2 p.m. off the back of an in-office chat or at 9:30 A.M. during isolated deep work at home, it supports both. Celebrating successes of individuals and teams is also supported through Slack, with every achievement made more visible. 

How does MVF ensure sustainable workloads for its sales teams?

Ensuring sustainable workloads in sales is tough because the profession attracts naturally highly driven, competitive people. To prevent burnout, we focus on three things: First, we balance our metrics. We look at a mix of short-term inputs and long-term pipeline health so reps aren’t forced into a state of constant, short-sighted panic to hit a weekly number. 

Second, we actively counter “hustle culture.” High performance is required, but our leadership team models boundaries. We don’t just talk about having balance; we measure outcomes rather than hours logged. 

Finally, we treat our salespeople like entrepreneurs, not widgets. We resist micromanagement. While we provide a proven sales methodology and rigorous support, we give our reps the independence to manage their own time and styles. Our goal is to help them become the most efficient version of themselves, rather than trying to manufacture identical robots.

What benefits or rituals help your employees recharge during high-volume periods?

High-volume periods are intense, so our focus is on giving people the space to disconnect and maintaining a strong social support network. We have a very active social scene at MVF with regular gatherings across different business units, alongside several internal sports clubs and networks run by the team themselves. It’s about giving people an organic way to clear their heads with their peers. 

From a leadership perspective, we try to alleviate pressure during peak times by focusing on input and process rather than obsessing over short-term outcomes. We actively encourage people to respect standard working hours, look after themselves, whether that’s through exercise, travel or other interests, and trust that if they follow the process, the results will come.

How do leaders encourage work-life balance while maintaining performance excellence?

We encourage balance by removing the focus from time logged and placing it entirely on outcomes achieved. No one gets extra points at MVF for sitting at a desk for an extra three hours just to look busy. We are here to be productive and win together. To balance that with excellence, we set realistic, challenging targets through a collaborative, two-way conversation. Once those goals are set, we focus on high-intensity execution. 

Our leaders are not there to make the job easy. Sales is inherently challenging, and there is immense satisfaction in overcoming those challenges as a team. Our job as leaders is to provide the support and resources that enable efficiency during working hours, and by protecting downtime, we ensure the team returns each day with the energy and focus required to maintain a high standard of performance.