The Great Resignation, which is also The Great Retention, is challenging outdated models of work. The global pandemic has revealed that full-time, office-based, commute-dependent labour is not necessary for knowledge workers. In fact, organizations that are resisting the transition to hybrid and/or work from anywhere models face unprecedented disruption. From line-managers to CEOs, leaders need to establish team norms for hybrid work that foster inclusion, build digital dexterity, and align with a clear purpose for why offices continue to exist in order to create the most value for all stakeholders.
Have a clear purpose
My friend and colleague Lisa Taylor, Founder and President of Challenge Factory, recently summarized a lot of the tension underneath the ask for folks to return to the office.
Organizations need to be clear on why they are adopting hybrid work and what benefits employees will realize from enhanced flexibility (note: it needs to be more than increasing shareholder value). HBR’s Ellen Ernst Kossek, Patricia Gettings, and Kaumudi Misra unpack the potential awesomeness and possible dark side of total workplace flexibility in hybrid contexts, which means something slightly different to everyone:
Leaders must be careful how they talk about various forms of flexibility. For example, when teleworking is framed as an initiative to improve work-family balance, it often becomes a gendered phenomenon, leading men to assume they can’t take advantage of it or to conceal that they’re doing it for work-life reasons to avoid being stigmatized. So it’s important to communicate examples of increased flexibility’s effectiveness for all kinds of workers in all kinds of jobs and at all levels.
One of my colleagues, Kim, responded that “there is no point being here” when I asked her to reflect on her first journey to the office for “Hybrid Tuesday” (one day per week we test new ways of working and some folks go to campus). We agreed that learning why being in the office wasn’t a great use of her time was indeed a reason to be in the office, as we’re striving to rethink when, where, how, and why we work. From this insight, how we plan – as individuals and a team – now typically starts with the question “what am I trying to get done today?”
By taking a one-size-fits-one approach to creating the policies and practices that will enable the most meaningful team norms within your organization because deep focus, facilitating a strategic planning session, or onboarding new employees require us to connect differently (or not at all) with the office.
Involve everyone
According to HBR’s Grace Lordan, Teresa Almeida, and Lindsay Kohler, team cohesion will be difficult to build (or sustain) through hybrid work. Members of the team who gravitate to in-person collaboration tactics are likely to form “groups within groups” and, when managers pay more attention to who is “on campus”, there is a risk of favouring the people who are physically present. Lordan, Almeida, and Kohler argue that inclusion and involvement of all team members can mitigate the risks of distance bias:
One solution is to open the virtual office door. In the past, an open physical door signaled that it was okay to walk in and speak with your colleague. Without visible cues for how busy a colleague is, people might hesitate to reach out to them. When working remotely, make use of the trusty status bar. A message like “Open for chats!” along with a green status circle gives permission to bridge the distance gap. Companies can also develop a sense of place with virtual reality and virtual meeting rooms to create a sense of belonging and sharing. The virtual meeting technology space is burgeoning, giving employers more and more options for how to bring these rooms to life.
Designing for everyone mitigates the risk of discriminatory practices, so be sure to involve every member of your team in the creation of your new norms.
Use different tools and tactics
Organizations on the attraction and retention side of workplace disruption understand the importance of a one-size-fits-one approach to engagement and productivity. Not only do employees require different tools and schedules based on their strengths and style, but teams need a diverse toolbox of space and software to achieve different tasks.
According to Fast Company’s Keith Ferrazzi, the pandemic has seen organizations use new tools to reinforce old practices (which is one of the reasons that virtual meetings suck as much as ones from 2019). “If you break down the specific problem that needs to be solved, what is uniquely valuable about gathering people together at the same time to solve it?” says Ferrazzi. “Could a bolder outcome, a better decision—and, ironically, a faster path to get there—be taken by the same team without having to meet?” He goes on to outline five “behavioural golden rules”, such as simplicity, clarity, and transparency, that help organizations stop bringing bad work habits into hybrid practices and stop pointless meetings before they start.
Create a (changeable) roadmap
People need to know where we’re going to stay engaged and create value. More importantly, knowledge workers experiencing the change to hybrid work models after nearly a year of remote work social isolation deserve to see the way forward. The future of work is flexibility, but there are many different paths to achieve many different outcomes.
Beginning with the end in mind, describe the desired outcomes of the behaviours and tools that will be leveraged to demonstrate team norms. Using a tactic called backcasting, get the team to collaboratively describe a picture of success one year into the future – where engagement is high, pronoia is experienced, incredible value is being created, and everyone is working with joy – and then ask what it will take to get to that picture.
This will become your roadmap for change.
Speaking of change, be sure to emphasize that, as lessons are learned, the roadmap will be adapted based on what’s working and what might need to stop.
Start by starting
As more employees experience a hybrid models of work, people leaders need to experiment with the processes, tools, and behaviours that enable peoples’ potential. According to Microsoft’s Chief People Officer, Kathleen Hogan, the organization’s recent shift to a “learn-it-all culture” simultaneously reduces the likelihood of micromanagement while preparing all employees for the spectacular changes ahead: “We are taking a learn-it-all approach, knowing that we don’t yet have all the answers,” says Hogan. “But by sharing what we’re doing, I hope we can all learn from each other as we embark on this next era of work.”
Now is the time for testing new ways of working and learning from the experience.