How to Maintain Company Culture in a Flexible Work Environment. Image courtsey of Austin Distel
Proximity is a significant factor in determining the quality of a connection. We develop the most profound bonds with those in our daily lives and with whom we share the greatest experiences. We feel their highs and lows together with them. We are aware of their situation and cognizant of their perspective. All of this has a way of fostering feelings of compassion and community. Proximity, though, is all about perception. Familiar faces and direct eye contact are the most effective forms of closeness. However, proximity may also be felt, allowing us to feel near to one another even though we are physically far.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast””
The following strategies are all about establishing closeness, either actual or imagined. The success of the organization and its members depends on the degree to which its members believe they contribute to one another's success and the organization's success as a whole.
Committed to a Common Goal
Organizational success has always relied on a clear sense of purpose, but that importance will only grow in the age of hybrid work. When individuals are at the workplace, they may feel the excitement of being together and experience a feeling of common purpose by running into colleagues and conversing about strategy, customers, or what's new with the firm. Some of this may still happen virtually when individuals are separated, but it will be far less common. Leaders must be deliberate in conveying the organization's raison d'etre, providing employees with a clear understanding of how their contributions fit into the bigger picture and inspiring a sense that they are making a difference via their efforts. Managers must also instill in their teams a feeling of unity and the value of their contributions individually and collectively. Team members will need to recognize the interdependencies among their tasks. Because interdependencies are less visible when coworkers aren't physically present, it will be necessary to remind them regularly.
Accountability
Leaders who mean well by being sympathetic to their employees' difficulties may err by giving them too much "room" to sort things out. People require compassion and understanding, but they also must be held accountable for their actions. Accountability is crucial to a great culture because it tells individuals their work matters and reminds them how important it is to the organization and the team. If the purpose is the overall picture of how things matter, accountability is the process that operationalizes how the job matters. An efficient hybrid culture will guarantee performance for the good of the entire, not just the people or teams that make it up.
Fairness
Fairness is a concept that is intrinsically linked to responsibility. Individuals lose their drive to work together and accomplish anything without a shared belief in fairness and fair treatment. The importance of this dynamic increases while caring for a hybrid model. Not being in the office all the time might make it difficult for employees to grasp the ins and outs of their organization, such as the finer points of who gets promoted, demoted, or otherwise rewarded or punished. Constructing a culture in a hybrid model may involve better information about how effort leads to fair and equal outcomes. Be careful not to inadvertently create a class system of "haves" and "have-nots," too. For example, if one or more team members spend considerably more time in the office than others, ensure they are not singled out as favorites. Or, if certain employees are frequently out of the office, ensure they are not unfairly regarded as receiving a disproportionate share of the technical perks that promote collaboration. It's been brought to my attention by my clever coworker Sheryl that you should also watch your language: Although the term "working remote" may accurately describe someone's location, you should be careful not to imply that they are a "remote" teammate or that the team isn't cohesive by using it. Find methods to be extra attentive and inclusive in how you refer to team members and treat them.
Conflict
Even flourishing civilizations are not free of friction. After all, individuals will always have different opinions. Therefore it's important to encourage open dialogue about these differences. However, healthy communities find constructive ways to deal with disagreements. When individuals are separated from one another, cultures increase the likelihood that their conflicts may devolve into destructive arguments. People's avoidance of problems might lead to their eventual obliteration. Other times, people are too far apart to see the bigger picture, leading to a blown-out problem. With hybrid working, leaders and team members need to be alert to possible differences and promote the need for healthy disagreement—courteous and respectful and can propel thinking ahead. It's a good idea to establish protocols for disputes and create an allowance for differences of opinion.
Simple and Easy to Find
When leaders are seen as available and present, they inspire confidence and trust in their followers. Although more challenging in a virtual setting, this is crucial in a hybrid setup. The leaders' and followers' ability to focus on the team members is vital. Some managers have admitted sheepishly that when they don't see their staff, the mantra "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind to describe how they feel about their workers. One leader stated she had such trouble keeping people in mind that she had developed a list of team members she had on her monitor, and she would periodically remember to check with each of them so she wasn't mistakenly leaving out the folks she didn't see in the office. Make an effort to be easily approachable. Maintain consistent communication with your staff. Pairing people up for work and assigning group projects may also help people in a team get to know each other better.
Transparency
Closely connected to visibility and accessibility is the necessity for an abundance of open communication and openness. Those who aren't physically present at the workplace will miss out on the usual opportunities to learn about office goings-on, such as overhearing talks in the corridor or bumping into coworkers in the break room cafeteria. As a leader, keep people in the loop, communicate regularly, and ensure your team members know about—the good, the bad, and the ugly. This kind of frankness is a cornerstone of trust and is the bedrock of productive cultures.
Social Investments
The epidemic has also eroded social capital. New employees and employees in new positions have a more challenging time establishing and maintaining rapport with their coworkers. Social capital, or the relationships between employees, plays an essential role in sustaining a healthy culture. People benefit from social capital because it facilitates the development of meaningful connections, the generation of novel ideas, and the dissemination of practical advice on advancing one's career or cause inside an organization. Access to a supportive network can help employees make better decisions and boost productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Leaders in hybrid workplaces must actively promote network growth among employees to keep morale high. To do this, they can set aside time for employees to engage in cross-departmental networking and learning activities, such as virtual coffee or networking sessions.
People thrive when they interact with others face to face, and the workplace provides several advantages, including those related to productivity, creativity, social integration, and professional advancement. While hybrid experiences are here to stay, leaders can foster productive cultures by making their organizations desirable to work in. This involves influencing workplaces that improve workers' productivity by providing teamwork, concentration, learning, socializing, and relaxation areas. This involves advocating for more inspiring and stimulating workplaces that offer a comfortable environment where workers may feel control over their surroundings. Leaders should also develop norms and routines for their teams' communication and collaboration. Examples that can help a team succeed include setting core hours (critical periods when everyone is in the office) and creating systems where employees can share their schedules to find the best possible times to work together. In addition, the working culture improves when people from different backgrounds work side by side.
Realizing the necessity of conscious action on the part of all parties involved in a hybrid work setting is the single most crucial step in doing so successfully. Nothing will happen on autopilot, and fostering a healthy culture will be highly challenging. Culture has always been brutal to fortify and maintain, but with hybrid work arrangements, the difficulty level will climb dramatically. It won't be simple, but it's necessary.
About Jim Woods:
Jim has a passion for accelerating talent across organizations. While this passion has fueled his work in leadership assessment and development, it has crystallized in the area of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Jim's experience spans many industries, including public, finance, consumer, retail, pharma, industrials, and technology. 'Organizational & people agility,' 'design thinking,' and 'digital transformation' are some critical themes Jim works with clients on across the globe.