ConnectMinds | Insights, notes & open questions

 

ON LOCATION meetings in April and May 2022

 By: Lau Hesselbæk Andreasen, Partner & Knowledge Broker at ConnectMinds 


Notes, insights & open questions from recent ON LOCATION meetings in the "Leading the Employee Experience Groups" in Toronto (in person), Boston (hybrid), NYC (hybrid) and Philadelphia (hybrid)

The evolution of the workplace

Improving the hybrid meeting experience

Those who had been tasked with organising hybrid meetings unanimously agreed that planning a successful hybrid meeting requires more than double the effort compared to meetings that are exclusively online or in person; not only are you having to design 2 very different, but equally important participant journeys, but also ensure they work seamlessly together and on top of this monitor that the online participants don't feel left out of the loop at any stage, e.g. in the run up to decision making moments, when social interaction occurs in breaks etc. This is a huge effort and make the hybrid format very demanding to get right.

Returning to the workplace

The uncertainty among leaders in most organisations around how best to handle the gradual return to the workplace process leads to uncertainty and frustration. Most employees are well aware of the fact that their productivity level has not gone down as a consequence of working from home. Hard-nosed mandates demanding that everyone returns to the office full-time have resulted in resignation and a feeling of not being taken seriously in a huge number of organisations; certainly if the demand is not backed up by a good reason for doing so. The groups agreed that in fact there are plenty of good and valid reasons for insisting on having in-person work time; maintaining corporate culture, innovation, creativity and a feeling of belonging to a team and through all of this, improving retention, to mention a few. 

After all, what will unite a workforce that is only bound together by a company name and online meetings? All this could easily be explained through good communication, but in many cases, sweeping decisions have been broadcast without much consultation and created anger in the workforce. There were examples of leaders in organisations being open and transparent; sharing that they haven’t got the final model ready; that it will take some time, but that everyone in the company will be listened to and proper consultation will take place. The response in those cases characterised by an entirely different sense of responsibility.

The scope of the hybrid workplace

  • The many dimensions of hybrid: in most organisations at this stage, the discussions around what the hybrid model should like that in their particular context mainly revolve around time and location; where do we work when and with whom? But should we at least consider what hybrid in the widest sense of the word might encompass?

  • Increasingly our roles are effectively hybrid, as we collaborate closely with other teams and departments and need to know a great deal more about what they do and how they operate. Would it be helpful to be more vocal about this and the dilemmas and grey areas this can cause?

  • Should our physical workplace configuration also be considered? Not just where the office is located, but how the workspaces are laid out and utilised; the clear trend is towards “work that requires you to focus and look into a screen” will no longer require a commute; that type of work is done at least as effectively in the home office without the disruptions of a crowded office. Meanwhile, work scenarios that require team(s) to discuss and work on complex matters or work that has a creative edge, require ideation etc will be the type of activities we travel til the office for and conduct in person. Are the spatial configurations of the current workspaces suitable for that?

The future of our roles

You are an expert. Act with authority. 

The extreme pressures and sense of urgency that have characterised many projects and situations over the last couple of years have meant that the usual periods of consultation and openings for “input provision by important stakeholders” have been reduced dramatically and often cut out altogether. It has been necessary to simply say: “No time for opinion-based discussions. You will have to trust my expertise and I will deliver what’s best for the organisation (like I have done for several years..!)” 

In all the cases I have heard about, this “cutting out the lengthy consultation” have not impacted the results negatively in any way at all; quite the opposite. In other words, the experts have been trusted to get on with what they believe to be right and delivered sharper solutions with less “compromise-induced weaknesses” faster. This has been noticed in many places, but the question is whether this will lead to lasting change - or whether everyone will start returning with an expectation of being “onboard in the final decision making process” - even if their input is rooted in nothing but subjective opinions (or Vanity). The consensus was that we ought to find ways of documenting and formalising the crystal clear evidence that “leaving the experts to do their job” leads to better results faster - to try to prevent the reversal to “old ways.

The way(s) we work

Unsustainable level of effort

The last two years have required many in our network to step up to the plate and put in a huge amount of work to keep the lights on, the engines running and the workforce informed and reassured. We have done extraordinary things and it has been acknowledged. We now need to [collectively?] build and present the case for sustained Investment as the “emergency effort” simply is unsustainable in the long run.

Crippling Interruptions

many companies are experiencing dramatic increases in workers feeling overwhelmed by the noise / distraction levels of Instant messaging, incessant internal social feeds etc. What should be helpful, frictionless ways of informing / communicating with each other has ended up being a constant and stressful distraction. How do we combat this trend and ensure the respective channels are used appropriately?

Codes of conduct / guidelines for running better meetings

There is a clear sense that particularly when it comes to online meetings, there is still a long way to go in terms of outlining “better meeting practices” - that reduce time waste, tension and ultimately burnout.

Mental health & risk of burnout

Getting a sense of the scale and severity of the mental health challenges our workforce are struggling with - and deciding how to address it in the most constructive and helpful way. It feels like we are treading a thin line; we must address it and take it seriously, but should we also be mindful of not adding to the already tense and gloomy atmosphere surrounding this by constantly talking about it and through this possibly impact more people negatively? 

Continually maturing the organisation's use of social / collaboration platforms (Yammer / Jive / ...)

Many organisations have experienced an "organic shift" in the way these platforms are used during the recent lockdowns. With teams dispersed and forced to coordinate their collaboration and project management with less / no facetime in the office, the tools assumed more integral roles in the workflows and daily routines. How do we build on this in the most effective and coherent way? 

What can we learn from each other?

Check out the findings in the "Key insights from Yammer 2021 benchmarking" report by SWOOP Analytics. SWOOP_Yammer_Benchmarking_Report_2021.pdf

Related Resources

#Analytics&Insights

#EmployeeEngagement

#FutureOfWork

#HybridWorkplace

#ReturnToOffice

#RemoteWork

Related Resources

#Analytics&Insights

#EmployeeEngagement

#FutureOfWork

#HybridWorkplace

#ReturnToOffice

#RemoteWork

The scope of the hybrid workplace

  • The many dimensions of hybrid: in most organisations at this stage, the discussions around what the hybrid model should like that in their particular context mainly revolve around time and location; where do we work when and with whom? But should we at least consider what hybrid in the widest sense of the word might encompass?

  • Increasingly our roles are effectively hybrid, as we collaborate closely with other teams and departments and need to know a great deal more about what they do and how they operate. Would it be helpful to be more vocal about this and the dilemmas and grey areas this can cause?

  • Should our physical workplace configuration also be considered? Not just where the office is located, but how the workspaces are laid out and utilised; the clear trend is towards “work that requires you to focus and look into a screen” will no longer require a commute; that type of work is done at least as effectively in the home office without the disruptions of a crowded office. Meanwhile, work scenarios that require team(s) to discuss and work on complex matters or work that has a creative edge, require ideation etc will be the type of activities we travel til the office for and conduct in person. Are the spatial configurations of the current workspaces suitable for that?





Our roles, responsibilities: what's next? 

You are an expert. Act with authority. 

The extreme pressures and sense of urgency that have characterised many projects and situations over the last couple of years have meant that the usual periods of consultation and openings for “input provision by important stakeholders” have been reduced dramatically and often cut out altogether. It has been necessary to simply say: “No time for opinion-based discussions. You will have to trust my expertise and I will deliver what’s best for the organisation (like I have done for several years..!)” 

In all the cases I have heard about, this “cutting out the lengthy consultation” have not impacted the results negatively in any way at all; quite the opposite. In other words, the experts have been trusted to get on with what they believe to be right and delivered sharper solutions with less “compromise-induced weaknesses” faster. This has been noticed in many places, but the question is whether this will lead to lasting change - or whether everyone will start returning with an expectation of being “onboard in the final decision making process” - even if their input is rooted in nothing but subjective opinions (or Vanity). The consensus was that we ought to find ways of documenting and formalising the crystal clear evidence that “leaving the experts to do their job” leads to better results faster - to try to prevent the reversal to “old ways.





The way(s) we work

Unsustainable level of effort

The last two years have required many in our network to step up to the plate and put in a huge amount of work to keep the lights on, the engines running and the workforce informed and reassured. We have done extraordinary things and it has been acknowledged. We now need to [collectively?] build and present the case for sustained Investment as the “emergency effort” simply is unsustainable in the long run.




Crippling Interruptions

many companies are experiencing dramatic increases in workers feeling overwhelmed by the noise / distraction levels of Instant messaging, incessant internal social feeds etc. What should be helpful, frictionless ways of informing / communicating with each other has ended up being a constant and stressful distraction. How do we combat this trend and ensure the respective channels are used appropriately?





Codes of conduct / guidelines for running better meetings

There is a clear sense that particularly when it comes to online meetings, there is still a long way to go in terms of outlining “better meeting practices” - that reduce time waste, tension and ultimately burnout.




Mental health & risk of burnout

Getting a sense of the scale and severity of the mental health challenges our workforce are struggling with - and deciding how to address it in the most constructive and helpful way. It feels like we are treading a thin line; we must address it and take it seriously, but should we also be mindful of not adding to the already tense and gloomy atmosphere surrounding this by constantly talking about it and through this possibly impact more people negatively? 





Continually maturing the organisation's use of social / collaboration platforms (Yammer / Jive / ...)

Many organisations have experienced an "organic shift" in the way these platforms are used during the recent lockdowns. With teams dispersed and forced to coordinate their collaboration and project management with less / no facetime in the office, the tools assumed more integral roles in the workflows and daily routines. How do we build on this in the most effective and coherent way? 

What can we learn from each other?





Check out the findings in the "Key insights from Yammer 2021 benchmarking" report by SWOOP Analytics. SWOOP_Yammer_Benchmarking_Report_2021.pdf





Related Resources

#Analytics&Insights

#EmployeeEngagement

#FutureOfWork

#HybridWorkplace

#ReturnToOffice

#RemoteWork

 
Peer learningLau AndreasenPeer learning, ConnectMinds Comment, Networking, Employee Advocacy, EXPLORER groups, HR