Operating at the high-stakes intersection of business, media, and politics. Head of Comms & Public Affairs at Global Strategy Group.
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As we head into the final workdays of 2020, the work-from-home forecast seems clear — we’re going to be here for some time. Business leaders have been able to patch together solutions to meet with their teams virtually this year, but we need a better strategy for the year to come. It’s become painfully obvious that video calls and chat threads lack the sense of community that builds in-person collegiality and fosters spontaneous brainstorms.
From my vantage point advising companies across a wide range of industries, I’ve observed a variety of digital strategies they’ve tried this year. Some worked well, and others didn’t. It’s time to toss the ones that flopped and try new tactics to “replace” the office environment.
Test these ideas with your teams in 2021:
1. Structure time to ‘show up.’
Workplaces offer some type of structure around the workday, even under the most autonomous arrangements. Employees arrive at a similar location with their colleagues and direct reports, attend meetings and events, take breaks for lunch and networking, return to their desks for tasks and projects, and depart the shared location to travel home. This varies widely across industries and companies, but the basic tenet creates a framework around the shared environment.
Without that, companies need even more structure in a 2D environment so employees feel connected and supported. For the most part, we’ve seen industries adapt the formal aspects of their schedules, such as team meetings and one-on-one appointments. Across the board, however, employees report that they lack the organic engagement of passing someone in the hall and sparking unplanned conversations. In the year ahead, this may mean setting aside “open hours” for people across several teams to meet virtually in informal environments so they can talk without a specific agenda and decompress.
2. Offer options for different personalities and preferences.
During meetings this year, company leaders have noted the disparity between the employees who eagerly speak up and those who are naturally more reserved. When faced with an issue, some quickly pick up the phone and call their managers, while others may be more hesitant to ask for help. Leaders need to prioritize their culture and communications to keep everyone engaged.
Consider revisiting assessment tools, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and DiSC, to understand how individual employees communicate and troubleshoot their work issues. With an impersonal virtual or hybrid workplace model, company executives need a more tailored approach. Some people may need more face time, and others may appreciate submitting detailed progress reports. It’s up to us to reach across the divide and define better strategies for keeping all team members involved.
3. Explain new policies with transparency and detail.
As much as remote arrangements shifted dramatically in 2020, we’re going to see even more complicated pivots in 2021. As Covid-19 vaccines begin to roll out, companies will likely vary — to a dramatic degree — on their plans for bringing workers back to the office and how that will happen. If you decide to create a hybrid model or full in-person model, be prepared to explain the rationale behind your decisions and the value of having everyone together.
This is a new layer of company communications that should not be the exclusive responsibility of the human resources department or internal communications team, although they have an important role to play. Employees will question the safety of returning, their commute times and their personal work-life needs. Leaders and managers must explain workplace policies with vision, compassion and a focus on the business imperative for returning to the office.
4. Acknowledge the challenging circumstances.
While in the office, it’s easy to notice the junior colleague with their head lowered at their desk and know what it means: They are overwhelmed, and it’s time to check in. That’s been nearly impossible to monitor this year. Team leaders may be stressed about business numbers and productivity, and workers may be concerned about their job security.
As part of their inter-office communications strategy, executives shouldn’t hesitate to talk about the difficulties of this year and the immense amounts of pressure that everyone has faced, no matter their role in the company. Find ways to acknowledge these moments and open up opportunities to discuss people’s concerns. This can be hard for “solutions-oriented” executives who are uncomfortable acknowledging things they can’t fix. Don’t underrate the value of simply listening.
5. Create space for better relationships.
If there’s one positive to the remote work environment, it’s that we’ve been given the ability to see colleagues as whole human beings. We’ve all likely had an unplanned interruption during a video call where the doorbell rang, the kids yelled in the background or a pet jumped onto the screen. In these moments, we’ve been able to laugh about our circumstances, share a common bond and acknowledge that we’re all humans with individual lives, interests and problems.
We can pull these nice moments into our more formal interactions so they seem less transactional and more personal. At our company, for instance, we’ve started a separate text thread to share pictures of what we’re eating for lunch and compete for who makes the most appealing meal. Another channel hosts a “parent oasis” for colleagues to post pics of their young “coworkers.” For the holidays, we’re shipping cocktail kits to everyone’s homes so we can hold a virtual happy hour together. As much as you can, look for ways to create a “moment” with your team — the unstructured chat time will foster a better dynamic for the year to come.
Ultimately, communication will be the major underlying factor in company culture and employee engagement in our new remote and hybrid workspaces. Consider how your people like to communicate and how they like to receive others’ communications. Now is the time to be creative about the behavioral science and personal aspects of our work environments and put in the extra effort to ensure everyone is connected.
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