Pivoting to the Future of Work: What you need to know
The long-awaited “return to office” is finally here and it looks much different than we might have imagined at the onset of the pandemic. After a year of enjoying the benefits of a flexible work-from-home schedule and redefined work processes to support it, for many, it’s hard to imagine going to the office five days a week again. That’s where the hybrid work model comes in.
According to Gallup, 5/10 people want a hybrid model wherein part of the workweek is on-site and part is remote. Workers want to preserve the flexibility they’ve enjoyed but also regain the joy of in-person collaboration. After all, it’s those daily interactions that build social capital and help us feel connected.
As you and your teams start to think about what a hybrid model looks like for you, it’s important to reevaluate and reset your culture for this new work world. An important part of that is establishing a “workplace value proposition,” that is, why employees would want to return to the workplace. Where do you start? Let’s take a look.
Your road map for establishing hybrid work starts with the 4 Cs
Connection:
How do we connect after a year of behind-the-screen collaboration? A mix of organic and structured interactions and activities can help re-establish those professional bonds. In fact, people who have a best friend at work are seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and six to seven hours of socialization a day yields the highest levels of happiness among Americans. It’s fair to say those coffee breaks, hallway chats, and in-person meetings are all for the better! With some intentionality on a manager’s part, opportunities for connection can look like scheduled check-ins, team lunches, systems for communicating hybrid schedules, and social events.
Collaboration:
How we communicate is one of the biggest changes to work over the past year. Where we’ve relied on asynchronous communication like email and chat-like platforms like Slack, now is the time to lean into formats that fortify a work culture centered around collaboration. Thoughtful scheduling of collaborative sessions when the most team members are in the office, incorporating tech tools that foster the most engaging experience and ensuring everyone’s voices are heard during discussion and decision-making are all great methods for ensuring authentic collaboration. As Gallup points out, “Working together effectively does more than just increase productivity; it fosters and sustains trust.”
Creativity:
Creativity at work is the fuel for innovation and is often the result of spontaneity. While we’ll get back some of the physical proximity we previously lost within the hybrid model, creating expectations, opportunities, and autonomy necessary to foster creativity and an environment conducive to innovation. Planning time for unstructured discussions around interesting ideas and creating new and energizing spaces for gathering are both great ways to further cultivate creativity.
Culture:
Culture is thesoul of any operation. Culture is how an organization lives out its purpose and drives everything from employee fulfillment to your bottom line. Having employees back in the office, even part of the time, helps teams align behind a purpose and collective values which is a key component for establishing the shared experience of culture. Need to craft your hybrid work strategy? Start by identifying what makes your culture unique. Then, assess the opportunities and challenges certain parts of remote work pose to culture. From there, work with your teams to define shared purpose and goals as well as establish expectations, protocols, and explicit markers for outcomes. With so much that is undefined during fully remote to hybrid transitions, overcommunication is the best policy until this new work format becomes second nature.
There’s certainly no one-size-fits-all approach nor are there “right” and “wrong” answers. Instead, it’s important to include your team's feedback by actively soliciting their thoughts and opinions into your hybrid model. Managers are maneuvering uncharted waters so it’s also important to support them not only as they make decisions for the immediate future but as they adjust their approach as time goes on. Quantitative data points like impacts to cost, productivity, and team morale are all also excellent markers for evaluating whatever approach you and your team decide to take.
As you’re navigating the upcoming weeks and months, know that uncertainty and potentially frequent adjustments to your approach are all natural. Now is the perfect time to introduce additional support for employees and leaders alike in the form of individual coaching or team and executive facilitations. If you’re interested in seeking expertise and guidance during this time of change, I’m just an email or phone call away.