Dissolving Paradigms

In this article, "Telecommuting is not the Future" Helaine Olen offers some pretty solid reasons as to why she thinks employees will return to physical offices once we get the green light: "on line communication can lead to miscommunication, serendipitous benefits to collaboration, employers being able to better monitor and control their employees", to name a few.

While every one of Ms. Olen's points is valid, her evaluation is based on long held paradigms of how we view and treat employees. This time demonstrates that those paradigms are dissolving, and that the marketplace and the workforce demand different ways of working.  This was true before the pandemic. With the pandemic, our collective awareness has been raised and now we can’t ignore it.  We have to learn new ways of approaching how we work, and we have to provide training on how to be a different sort of company, manager and employee.

I’ve identified three key elements companies need to cultivate to successfully shift to more flexible work in all of its forms:

·      A healthy company culture that fosters trust and transparency so that employees can make real time decisions.

·      Personal accountability and engagement from each employee so that managerial time is not wasted "monitoring and controlling".

·      Effective technology that facilitates communication, community, and getting work done efficiently.

These recommendations are not new, but the urgency and necessity are ratcheted up. The companies that embraced the concepts are the companies that were able to more easily shift within our current confinements. We have to step up our game in how we guide our managers and staff to meet those demands.

Technology Matters, but Culture Makes the Difference

Kayla Crays, Director of Systems & Operations, did not know four years ago that she was on a path that would prepare her company to thrive in our current pandemic conditions.  

She began as support staff for a wealth advisor, with the intent of becoming an advisor herself.  Around that same time, a new CEO took the helm.  He had a strong vision for the company.  The environment was not a healthy one when the CEO took the role.  There was a lack of trust between the managers and the people they supervised. Management had a poor track record of getting back to employees with updates and information, or of inviting in employees in the decision making.  

Through his experience as a thought leader in corporate and private business, the CEO knew that culture mattered.  As a change agent he understood the power of the individual and the force of a team. He believes information is power and created an environment of transparency and authenticity. The company invests in staff development, with quarterly off-site meetings and an annual all-staff retreat.   The staff has fun together, with holiday parties and crab fests. There is a leadership training program for directors and managers, and professional development for associates. The phrase “When you grow, we grow” has deep meaning and life to it.  As a result, staff contribute for the good of themselves and the good of the organization.  

Kayla found herself on the front line of updating the ancient and outdated systems for the company. Her position has evolved to where she is the Director of Systems and Operations, a role she defines daily to meet the needs of the company.  Updating the company infrastructure included identifying and implementing 

·      A new Client Relationship Management (CRM) system

·      A virtual private network. (VPN) allows employees to access the company private network through shared or public networks.

·      A new phone system (Ring Central) 

·      A communications archiving and monitoring solution (Global Relay to be in compliance with federal, state and local regulations.

·      A team collaboration system (Microsoft Teams)

·      Updating manual processes for efficiency and effectiveness, 

·      Updating reporting expectations and capabilities

The company did not previously have a work-from-home policy.   In fact, when a team member couldn’t find an after-school care solution for her daughter and asked for a modified schedule, it was the first time that management grappled with the options.  The prevailing mindset that the company was client facing and must be physically present prevented them from exploring any alternative work options for staff.

While the employee left the company, that was the start of many conversations to consider what it might look like to work from home.  In February the organization was maintaining a watchful eye on COVID 19 and its impact to other countries, and they realized they needed to get ready for the very real possibility that all staff would need to work from home. They had to work out a communication plan and some logistical details, but the technology was in place, the team was strong, and they were ready.  

Asked if she had any advice for companies scrambling to set up effective work at home practices, Kayla offered the following tips:

1.     Leadership matters.  When leadership is consistent in their messaging, they inspire confidence in the organization, and people respond accordingly. 

2.     Business is changing, even more rapidly than we may have thought.  Be open to the change and change with it. 

3.     Listen to employees.  

When it came time to make sure that the staff could transition to working at home two weeks ago, all hands were on deck, with suggestions for success coming from a variety of people and lenses.  As a result, there were no big gaps in the transition to working from home.  Clients continued to receive the same high level of responsiveness and service. 

The staff have been working from home two weeks, and the team is finding its rhythm working from home.  Their remote practice includes: 

·      all internal meetings have been maintained as virtual meetings

·      team meetings are especially important now to check in with team members to see how they are doing

·      on-going use of Microsoft Teams to collaborate 

·      bi-monthly firm-wide virtual meetings to make sure that we maintain transparency between management and associates.  The added bonus is getting to see everyone in the firm during these meeting to maintain the sense of connection.

The company’s (not mentioned by name due to SEC restrictions) experience shows that technology matters, but culture makes the difference.  If you are finding challenges to employees working from home, be patient.  The technology is the easy part; the culture is what will help you thrive during these challenging times.  

Concurrence Consulting works with individuals and teams to improve individual performance, team dynamics and operational practices. When these three concentrations are working well, flex practices such as working from home have a higher rate of success. Questions or comments?  Contact Kathy@ConcurrenceConsulting.com