Q Hamirani (Chief People Officer, Paper) on building Airbnb's 'Live & Work Anywhere' program & his new Chief People Officer role

Listen ?to this week's episode of The Modern People Leader with? Q Hamirani , Chief People Officer at Paper.

We talked about Airbnb's Live and Work Anywhere program, corporate nomadism, and his new Chief People Officer role.

Don't have time to listen to the whole thing? Read the?highlights below.?

Behind the scenes of Airbnb's Live and Work Anywhere Program???

Ever wondered how Airbnb's revolutionary Live and Work Anywhere program came into existence?

Q, who led the program while at Airbnb, gave us a peek into how it all unfolded:

1?? In the summer of 2020, many employees expressed a desire to travel or return to their home countries due to personal reasons linked with the pandemic.

2?? They decided to support employees and set up a task force within a few days, creating the 'Digital Nomad Program'. This involved collaborating with consultants to navigate the complexities of tax treaties between countries, privacy laws, and payroll matters.

3?? The team would review requests and approve people on a case by case basis depending on their role and other factors.

4?? Rather than reverting back to pre-pandemic norms, they decided to double down.?The program, initially thought to last one year, was extended after realizing that the pandemic had fundamentally changed the way we work.

5?? In February 2022, they put together another task force to determine a long-term, future work strategy.?They concluded that allowing their employees to live and work anywhere in the world was in the best interest of both the business and employees.?

6?? Instead of relying on a limited number of countries issuing "nomad visas", they decided to leverage their relationship with governments to help break down the barriers to this new way of working.?A proposal to actively influence policy changes was presented to the executive team and accepted.

7?? A dedicated COE was set up at Airbnb for Live and Work Anywhere.?

The?4 elements ?of the Live and Work Anywhere program???

1. You can work from home or the office.

2. You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won't change.?

3. You have the flexibility to travel and work anywhere in the world.

4. They meet up regularly for team gatherings, off-sites, and social events.

His first 90 days as the new Chief People Officer???

Q's focus for the first 90 days as CPO is getting as much context about Paper's workforce and business as he can:

? The first four to six weeks will be dedicated to learning and absorbing information.

? Q has planned one-on-one meetings with every member of the team to understand their goals and get to know them personally.

? He will be attending a board meeting in Canada, where the company is based, to gain more insight into the business's current position and future direction.

? The following week is dedicated to understanding the tutors through a program called "Tutor Takeover". He?plans to spend time with the entire tutor population to understand their sentiments and needs.

? Once he has a solid understanding of the company's situation (towards the end of the 90 days), he'll start thinking about people priorities that align to the business and rolling out new programs.

The career advice they would give to their 22-year-old self???

"I would say that your career is a journey. It took me years to understand that while it's good to have a short-term focus, things will play out in a way that you never expect. So, just focus on learning and gaining as many transferable skills as you can."

Go listen to the full episode:?Apple ?|?Spotify ?|?YouTube

See you next week!

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