Engagement and empathy key to hybrid workplaces
We need to love our jobs to stay at our jobs
Workish (not-so-best practices) by Sandy Marshall is FP Work’s take on the absurdities of the workplace. We also get serious with real advice from business experts.
According to a recent study by the Workish Department of Absolute Certainty: things change. As safety protocols evolve, business leaders redline track changes for return-to-office timelines. Companies such as Checking Accounts & ATMS recently extended their plan from This Autumn to Before We Retire, while cloud experts Welovereferrals.com stretched Zoom subscriptions from monthly to until the singularity.
But re-entry planning takes more than dusting off swipe cards, especially when working to balance collaboration and efficiency in multiple spaces. With that in mind, here are some not-souseful tactics to consider for new hybrid work arrangements, along with real insights from an expert in experience and service design.
Rebrand ‘hybrid’
Memo to marketing: the auto industry called dibs on the name. Even though hybrid is technically a blend of remote and in-person workforces, zeitgeist creatives haven’t had time to grab their toques and volley ideas in a brainstorming sesh. Looking for thought starters? For a local feel, try The Home & Office Combo Platter, or for a pro approach, deploy Alloy.
WFH weekends
Hybrid ecosystems will require structure, fairness and flexibility for work/life balance, especially for large organizations. Save time on case-by-case policies with Work From Home Weekends, an innovative and uniform system wherein employees show-up on weekdays (Monday to Friday), then take Saturdays and Sundays to queue-up proposals and catch-up on laundry. Note: may involve significant air travel.
Rebuild silos
Originally designed over 2,000 years ago, silos are used to store grain, protect wood chips — and separate the sales and marketing departments. And after months of reassessing organizational charts, professionals will take comfort knowing pre-pandemic divisions are stronger than ever. But don’t forget age-old rules of engagement: To ward off a surprise visit from your boss, simply puton some headphones and start to look busy.
And now for practical advice from an expert in the workplace experience:workish spoke with Conor Holler, senior manager, front office transformation, at PWC Canada, who specializes in customer experience and service design. He told us that when preparing to work in hybrid environments, we’ll need to be intentional, set ground rules and focus on people and culture.
Q: What’s the most important consideration for companies looking to establish new hybrid work environments?
A: The first word that comes to mind is culture. For virtual workers over the past year, the biggest downside has been the lack of cultural integration: during the pandemic, while watching our roles boil down to the bare essentials, we’ve learned that we need to love our jobs to stay at our jobs. So companies will need to find ways to connect people to the culture of the organization.
Q: What’s the right balance between in-person and remote work?
A: Well, most professionals have worked remotely from home for the past year, but it’s become too much of a good thing. While leading multiple sessions over the past few months, I’ve asked attendees how COVID has changed their work habits, and over 90 per cent have said that they love the work/ life balance and don’t want to go back to the office more than occasionally.
Most people want the flexibility to decide where they want to work ... and I’m not seeing many companies mandate a return for those jobs and roles which successfully transitioned to remote. Large companies dealing with real estate agreements and investments in physical infrastructures might drive employees back to the office, while smaller organizations might allow more flexibility in choosing where they show-up.
For those able to commute to the office, an effective hybrid model could involve working in-person occasionally. Maybe work from home three days a week, then go to the office two days a week.
But landing on a specific number of days in the office won’t solve the problem of cultural integration at work. There needs to be a more equitable way to assess promotions and other retention activities, and employees will need to be a part of this discussion: those able to join in-person meetings will need to decide if they want to join.
Identifying and tackling issues of in-person biases and social metrics, and finding ways to assess candidates and employees equally whether they’re working in remote or in-person environments, will be a new and critical challenge for companies in the year ahead.
Q: How do you engage groups in hybrid meetings with remote and in-person attendees?
A: Human Centeredness is a critical principle of design, particularly in digital environments. And even in PRE-COVID scenarios, we had people joining sessions virtually and in-person, so much of the event prep and post-meeting reporting has (and will) stay the same.
Every meeting is different: approach the planning phase with empathy for each attendee. Where is the meeting taking place? What will be the audience’s frame of mind? What digital tools will make the most sense to achieve the outcome of a meeting? Knowing your audience will be the order of the day.
Financial Post Sandy Marshall (@ Marshallsandy) is a Partner at Norman Howard, and a Chicago Emmy-nominated writer and producer. Got a topic for Workish to tackle? Email us at Fp_work@ Postmedia.com. You can follow Sandy at: twitter.com/marshallsandy or linkedin.com/in/sandymarshall/
Q: Any advice for someone looking to balance group dynamics in an upcoming hybrid meeting?
A: Hybrid dynamics will be tricky, so make sure everyone’s involved and all voices are heard.
In-person meetings are notorious for side conversations: and during COVID, side convos morphed into backchanneling during meetings on remote platforms like text or chat. Set ground rules, define the agenda, and do your best to keep distractions to a minimum. Enable groups to stay on task and time, remind attendees that people are joining in different environments, and establish expectations upfront. This will help give groups a nudge to stay focused and respectful.
Be human-centred, constructive and most of all, empathetic.