The World of Work, 3 Years On...

Blimey, has it really been 3 years since Covid really kicked off​? Just goes to show that time flies, even under the most challenging of circumstances. Anyhow, it​ seems a natural point to reflect on Covid's legacy on the world of work.

Or at least, the world of work as it relates to my employer, given my involvement in helping the business through traumatic times.

WHAT WENT WELL?

First, sheer good luck. Working for a software company meant that as an employer we were not exposed to anywhere near the same degree of complexity or challenges to our existence that confronted orgs in the health service, retail, travel, tourism, logistics, hospitality and so forth.

Second, we were quick to set up a “Crisis Response Team”, a cross-functional group of people with oversight of business continuity, disaster recovery, employee comms, customer comms, the transition to a 100% remote org, adapting policies, processes and systems for a remote world, equipping everyone with the support and tools to work from home, putting wellness at the heart of all we did, and so on. It was an extraordinarily busy time, and the need to flex and adapt given the ever changing world was perhaps the key to our success, particularly with a globally dispersed workforce.

Third, we were quick to adapt. The "Crisis Response Team" morphed into the "Future of Work Team", and the focus changed initially to how we re-open our offices in a phased manner, and then to a more fundamental review of what work actually means to us. Out of this grew our "hybrid first" approach. So we have not mandated any return to re-opened offices, although we have strongly encouraged people to take advantage of those "moments of magic" that do arise when you are with others, and empowered our local offices to choose the one or two days in the week to focus on as days that you know that other people are more likely to come in on (for example, the London office is busier on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

Fourth, we listened to what our people wanted. 70% of our people wanted to retain some flexibility over when and where they work, and nearly 50% said that they would be most likely to come in to an office once or twice a week. Ignore employee sentiment at your peril...

Fifth, we provided support for people to work remotely (if they didn't live near an office) or on a hybrid basis (if they live near an office and want to come in occasionally). The crowning achievement has been the Work/Life Manifesto, a living doc with tips and tools for people to maximise their productivity wherever they choose to work from. At the core of this is recognising that:

1. What you do and how you do it is more important than where you do it from.

2. "Productivity" needed to be reframed (working from home - emails, project work, research, etc. v. the office - in-person collaboration, building and maintaining relationships, etc).

3. If you trust your people, they will do the right thing. 

WHAT LESSONS WERE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY?

Here's a few top tips.

First, put people at the centre of what you do. Recognise that everyone has had different experiences, attitudes and opinions differ, and rather than a one-size-fits-all approach be flexible, and "encourage" rather than "mandate".

Second, there is an expectations gap between leaders (who tend to be more assertive around getting people back to an office) and employees (who value flexibility). Make sure the voice of your employees informs your decisions.

Third, there's been a lot of guff in the media recently around getting people back to offices, and setting targets to end working from home, and tracking time spent at the office, etc. on the basis that working from an office is the only way to be productive. If you want to lose your top talent, by all means go ahead and do this. Alternatively, just reframe what productivity means. Working from home and working from an office both have a place, so accommodate both, and empower your people and teams to do the right thing. 

Fourth, this is a big opportunity to rethink what you use offices for. A lot of companies are reducing the number of desks permanently allocated to people and using the liberated space for customer experience spaces, collaboration hubs, meeting rooms, hot-desking, etc. So get creative.

Fifth, make sure that your key people processes are fit for a hybrid world. Hiring, onboarding, developing, communicating, collaborating, leading - all need to be fit for a world where people are not going to be in the same place at the same time.

And finally, as per Jack Reacher’s modus operandi, “hope for the best, plan for the worst”. A lot of people are behaving as if Covid has gone away, but has it? Don’t file those contingency plans and business continuity plans quite yet... Review and stress-test them constantly. 

That's enough rambling for now - be good, and see you soon!