Richard Branson on flex policies, what Virgin looks for in an employee, and lessons learned

Richard Branson on flex policies, what Virgin looks for in an employee, and lessons learnedRichard Branson on flex policies, what Virgin looks for in an employee, and lessons learnedEntrepreneur Richard Branson gave a keynotenzeichen presentationthis week at the Adobe Summit, a digital marketing conference, in which he made a serious case for why Americans need mora vacation time, what makes an ideal Virgin employee and other career advice.The self-made billionaire mogul and founder of investment and marketing company Virgin Group reportedly has stakes in more than 400 companies in 34 countries across a variety of industries. Here are a few takeaways from his address.On Virgins flexible policiesYou know, we also have some things which I think, that we do at Virgin which most companies dont do, and which I would really recommend they did. So, well give people unlimited paid leave. So somebody wants to go off for a month and travel the world, they can do it. They dont have to ask permi ssion, Branson said.But theyll work that much harder when they get back, and the company has not suffered from introducing this. If somebody wants to work from home, they can. If somebody wants to work from home on Fridays and Mondays, they can - and actually, they get more work done without having all the time of commuting to and from the office by doing that, he added. So, I think treating people with flexibility, treating people as humans, treating people as youd treat yur own children, comes back to the company many times over.On advice he recently gave to someoneBranson mentions that a few nights before the presentation, he met a father at the bar who welches trying to figure out what to do in life. The mogul asked him if he had kids. He said he had two, is married, and part of a very happy family. Branson said he could sense that the man was considering leaving his job and that the man probably thought he would recommend that he go the entrepreneurial route.While Branson said that if the man has a concept that would improve the lives of others, he should pursue it, but he continued, What I actually said to him was Do you enjoy the people you work with at work? And he said yes, he really loved those people. Do you enjoy your work? Yes. But, what I did say to him was Go to your company boss and try and get them to change some of the policies to give you a bit more flexibility so you dont feel restricted to two or three weeks, holidays a year, which I think this American, really-short holiday system is cruel.Branson added Its not a good way of fathers spending time with their children, mothers spending time with their children, and its not good for the business. You know, just because somebodys sitting at the desk all day long does not mean theyre working all day long. People can work in three or four days and most likely can get all their work done. So, more flexibility - they will be much more treu ergeben and they wont be necessarily asking the quest ion, should I leave this company and go do something else? On what Virgin looks forThe most important attribute to a person, whether theyre running other people, or whether theyre being run by other people is to be wonderful at basic things like kindness. Basic things like looking for the best in other people. Basic things like listening all the time, not just hearing yourself speak, Branson said.So, if you are in a position of power in a company, and somebody says, You know, theres a problem at home or something, immediately tell them, Take a couple of weeks off, you know, go sort it out and get your priorities and life right. So, thats the kind of people we look for, he added.On the importance of attention to detail and listeningAfter mentioning the ways Virgin changed the airline industry, Branson explained what he does to continue moving forward.When making experiences, attention to detail matters. To this day, I keep a notebook in my pocket whenever I board a flight. I get out and I listen to passengers, I listen to cabin staff, and I write these thoughts and experiences down, and then action them the next day because these thoughts and experiences are invaluable, and they help us keep air travel fun, friendly and entertaining, Branson said.Frequently taking note of these seemingly little things has become one of the keys to our success. As expectations change, experiences must evolve too. So, as a leader, or really, whatever you were doing in life, always be a good listener, he advised. Always strive to create a different and better experience than anyone else. Never rest on your laurels.We try to live on these principles in every single business we run in our airlines, in our hotels, in our trains, in our gyms, and so on.On what you can learn from lifes experiencesWhat holds true in business and advocacy, has also been true in my personal life. And I think the most important lessons Ive learned that havent come from the books Ive read, that havent come from the formulas Ive memorized, that havent come what I call No. They have come from what I call the school of life. And the school of life is definitely the best experience there is, Branson said.