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The future of in-person work is still up for grabs. Roughly 14% of employed adults work 100% remotely, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center study. The same study found that around one-third of workers with remote-friendly jobs work from home full-time, while 41% work on a hybrid schedule. An April USA Today poll found that 42% of respondents would take a 10% pay cut if they could work remotely.
These are the numbers Jake Semones is facing down. Like many industry leaders, the director of global real estate and workplace at Tanium is working on a future that hasn’t made itself clear yet. Tanium team members benefit from a hybrid work model, and Semones and his team want colleagues to be excited to come to the office, not merely show up.
“Employee engagement is a commitment for us,” Semones explains. “That can mean many things, and we’re working through concepts and ideas to see what resonates with people. We want to provide a meaningful and seamless transition to being in the office, and for people to feel like there’s a good reason for you to be here instead of working from home.”
Semones says amenities have their place in creating an appealing in-person culture.
“We have a great snack program, coffee program, and lunch programs, which hopefully, people can look forward to when they’re on their way into work,” the director explains. “We have additionally implemented various in-office engagement activities to create a community or interaction.”
“I hope people understand that I would not ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself … If something goes wrong, I take responsibility. I try to learn from it and not repeat it.”
Jake Semones
Tanium has held company-wide Slack trivia games for team members with prizes as well as opportunities to give back, such as Earth Day and various charity events. It has even held a Create Your Own Flower Bouquet event that taught participants how to craft their own take-home flower arrangements.
“People loved the bouquet event. Some created arrangements for themselves, and other people were really looking forward to bringing those flowers home to a spouse, a parent, or someone else they cared about,” Semones says. “We hope that activities and opportunities like this continue to provide an enjoyable in-office experience.”
Semones can’t remember where he read it, but he’s resonated with the saying: “It’s hard to run a good company if you’re not in each other’s company.” Culture, workplace experience, and a belief that your employer wants the best for you collectively contribute to engaging, retaining, and attracting top-level talent. Talent like Semones.
The director came to Tanium in 2020. He’s young in his role and his career, but Semones tries to put as much as he can on his own shoulders and run.
The football metaphor is an apt one, as Semones’s father, a football coach, and mother, a public school math teacher, encouraged him to play quarterback from an early age. Semones says his “two Type A” parents provided him the best kind of example growing up: people who just went out and made things happen. In high school, Semones got an opportunity to play football at Yale—if he could get his SAT score up.
Over the course of three years, Semones took the test 11 times. His score improved every single time, but there was a number he had to hit to get into Yale. The 11th shot was the charm.
“We want to provide a meaningful and seamless transition to being in the office, and for people to feel like there’s a good reason for you to be here instead of working from home.”
Jake Semones
Managing direct reports at the age of 24, the lessons he learned on the field still come in handy.
“I hope people understand that I would not ask someone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself,” Semones explains. “As I’ve grown in my career, I take accountability very seriously. In football, the buck stops at the quarterback position. If something goes wrong, I take responsibility. I try to learn from it and not repeat it.”
At present, Semones has ongoing projects in the Dallas and Seattle metro areas and manages a full team. When he’s not on the clock, the director is probably reading about history or riding his longboard. His recommendation as of late? Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest, which details the months between Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration and the beginning of the Civil War.
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