World of work will never be the same
Don’t wait for one of your team to bring up the idea of more flexible working, face it head on,
The world of work will never be the same. Despite the lockdown period being well and truly over, many organisations are in constant discussions with their teams about how they would like to move forward to create a balance between working from home and working from the office.
The important thing to remember is it is not as straightforward as we might think. Before the lockdown the majority of people were working from the office – and working from home, for most people, was only an exception. Of course, during the lockdown everyone was working from home, so we were all in the same boat.
This new dynamic introduces an additional complication because, going forward, it is likely a lot of teams will frequently have a combination of people working from the office and working from home.
Now is the time to work out how to strike the right balance to maintain that ‘‘sense of team’’ and ensure the level of productivity is not compromised in the workplace. In other words, how can we redesign teams for the future?
I know a lot of people are looking to spend more time at home and want to enjoy a more flexible work arrangement. What would this look like for your team?
Do they even want change? The worst thing we can do is make assumptions about what we think is best for employees. Every change process must involve engaging with those it is likely to impact. This is no different. If your team decides they would like a more flexible arrangement, here are a couple of tips to guide those conversations and, ultimately, agreements.
Team values
Every team should already have a firm set of values. Although each team should be aligned to the organisational values, the development team are going to operate differently to the finance team, who will operate differently to human resources; therefore, team values highlight those things that are important to each team and provide guidance to how they will operate. If a new way of working is required, a new set of values will also be required. How are you, as a team, going to work together knowing that not everyone will be physically present at the same time?
Communication is the key
The next thing to consider is how the team can maintain (or even improve) their level of communication. Not everyone will be in the same location so extra effort will be required to ensure everyone feels part of any discussions that are going on and kept informed of key decisions made. ‘‘Out of ‘site’, out of mind’’ can be problematic and may lead to conflict further down the track unless a clear communication strategy is discussed and followed through.
Goal setting
Lastly, whether you are an owner or a team leader, you need to have comfort that your colleagues working from home are continuing to be as productive as they would be if they were in the office. If you sense someone is slacking off, checking up on them and making accusations never goes down well. I don’t recommend it. Some people are naturally motivated and will always produce a good day’s work regardless of where they are; others might need a little more focus. So what can you do? Helping people get clear about their workload and encouraging them to set goals will go a long way to achieve greater focus and enhance productivity.
It is imperative for the team to decide on its own goals; these should filter down into individual goals and should be made visible to the whole team to build a greater sense of accountability. Publicly setting up these goals and publicly reviewing them at the end of the week is a great way to ensure people stay on track. Some teams even do this daily at morning stand-up meetings. This simple act of publicly declaring your goals and reviewing them after a period can go a long way in building focus and accountability.
Don’t wait for one of your team to bring up the idea of more flexible working, face it head on and create another great reason why people want to come and work for you and for your organisation.
Cillin Hearns, director of Results Coaching, is a leadership and performance coach, helping business professionals enhance their core skills, so they are more successful in their roles. He is the author of First, Lead Yourself (Practical Tools to Unleash Your Leadership Potential).