Safe at Work: How SimpliSafe Secured Its Culture in a Hybrid World

How do you balance a strong company culture with the flexibility of hybrid work? For Ai-Li Lim, Chief People Officer at SimpliSafe, the answer is clear: align your internal employee experience with your external mission.

SimpliSafe, known for home security, approached hybrid work as more than a logistical challenge. It became an opportunity to live its mission—keeping people safe—by fostering a workplace that values collaboration, autonomy, and trust.

Here’s how SimpliSafe aligned culture and strategy:

1. Ground Policies in Strategy

Convenience didn't drive SimpliSafe’s hybrid model. Instead, it reflected the business’s strategic need for collaboration. Requiring two in-office days each week—on the same days for all employees—ensured face-to-face interaction while balancing flexibility.

As Lim puts it, strategy is a set of choices. Collaboration was essential for SimpliSafe, and they designed a model to support that. By clearly communicating the rationale, SimpliSafe earned employee trust and buy-in.

2. Consistency Builds Trust

While many companies wavered on return-to-office policies, SimpliSafe remained consistent. They balanced integration with flexibility. This steadiness alleviated uncertainty and reinforced the company’s values, showing employees a clear and thoughtful path forward.

3. Empower Managers with Autonomy

Guided by values like “no ego” and “lean and nimble,” Simplisafe trusted its managers to tailor hybrid work for their teams. “Great ideas happen everywhere,” Lim noted. By modeling trust from the top, Simplisafe fostered alignment across the organization.

The result is a hybrid model that reflects SimpliSafe’s mission and positions it for long-term success. As Lim put it, “Our culture is a competitive advantage. It demands collaboration and trust, and we’ve built a system to sustain both.”

Listen to my interview with Ai-Li on Great Mondays Radio to learn more about the transformative power of self-empowered networks. Listen on your favorite podcast app or watch the episode on YouTube. ??

TGIM! Josh

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