How to have tough conversations about returning to the office
aRE you dreading the conversations you'll have to have with your team about returning to the office? Or maybe you’re already back and need to tell one of your direct reports that your agreed-upon approach isn’t working. Fostering a safe and constructive dialogue about the re-entry can be challenging. Ironically, some of the mistakes you might make will stem from your desire to be a kind and caring manager. Below, we discuss how to make sure you are approaching your employees the right way.
First, you will have to make sure you are clear on the organization’s rules. Is there an official policy on the number of days employees are required to spend in the office? Are flexible schedules allowed? You don’t want to run afoul of the company’s official guidelines by mistake, so start there before talking to your own team.
Second, don’t get too wrapped up in finding a solution that everyone sees as fair. Fairness is a tricky business, because different jobs require different arrangements. Consider each person’s role and how those responsibilities suit different approaches. Administrative assistants might need to be in the office to accomplish a majority of their tasks, whereas proposal writers could do the lion’s share of their work from anywhere.
Third, it’s important to consider which working arrangement is in the best interest of the team. How does one person’s role interact with those of others in the group? What return-to-work plan would be in the best interests of supporting collaboration, encouraging camaraderie and fostering the positive culture you’re looking for? As a manager, you’re not just responsible for developing strong individuals—you’re responsible for the strength of your team.
To help you coordinate the work of your team members, develop a set of guiding principles that each individual's working arrangement must work within. You can use these principles to set the boundaries as to what’s important to you as the leader, while also leaving room for people to create personalized plans that work for them. For example, you might put forth a guiding principle that “The customer comes first.” That could mean that every proposed working arrangement will be evaluated first based on its impact on customers. You could establish a rule that “Time together matters,” leading to an agreement that on one day every week everyone on the team will be in the office at the same time.
Once you are clear on your principles, share them with the team and schedule a time to speak with each person. In preparation, ask your employees to think about what’s important to them and what some options for their personal return-to-the-office arrangement might be. This heads-up is important because you want team members to feel prepared to communicate their wishes effectively. Don’t catch people off guard.
When you meet, start by asking your employees if they have any questions about the guiding principles. Be clear about what’s cast in stone and where there are opportunities for creative solutions. Next, ask individuals to share their version of a positive working arrangement. Then work toward a solution that satisfies everyone on the team. Remember to be as flexible as possible. For example, if one of the administrative assistants would really like to work from home sometimes, maybe there’s a way to form a team of assistants who cover for each other on office tasks so that each could have one or two days per week at home to work through emails and other tasks that could be done more efficiently without the interruptions of the office. Be creative. Embrace the art of the possible.
Once you have found a solution that seems workable, agree on a date when you will revisit the plan. For example, you might decide on a quick check-in after the first couple of weeks and a formal evaluation after six weeks. That way, you can relax knowing that you will do everything in your control to make the plan work, but that there’s a chance to alter it if it’s not working.
As the agreed-upon date nears, ask your employees to consider their current working arrangement and to reflect on any issues or concerns with the plan and its implementation. Ask people to think about your commitments and behavior as well. Prepare your own notes for the evaluation in the same way.
During the check-in, as you work through your respective reflections on the experiment so far, focus first on issues with the plan itself, rather than with the implementation. Share any criteria or considerations you hadn’t thought of when you formulated the plan and work through the concerns until you have a new option to try. Remember to be encouraging. This is new territory, and you shouldn’t be surprised if the first solution doesn’t end up being perfect. Keep iterating until you have the best solution for the organization, the team and the individual. Again, agree in advance on when you will next revisit the arrangements.
If the issue is not with the arrangement, but instead with how one or both of you failed to live up to it, you need to acknowledge that. It’s best for you to go first so you can model openness to feedback. One of my favorite ways to solicit difficult feedback is asking, “What did you love about how I managed this arrangement and what do you wish I had done differently?” For some reason, asking people what they wish was true softens the language enough for them to be candid about what they would like to be different.
Finally, if an employee commits to a return-to-work plan but doesn't stick to it, that’s a performance management issue. Do as you would with any performance issue. Clarify what your expectations were. Give feedback about the behavior you observed. Share the implications of the behavior on the work, the team or on yourself. Then ask what the person will do differently from now on. If the problem persists, you might need to reduce the latitude you’re willing to allow that person.
The only thing certain about the return to work is that there will be a lot of uncertainty. Some people are more than eager to return, others are dreading it and many are ambivalent. Engaging in conversation on the subject calls for a little more preparation than is normal. The investment will be worth it, because you’ll be more clear, more confident and more compassionate when the right time comes.