Leading a Hybrid Workforce

Building high performing teams requires three things: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. With the rise of hybrid work, autonomy is taking care of itself, as we empower people to work remotely and trust them to deliver independently. But what about competence and relatedness? What do those two elements mean, and how do we place them at the forefront in a hybrid work environment?   

Like most problems, this does have a simple solution, but one that can be tricky to see if you’re too embedded in the act of finding it: high performing, successful hybrid teams start with strong leadership, and actionable guidance you can put into practice today.

Lead with Empathy

Context is everything. To start, it’s important to recognize the mental and emotional impact of being in the world in 2021. To help your team members feel safety and belonging, model vulnerability. Share your personal experiences with staff, create space for sharing, and take the time to listen deeply to them in turn.

For a hybrid team, this might look like surveying the team to determine if the format and cadence for 1:1 meetings is working for them—maybe someone would prefer an in-person walk if possible, or another might feel more comfortable meeting over the phone or on a call with video disabled. Proactively reaching out to create a unique 1:1 plan with each of your reports will help them feel acknowledged and remind them that you’re committed to making their return to the office or remote role a success. 

Once you’re in the conversation, consider asking about how they are doing personally and acknowledge their experience. Sharing details about your own challenges and wins will help normalize sharing and build trust within your relationship. Soon, this modeled behaviour will trickle down into relationships at all levels of the organization. When it’s working really well, you’ll see a supportive and connected team that gives feedback openly and strategizes with ease.

Take Communication to the Next Level

Hybrid work is changing the way teams communicate. We are chatting asynchronously, using multiple online tools to collaborate, and opting for email instead of meetings more often than before. This is a lot of process change, and can overwhelm a team that’s new to those processes. To support your hybrid team’s success, you’ll need to leverage this communication in a way you haven’t before and fine-tune processes on an ongoing basis. 

To start, talk to your team about processes that are working and any that need to be adjusted. A simple survey could be used for this purpose and Internal champions can be identified and assigned to involve the team in making necessary changes. Continue to revise and refine your plan for your hybrid model, always looking to the future and including lead time for announcing any changes that are coming down the road. Remember that changes that seem small to company leadership may have larger impacts on an individual contributor’s day-to-day—always lead with empathy and acknowledge how this will affect them. 

To ensure a high level of competence within your team, performance management programs and project check-ins may need to be reviewed. Keep an eye on productivity and be clear about expectations for working hours, meeting attendance, and time-tracking. If there are different expectations for in-office team members vs. remote staff, be sure to communicate this to the whole group in the name of transparency and provide rationale. 

As a general rule of thumb, err on the side of over communication and, if things aren’t going according to plan, communicate that as well! Being transparent about how you're leading, and involving the team in the process of iterating until it’s right will inspire them to keep communicating openly as well. 

Focus on Equity

In order to increase relatedness in an organization, employees must feel safe and supported. Empathetic leadership and increased communication go a long way toward creating psychological safety for staff, but equity must also be a focus within a hybrid work environment. As leaders, we have the responsibility to create an equitable workplace and communicate the steps we are taking to preserve it. 

To support internal equity, leaders must acknowledge potential power imbalances and take steps to address them. For example, if in-office team members have more opportunity to interact with leadership team members, consider implementing recurring video calls between leadership and remote staff. 

Remember that it’s not the job of the employee to self-advocate when they are not afforded the same benefit as others. Leaders must look for these inequities and proactively address them. A great way to do this is by formally creating space for team members to share how they feel about their current position (remote or in-office) as it relates to the rest of the team. This could be through a survey or in a company-wide meeting with anonymous Ask Me Anything questions. Document survey results and identify trends, then share back trends and action plans to the team to increase transparency. 

Lead On

By bringing your authentic self to work each day and clearly communicating your commitment to supporting your team in an equitable way, you’ll be ahead of the game. Higher performance from your team is achievable, and it’s something you can unlock by focusing on relatedness and empowering your people to reach their full potential within a supportive environment. 

As always, remember to encourage questions and ideas from your team. Make them part of the process, and they’ll become part of the solution as well. 

If you would like any additional support leading your hybrid team, don’t hesitate to connect with us. 

The Necessity of a Post Pandemic Hybrid Work Environment

As companies gradually return to work in a post-pandemic world, the internet is buzzing with talk about the hybrid work model. We hear that it’s the logical next step for our workforce, it protects us from future disruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s essential for retaining team members through The Great Resignation, but we are still wondering...what exactly is the hybrid work model?

The hybrid work model is a combination of remote and in-office work. There are lots of variations — some teams will have a mix of remote and in-office staff all working full time, some teams will work in-office for a portion of the week and remote for the rest, and some teams will do a combination. The options are endless, which is part of the appeal. 

So, what’s the benefit?

After a year spent mostly at home and with family, employees are super conscious of their work/life blend and want to hold onto some of the flexibility they’ve gained. A recent study by Slack finds that the vast majority of employees (83%) don’t want to return to five days a week in a physical office. Most indicated they would prefer a hybrid arrangement of working remote and in-office, and I think we can all relate to wanting the best of both. We want the ability to work from home, and the ability to head into an office when we need to focus or when we crave some social stimulation (beyond what our lovely children and pets can provide). It’s obvious that this is not only a perk for employees, but something they will leave jobs to pursue if given the chance. Giving employees a more flexible work arrangement that allows them to be present where it counts for their home life will not only help with retention, but will also attract more new talent and ease recruitment pains. Major win. 

Of course, employee satisfaction and retention is only one piece of the puzzle. Hybrid work could also significantly reduce office costs, with more employees using home office or coworking spaces. There’s a potential for increased employee productivity when more flexibility is offered, and we know that accessing a wider talent pool can majorly improve recruitment outcomes. These are all amazing potential benefits of hybrid work. 

And what’s the catch?

The hybrid model seems simple, right? Employees are happy, costs are down and productivity is  up… is there a downside? Unfortunately, yes. Like most good things, there are some challenges that need to be considered. 

For those team members who would like to return to a traditional office setting and crave the social aspects of their job, working with even a partially remote team could feel isolating. It’s important for everyone to feel supported at work and managers may need some additional training to help them lead their teams through the transition. The right communication tools and performance management structures will make all the difference in creating a successful hybrid team.

A hybrid work model also increases the chance of inequities emerging within a team. People working in office will be more visible and could be thought of first for promotions and opportunities. They will have a chance to form connections with leaders and decision-makers in a social setting that doesn’t exist for remote team members and this could benefit them in the long-run. 

Weighing the pros and cons, any company considering a hybrid work model should make sure that the proper supports are in place to help the team transition and that company policies and systems treat all employees fairly. But don’t let this dissuade you, we will discuss strategies for success and addressing potential inequities in future posts on this topic. 

Going hybrid

Are you thinking the hybrid model is right for your company? Your first step should be to survey your team to understand their needs and confirm that this is what they want too. Once you decide on how you will blend remote and in-office work, you are ready to set up infrastructure and tooling to support the team. Be sure to move slowly and gather feedback regularly so you can iterate as you go and avoid missteps—the team will thank you!

We will be posting more about hybrid work in the weeks to come, with a focus on leading a hybrid workforce. If you have questions about what the hybrid model would look like for your business or need support in transitioning your team, feel free to reach out. 

For Employers Facing/Fearing The Great Resignation

If you employ people, you are likely aware of the latest buzz-phrase: The Great Resignation. You may be experiencing it as employees you thought were headed back into the office this fall are writing you “I quit” letters instead. Maybe you’re losing sleep fearing what will be in your inbox each morning. 

Change is uncomfortable and this change is a big one as more and more workers decide that there is greener professional grass on the other side of this pandemic. But you don’t have to fear this change even if you are losing employees, or having difficulty attracting new ones.

If your return-to-office plans have already resulted in staffing losses, you have a problem in the short-term, but an opportunity over the long-term. You have a window to learn what went wrong, and you get to do something about it in real time.  

As an HR professional, I can assist with this information gathering through conducting exit interviews which provide invaluable data about what it is like to work for your business. What went wrong, yes, but also what went right. This information can then be applied to your HR practices to improve and strengthen your recruitment and retention strategies. 

It’s time to get creative with your operations, especially if you’re worried you may start to lose staff as fall looms. Take the information from any exit interviews, combine it with what you see going on around you as well as takeaways from the past year and come up proactive options for your staff. How can you accommodate people who want to be back in the office full time and those who want remote work days with flexible schedules built into their week? How can you keep your team connected and cohesive while allowing for different ways of working? Do you need to keep and maintain office space, or can you outsource space to privately run work clubs such as Club KWENCH in Victoria?

Next, initiate conversations with all your employees. Start by providing as much information as possible about what returning to work could look like, what options they may have, etc. You don’t need all the answers, good leadership acknowledges gaps up front and communicates clearly about them. Let each employee know why they are valued and express your gratitude for how hard and well they worked for you this past year as the world fell apart. Assure them you will navigate this process together with safety and well-being at the forefront of the decision-making process. 

If you would like support on how to structure these plans and conversations, please reach out to me any time.

What is “The Great Resignation”?

Whether we wanted it or not, the past 16 months (which has, in my opinion, been most appropriately dubbed by Karen Gladden Barre in this Global News story as a “midlife gap year”) has presented us with a lot of time to think. As a result, it was inevitable that the pandemic would force us into existential questions eventually, even if we did our level best to outrun, out-bake, out-drink, out-knit, out- [insert coping device of choice here] them.

Whether we wanted it or not, the past 16 months has presented us with a lot of time to think.

And one of the big ones has been work. How we work, why we work; what work used to look like versus what it looks like now. What we like about remote work, what we don’t. What we miss about the office, what we don’t.

These are some of the many questions driving The Great Resignation of 2021, and they’re questions that have already had a real impact on the labour market. According to Statistics Canada, 130,000 people voluntarily left the job market in the past year. Global staffing firm, Robert Haff, conducted a survey which revealed that 33% of employed Gen Z and millennial professionals plan on pursuing a new job. And these stats are only part of the picture.

According to Statistics Canada, 130,000 people voluntarily left the job market in the past year.

What has prompted this massive shift in the sheer number of people willing to continue to work at all and people who are now wanting new jobs? The Great COVID Introspection of 2020-21. Workers across all industries have realized that many things about how they used to work no longer appeal or are acceptable. Long commutes, toxic work cultures, sustained work-life imbalances, unhappiness, boredom, unrelenting stress, lack of autonomy, burn out – to name a few – have suddenly become what we call in my business “non-negotiables”.

Far from a perfect model for everyone, working remotely has given many people a taste of a life that suits them better than the one they were living, and they’ve given themselves permission to reimagine what work could be like. Hence, The Great Resignation. It’s begun, it’s radically shifting the labour market in many ways, and it’s not over yet. We believe we will see massive changes in recruitment and retention strategies as workers and employers navigate this new terrain, and we’re excited to be doing what I do at such a pivotal time in employment history.

The Great Resignation. It’s begun, it’s radically shifting the labour market in many ways, and it’s not over yet.

We’ll be posting a series of blogs on this topic for employers/employees and career changers and providing career coaching and HR consulting services specifically to assist people during this time. As a team who have has done mid-career shifting ourselves, we understand the complexities, stressors and the possibilities of changing work. As consultants we have facilitated successful HR shifts and overhauls for many businesses and organizations. Please reach out if you’re looking for support for yourself or your business.

The important difference between a job posting and a job description

What’s the difference between a job posting and a job description? Why is it important?

Let’s start by first defining our terms.

A job posting is, in essence, an advertisement. Job postings are typically posted externally (sometimes internally, too), and are used to inform potential job seekers about openings within your organization. A good job posting contains pertinent information on the duties/responsibilities of the role being advertised, as well as the minimum qualifications necessary to be considered for said role. And it doesn’t hurt to throw in some information about your company (see our previous blog about the importance of employer branding) – think background, what perks/benefits a potential hire might have access to if they were hired, and a statement on why someone might want to join the team.

A job description, however, is typically used internally to outline the duties/responsibilities, as well as the qualifications needed for the role. A good job description will outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) necessary to perform the job at a satisfactory level. Job descriptions can, and should be used in processes like job evaluation, salary review, as a performance management tool, and as a means of goal setting.  Job descriptions rarely contain employer branding statements, or information on benefits, or the background of the company. Job descriptions should, however, contain information on who the role might report to, any union affiliations, and information about the hours of work expected by the incumbent.

Job postings and job descriptions are both valuable tools, and the good news is that they function even better in tandem. Having a current job posting and job description for each role in your organization can save you considerable time in both the interview/recruitment process, as well as when there is someone in the role.

Now that we’ve learnt a little more about job postings and job descriptions, we can talk about why they’re both important. You might be thinking, “why can’t I just have a job description and post that when I have a vacancy?” – the reason is that job postings are marketing tools, which help you to attract the right candidates to your organization. Job descriptions, as we covered, are internal tools that help us to retain talent, and provide structure within the organization.

Reimagine Work Tip: Always provide a job description when you make an offer of employment.

The Importance of Employer Branding

Finding qualified candidates can be difficult, but what about finding candidates who truly align and identify with your organization’s values, and who are excited to work within your organization? That’s even tougher! Not to worry, this is where employer branding comes in, like a superhero who saves the day and gives everyone the warm fuzzies at the end of the story! Ta-da!

Employer branding is serious business!

You might be thinking, “doesn’t marketing take care of branding for our organization” – yep, they do! But this is different – this is employer branding! You, as the employer, are being asked to make a case for why your organization is the one that a candidate should choose. HR doesn’t have to function alone in creating a strong employer brand, though – and they shouldn’t! Stakeholders such as the Marketing team, the Leadership team, the CEO, and even employees all play an important role when it comes to employer branding.

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So, what is employer branding, anyway?

To put it simply, your employer brand is the reputation that your organization has as an employer. This reputation can encompass the value that you bring to current and prospective employees through things like compensation and perks, the work environment, opportunities for growth, and culture. Often though, your brand is more intangible – it’s the way that interacting with your organization, whether in person at a career fair, or simply pursuing your careers site, makes a prospective candidate feel. It’s also the intangible aspect of your reputation within the industry or community, as well as on community building sites for employers like Indeed. Word of mouth counts here! Don’t know where you stand in terms of your reputation? The best place to start is by asking your current employees if they would recommend your organization as a place to work.

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How do I build my employer brand?

You don’t need to go all out to start building an employer brand. The best brands are built slowly, over time, with a continued focus on what matters to the organization. Think about what sets you apart from other companies in your industry – is it your unlimited time off policy, the ability to work fully remote, or is it your amazing culture and strong values? Capitalize on your strengths and don’t be afraid to brag a little bit on social forums and on your careers site. And when all else fails – okay I mean, when technology fails – be present. Never underestimate the importance of showing up in tangible ways to promote your organization and its strengths. Things like career fairs, building relationships with post secondary institutions, and creating a talent network through passive sourcing can all be simple, cost-effective ways to build your employer brand over time.

At this stage you might be asking, why should I work to create an employer brand? Glad you asked! A strong employer brand can help to reduce costs associated with recruitment, attract new employees, retain current ones, and enhance employee engagement in the long term.

If you’re thinking “This all sounds great, but who has the time?”, we get it! We have put together an employer branding package that will have you attracting exceptional talent in no time! Take a look and let’s talk!