Ad-tech company Basis Technologies, which has a Denver office at 1200 17th St., is letting its nearly 1,000 employees log off early on Fridays this summer. And it's a policy the 20-year-old company could implement permanently after piloting the perk through September.
Basis Chief Marketing Officer Katie Risch said the company, which since Covid-19 has already offered a hybrid policy in which employees can work remotely, installed the policy as a way to create more flexibility for its workforce.
The "flex Friday" policy, as it's called, lets employees leave at noon on Fridays.
With employees working productively, whether remote or in the office during the last two years, Basis opted to test shortened Fridays as an extra employee benefit.
"There was no reason not to pilot this and see where it goes," Risch said.
"Summer Fridays" aren't exactly new. For years companies have used flexible summer hours as a way to decrease burnout and offer an employee-friendly perk amid a hot hiring market. Some Denver tech companies are even testing a four-day workweek.
Even as Basis rolls out hybrid work plans and shortened Friday schedules, the company isn't ditching its real estate. Basis re-upped its lease at the Sullivan Center in the Chicago Loop through 2030. Along with Denver, it also operates offices in New York, Dallas and Toronto.
The renewed Chicago lease "represents a shift in how we look at physical office space," Risch said, using the office for more company meetings, off-sites, brainstorming sessions and other collaborative efforts.
The move comes as Basis announced plans last October to go public. Risch declined to comment on the company's IPO plans, citing SEC rules, but said that "like a lot of companies, we’re just waiting to see how the market performs over the next year."
Founded in 2001 as Centro and led by founder and CEO Shawn Riegsecker, the company's software helps companies organize and automate their digital media campaigns. It rebranded to Basis Technologies last year.
