Author Archives: Dorothy Dalton

Reactions to pandemic safety protocols fuel problems for HR

People are slowly returning to work in different stages in various geographies. I have been very surprised to hear some of the experiences HR leaders are recounting around the implementation of pandemic safety protocols. This is not just an HR issue, but also a business and leadership issue. They are seeing a strong polarisation of reactions and different levels of either push-back or misapplication.

One of the areas of concern are the many potential outcomes from a business, legal and health perspective. Many are unknown. What will happen to an organisation if someone within the company falls ill with this deadly virus and infects their colleagues? Will the company have to go into quarantine again? Is there liability if it is caused by the negligence of an employee in the workplace and how can a company even know? This is all unchartered territory with no one having all the answers, let alone the right ones.

Collaboration vs individualism

Many safety precautions in our workplaces and wider cultures are based on understanding the problems and the consequences of not adhering to any safety protocols. Whether it’s wearing seatbelts or protective clothing, not drinking and driving, putting kids in child seats in cars, everyone knows the reason behind the regulations and the consequences of not following them. People get sick, injured or die.

It requires a collaborative approach and everyone to follow the guidelines automatically, so those rules become embedded into workplace culture. It also involves a willingness to speak up when someone doesn’t pay attention and for everyone to be held to account with penalties for contravention.

Abuse of pandemic safety protocols

The different levels of response to pandemic safety protocols can vary from a belligerent position, passive aggression or inconsistent or incorrect implementation. These already starting to be a cause for concern for some HR leaders.

Tamara has started back to work with full social distancing protocols in place. Her organisation has gone out of its way to provide a duty of care. 20% of her department are in at one time. The flow of staff is carefully regulated with floors marking 1.5 metres with ubiquitous yellow tape. Desks are correctly spaced and Perspex screens separate employees as required. Hand sanitizer points have been installed and masks are required when moving around the office.

She has concerns about a colleague who she feels is not as vigilant in following the safety procedures both in the office and in his personal life. He shares stories about partying at “raves” in what are clearly not socially distanced conditions. She is concerned that he will be a vector. Her kindly reminders to him met an attitude. She is thinking of asking for a return to remote working to protect herself. When she flagged it up, her manager felt she doesn’t have the right to interfere with someone’s private life even though it may potentially impact his professional one.

Kane Frisby COO of DoveTail which produced The Ultimate Guide to Contact Tracing believes that track and trace initiatives will be a key activity for HR leaders going forward and part of any HR help desk offering. We may see testing employees on a regular basis for COVID19 become part of an HR wellness programme or a Health and Safety initiative.

Has your organisation been impacted by COVID19? Check out the corporate coaching programmes to support your employees

Power playing and discrimination

The other factor that seems to be creeping in is power playing and bullying. Hugo told me how a senior manager made a joke about him being a “pussy” when he refused to shake his hand and elbow bumped instead. Hugo has a strong personality – but what if it was someone more easily intimidated?

Some employees feel reluctant to disclose details about their personal health or a situation within their family. This information has been private until now. It may mean that they have to work from home or look for a job compatible with social distancing.

Joelle said “I work in sales and am diabetic. I don’t particularly want to broadcast that, because I have always managed the condition. Face-to-face meetings are fine if they are held under correct conditions. I prefer not to have to handle anyone who won’t follow the safety guidelines or have my refusal to attend in person meetings used as a reason to discriminate against me.”

Dr. Tanvi Guatam, Leadership Expert and Thought Leader and I discussed this in a virtual coffee. It clearly has to be a leadership message and one that is followed through. She suggested the idea of a Social Distancing Officer someone who is responsible for the gentle, or not so gentle reminders to follow established procedures.

Accountability for behavioural change

It makes sense that organisations follow the same procedures as they would to promote any behavioural change. It could be around sexism, racism as well as health and safety. They have to: understand the problem and the consequences, know it when they see it and then they have to speak up and say something when there is a breach.

One HR manager suggested that employees should be required to sign a document with the pandemic safety protocols of the health authorities of their jurisdiction and attend an awareness training. Rather than relying on people to exercise common sense and do the right thing, it maybe necessary to allocate overall responsibility to someone who can oversee the situation and take steps to make sure that all safety measures are followed.

This is set against a background where some people are railing against the idea of a “cultural strategist” making them follow unnecessary rules.

Do comfort levels matter?

There are some people who genuinely believe the pandemic is connected to 5G. COVID19 and stupidity have something in common. There is no cure for either. Others think the virus is overblown and it should be about what people feel comfortable with and their beliefs around individual responsibility. One commentator said “we need to get over COVID. Life is too short to play safe.”

The problem is that social distancing, mask wearing, and COVID-19 are not beliefs, but medical facts. It is true that different jurisdictions have given often confusing or conflicting advice on how to deal with the situation. The situation brings all sorts of potential legal issues and liabilities for organisations should an out break of COVID19 occur in their offices. What is clear is that this virus will be with us for a long time without a vaccine, if ever there will be one. Dealing with the misapplication or rejection of pandemic safety protocols either intentionally or otherwise, will be an ongoing challenge for organisations with a duty of care to employees.

Safe working environment

Analiese Brown VP HR at CampMinder commented on LinkedIn that it is important not to do anything that is “wildly misaligned with current public health guidance and the ongoing (and, in many places, growing) risk. Though they may not have control over what employees do in their personal lives, employers should strive to create safe work environments, which includes setting expectations for continued social distancing for *everyone* on their teams, regardless of a particular individual’s comfort.”

Need to support your HR wellness programme and training options around remote working? Get in touch NOW!

Continuous learning can no longer be a hobby

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Will talent become an individual or enterprise asset in the next normal? One thing is certain: continuous learning can no longer be a hobby.

The discussion around who will be responsible for making sure that economies and companies have the right skills and talent for next normal is already cranking up. The pandemic has impacted our education systems and employers are laying people off and cutting budgets. This has accelerated the discussion on a deeper issue of whether talent is an individual or enterprise asset. This is followed closely by how do we make sure that individual and business needs are aligned in the post pandemic workplace?

Who is responsible for skill acquisition?

Opinions have always been split about who is ultimately responsible for individual skill development. Generally it seems to be based on cultural perspectives. Is it the individual who invests (a strong US approach I have observed) or the employer and/or government found in other geographies? The jury is out. But it could be the decision will be taken out of our hands in the next normal.

Pre-COVID19 many of us played around with learning something new in our spare time, mainly because we enjoyed it. Sometimes we completed the course. Other times we didn’t. Today, continuous learning can no longer be a hobby, because it will be vital to our professional and economic survival.

The process of skill acquisition

The process of skill acquisition starts in our schools and universities. Any comments I might have on the education process itself would be about as convincing as Donald Trump sponsoring a #MeToo rally. So I won’t. I will just say that even before COVID19 we needed to refocus some complex questions around how effective our current educational curricula are to meet workplace needs. Is it even their role?

In a pandemic situation, it seems possible that remote learning programmes with a combo of distributed and classroom situations will become a feature of the way students learn going forward. That methodology once introduced may never change. This will involve looking at the infrastructure of schools and further education plus what and how we are teaching students. We will also need to and assess the skills of teachers to meet remote needs and then evaluating home schooling scenarios.

Parents know best? Not always

This concept assumes that non-school environments lend themselves to learning. This is not just about kids from less privileged backgrounds having reduced access to the internet or living space conducive to school work. It makes the assumption that parental influence is in the student’s best interests. Trust me it isn’t always. I’ve seen this in action personally dealing with helicopter parents

So let’s presuppose that students complete their formal education with some basic workplace skills that could be useful to organisations, what next?

Agility vs disposability

In the face of a global recession organisations are likely, post pandemic, to reduce the number of permanent employees and increase the number of contract and gig workers. This raises two questions:

How will organisations find the skills they need if skill acquisition is the responsibility of individuals with a self-managed career?
How will individuals know which skills to focus on? They will need to find a way to maintain their own relevance, employability and long-term economic viability.

Organisations will presumably need to hire for soft skills and then provide some sort of hard skill training to meet their own standards. Perhaps they may need go in the direction of the Dyson Institute which has started a university course to address the engineering skill gap. It is anticipated many traditional universities across the globe will face financial difficulties or even bankruptcy from the pandemic.

Personal development budgets

If increasingly skill acquisition becomes an individual responsibility, one thing is for sure continuous learning can no longer be a hobby going forward. We will all now need to allocate personal budgets for our ongoing professional education… for EVER. We certainly have to allocate far more than the 3% recommended by Brian Tracey. In many geographies professional development is considered a corporate responsibility. I have seen even senior executives on high six figure packages reluctant to fund their own career development. But the same people wouldn’t hesitate to drop a huge sum on a car, holiday or item of clothing. This will have to change.

Warren Buffett, one of the most successful businessmen in the world, said, “Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you.”

This will also add an additional pressure to the lower paid.

Contract vs alliance

Heather E McGowan, future of work strategist, who I have referenced before, talks about learning and adapting in a world which is changing exponentially. She suggests that continuous learning is the new pension. It will certainly protect us and our revenue stream. It requires an open mind set and a willingness to experiment with anything new. We have to grasp that old school analogue type skills will not transfer to the digital world without additional work and training. The mantra of “that’s not the way we do things here” will have to go or those using it will go under.

Agility for an employer means disposability for the employee. Organisations will have to accept that they offer a temporary, but fixed term alliance not just a contract. Included in that understanding will be a commitment to upskill an employee before they move on. The upside would be their professional contribution for the duration of their working period. Businesses may also have to accept that agility means making sure employees can be re-hired to maintain their employer brand if they want to attract top talent. They will have to offer skill training which they know in advance they will eventually lose.

Skills for the next normal

The global pandemic has accelerated changes or conversations that were already in the pipeline. It will require mindset shifts in so many areas of education and skill development and how we assess and value those skills. Those shifts will be required by parents, educators, individuals and organisations alike. Schools and organisations will have to restructure. Recruiters will have to learn to recruit for soft skills and hiring for potential will become more than a Twitter meme.

Talent in the next normal may well be covered by the new mantra “Let them grow and let them go.”

Looking to strengthen your talent pipeline. Get in touch.

Back to work challenges for HR post COVID19

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Back to work challenges for HR post COVID19 are not just about high-level strategy creation. Leaders are realising that life and death can literally be around small behavioural changes.

The global pandemic will have a massive impact on our workplaces with enormous back to work challenges for HR post COVID19 in the re-opening of business. And for once HR is in its rightful place – in the centre of the decision making process.

A Paris based HR Director told me “At Board level we are talking about significant change management and disruption scenarios. In practice, it’s down to the implementation of small daily changes to the workplace and the way we behave and interact which are vital. They can literally make the difference between life and death.”

We need to change how, where and the way we work. It’s also probably unlikely that we will all go back to the life we knew.

Short-term needs

CHROs are obviously looking at all the elements of the HR function including training for remote working, review of hiring needs, health and well-being of employees, headcount adjustments and employee engagement. But talking to clients outside the initial strategy setting at leadership level, there is one relationship which is taking on increased importance and that is the relationship between HR, IT and facilities management.

Until a vaccine is found, a second wave of infection is possible unless we all take extreme care. Although the numbers have been contested, history has shown a massive resurgence of the 1918 Spanish flu when people stopped being cautious. One HR business partner told me “HR has always worked with facilities management and the health and safety function, but at the moment the interaction is increasingly important. We have to get it right.” Managing physical and social distancing in the workplace is now a top business priority.

Wellness and security

Every element of the way we structure our workplaces has to be evaluated and adjusted. This involves re-examining:

infra-structure changes
accepted behaviours and the way we interact
workflow barriers

All of this is going to be on trial and error basis, because we really are in unchartered territory. The general consensus seems to be to start small and trial various options.

Emergency infra-structure changes

These are short-term reactive measures. In most geographies employees will return in a split work pattern involving between 10% to 30% of the workforce at any one time.

Organisations will need to review their remote working policies to understand who really needs to come into the office and who can continue to work from home. If possible it should be a choice and the first employees returning should be volunteers. Research suggests that this being obliged to work from home impacts productivity.

Currently, particularly for those who have been self- isolating, or have an underlying condition, returning to work will be a source of concern. One CEO told me that “when people volunteer they are more likely to be objective and constructive in their comments than if they are anxious.”

Some organisations are only bringing in part of each function, so in the event of infection there is always back up form those still working remotely.

Practical measures to meet social distancing requirements

1. Pre-return

Deep cleaning of office space prior to return.
Car park spaces should be widened or alternated to allow 1.5m distance.
Install sanitizer dispensers at frequent points in the building.
Clear demarcation of space between desks with indicated movement flow around the office.
Work stations will be allocated to individuals. No more hot desking.
Provision of masks and gloves. Some companies are switching the content of their vending machines and dropping the crisps and cookies and replacing the compartments with PPE .
Physical distancing in meetings. Removal of chairs from meeting rooms.
Guidelines around number of people allowed in lifts and meeting areas at any one time. Taped markings and standing circles.
Glass or Perspex protection on reception desks and work stations next to thoroughfares to create a COVID19 safe environment.
Tape to delineate physical distancing space in bathrooms. Taped off hand basins.
Disconnecting coffee machines and water coolers.
Recycling bins for plastic waste.
Public hygiene reminder posters and “nudges.”
Regular and open communication via “workstreams” or designated communication channels.

2. Return

Staggered start so everyone doesn’t arrive at the same time.
Organisations split into teams of “on and off” or “in and out” weeks.
Transport support. Those travelling on public transport will be a higher risk. Some companies are providing taxi vouchers or a private bus service from a collection point. Others are only allowing employees who have their own transport to return to the office.
Employers may ask staff to wear gloves and masks, which is not comfortable.
Temperature checks on entry to the office.
Visible increase in cleaning presence. Regular disinfecting of door handles, stair rails and communal areas. Most companies have an out-sourced daily cleaning service when the office is closed. Now many are going back to hiring the old-school in-house clearer for this specific function.
Provide lunch boxes with a daily online ordering system.
Employees to provide their own drinks.

3.To be considered

Potential testing of employees. This is a very sensitive area which is still being tested in Asia.
Monitoring of air quality.
Moving office workers to shifts: Week 1 and Week 2.

Communication

How leaders communicate these new protocols will be key and enforcing them will require sensitivity and empathy. The most common message is that all employees want consistent and regular communication from their leaders. One of the most noticeable changes is senior managers being willing to say “We are all learning as we go along. None of us know what will work and what won’t.”

I asked my HR Director contact which topic came up most in these back to work challenges for HR post COVID19. She said “One thing. Yellow marking tape.”

Get in touch if you need support on training remote teams. Hint: it’s not about the tech!

Career opportunities compatible with social distancing

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Social distancing is going to change the way our organisations are structured and by default the career and job search landscape. In 2016, I identified an emerging trend which I call a “cluster career.” This is a series of diversified revenue generating professional activities, operating sequentially or simultaneously. This not be confused with a career cluster which is quite different. Seeking out career opportunities compatible with social distancing in a post Corona virus workplace is going to require a significant mind shift for all involved: job seekers and hiring managers and recruiters.

Impacted sectors

Social distancing regulations will impact the roles of anyone in people facing jobs or roles involving large groups, which will change dramatically in the short-term. Hospitality, travel, leisure, and events are all sectors which will be hit by the effects of the lockdown and steps to mitigate risk associated with the virus. So how are people going to cope to as they look for new revenue generating activities?

Over the years we have all been moving away from the idea of a linear career and the concept of a portfolio career has also been around for a while. The expansion of the “gig”, on demand or collaborative economy is a key part of that shift. It is estimated that an even higher percentage of workers in the post corona workplace will be on demand, as organisations move to get businesses back on track.

Cluster Career

In 2016 I took a look at the Cluster Career concept which takes diversification one step further than a portfolio career, which taps into transferable skills. A cluster career involves multiple activities in seemingly unrelated fields. Back then I saw two options:

One activity at a time, in rotation. I wrote about Pete (The Feet) a marine engineer, who is also a chiropodist.
Multiple activities simultaneously to suit demand. I mentioned the events manager, who was also a photographer and a graphic designer.

Today career management is going to have an added nuance around targeting roles which don’t involve direct personal contact. Much of this will now depend on social distancing recommendations for our workplaces which have yet to be decided.

What we will need over the next years is fast and continuous learning skills, an ability to change direction more than once probably, open-mindedness and mental agility. It will also be helpful to anticipate future trends. If only…

Strategic diversification

For this type of career management to be effective and to identify career opportunities compatible with social distancing, we have to apply some key concepts. In 2016 I asked two main questions: how will my basic knowledge add value – if at all? Then, will anyone want to pay for what I know or do?

Now we have to add an additional new and critical question: will I be allowed to do what I want to do? Followed by what do I need to adjust so that I can?

We don’t know how life will change over the next years, and for how long we will need to maintain reduced contact. Selecting career opportunities compatible with social distancing will become a vital component in our career planning. In my own case, face-to-face training sessions in large workshops will be a thing of the past. Break out sessions in small groups are for the history books. Throwing a ball to encourage engagement… nah.

Impacted sectors

This will impact us all in many ways, some of which we haven’t even thought of yet. It will hit major industry sectors where people are close together. Will our workspaces become more spread out to respect the two metre rule? Will we have to wear masks in the office? Maybe more people will work from home – but what if you don’t have the right accommodation?

Career planning today

Previously we talked about pursuing a passion and finding the ideal career, as if it were one single objective. Now we are more likely going to pursue professional activities which we will be allowed to practise under new regulations. We will also need to factor in jobs that will have value in the COVID19 era (medical devices, e-commerce, PPE manufacture, cleaning and hygiene products, food production, pharma, supply chain, mental health professions, care functions) These activities may, or may not, involve any transferable skills we have. I talked to one contact who is feeling the impact on her photography business and is now learning to code.

That will make career planning today more challenging. Having an open mind and being a life-long learner will be critical. People are going to consider options that they rejected before and will now compete in a tight market. They might want to learn new skills for learnings sake or simply to pay their bills. They may be forced into jobs they may not have chosen to put food on the table. This is going to make positioning and pitching even more important as candidates need to be convincing.

Recruitment changes

It will also mean we will need a new breed of recruiters and hiring managers, who should be trained to assess diverse skills, across multiple disciplines and respect different career choices. The days of penalizing people for “job-hopping,” periods of unemployment, taking sabbaticals and other career gaps, working part-time or on contract should be dead.

The need to be self-aware, self-advocating, self-reliant, self-sufficient, self- managing and self- promoting, maybe even self-taught and adaptable is going to increase.

The days when anyone but you took care of your career are over.

For all career coaching needs get in touch NOW

Post Covid19 Workplaces – will we really learn?

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It’s estimated that there are 3 billion people globally in some sort of lockdown or mandatory confinement. Some countries have imposed strict curfews and restrictions, but most have some sort of stay at home policy. HR leaders the world over are trying to handle the crisis. Overriding concerns are how to manage their organisations during the disruption, protect the longer term sustainability of their business in a period of zero revenue for most, as well as the health and wellbeing of their workforces.

As a number of countries feel that the curve is being flattened, plans are being drawn up for a planned exit strategy and putting forward plans for our post Covid19 workplaces, during what has been suggested will be the biggest recession in history. The IMF has projected that the global economy will shrink by at least 3%.

Key Questions

The forced remote working arrangement is raising some key questions which are going to have far-reaching and long-term consequences not just for business but our wider culture. These questions are typically centred around:

Which roles are essential for the business and contribute to P & L. That also raises the question which roles are not doing this and makes them vulnerable in future organisation charts.
What processes have been shown to be unnecessary and can be streamlined or dropped altogether?
Can more people work from home? Organisations have seen how jobs they didn’t think could be carried out remotely successfully switched. In some ways this has been a huge bonus overcoming the stigma attached to flex working. It will also help reduce overheads, but could cause other knock on effects on the business real estate sector and other enterprises that service them. What if people don’t want to work from home? Maybe they don’t have the space. Some will welcome this – but many won’t. Read my post: WFM Post Covid19 is about intention. Be careful what you wish for.

Two Tier Employment Structure

Other questions will focus on how we change workforce structure and organisation. But despite all the lockdown navel gazing, I looked at this infographic from McKinsey included in their COVID19 Briefing and wondered if anything will be truly any different in our post COVID19 workplaces? The focus as always seems to be on disposability, masquerading as agility. We have seen what has happened with the gig economy which went from being nice-to-have flexibility to outright exploitation for large numbers, with far-reaching impact for those trapped in it.

In two potential scenarios a two tier workplace will be embedded even further. The “ins” and “outs,” the “us” and “them.” Those with access to full-time permanent employment, with all the benefits that implies, and those who will be gig workers. It is almost dystopian.

Questions not asked – leadership style

With the focus on “agility” and “lean,” plus command and control central leadership, there seems to be nothing in these projections around leadership style. One of the things that has emerged during this crisis is that balanced leadership styles are producing better results.

The number of women leaders cited as noteworthy is significant: Angela Merkel, Sophie Wilmès, Jacinda Ardern, Zuzana Čaputová, the President of Slovakia,Erna Solberg PM of Norway, Sanna Marin PM of Finland. Men such as Leo Varadkar in The Republic of Ireland and Girogi Gori, the Mayor of Bergamo, who are exhibiting these more collaborative characteristics are also emerging as strong balanced leaders.

So why don’t we see mention of this is our future workplace scenarios? In a post from Rick Zedník “A shaken world demands balanced leadership” he identifies three leadership characteristics which we should be looking for in our post COVID19 workplace:

more collective than individual
more collaborative than competitive
more coaching than commanding

We have to make sure that consultancies and think tanks, which are male dominated and male coded in culture, aren’t the only ones defining our post COVID19 workplaces.

Get in touch for your hiring needs.

WFH Post COVID19 is about intention. Be careful what you wish for

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With large sections of the global population on lockdown or in different levels of confinement the idea of remote working and the impact on the future of work is preoccupying everyone. Although the circumstances around it are devastating, many people are high-fiving an unexpected upside. This opportunity provides the much-needed empirical ammunition to counter the resistance found in some organizations to introducing more flexible approaches to the way we work. You see they are saying … “ it CAN be done.” With my cautious hat on, WFH Post COVID19, I wonder if we should be careful what we wish for. It is all about intention.

Parallels with the gig economy

There are parallels with my longstanding and well publicized concerns around the gig economy, including discussions with sector gurus such as Rachel Botsman. There may be some upsides, but there is also a sub-text which people need to think about more carefully. Many predict these enforced changes will have benefits, but there is no doubt that there will also be casualties and downsides.

Businesses are trying to anticipate market changes caused by the global pandemic and project what their “new normal” will be. We will see significant disruption in the coming weeks and months, and people really need to read it correctly.

Pre COVID19

The demand for remote working pre-COVID19 was about supporting employees to meet life demands outside the workplace. It also helped those with long commutes who could spend up to 4 hours a day getting to and from a place of work. It was part of an inclusive policy around employee engagement, autonomy based on trust and understanding the needs of individual employees. Research shows that remote workers are more productive although further studies in the US between 2010-2015 also show highest levels of motivation when employees have a choice of where they want to work. Those who are least productive are the employees forced to work from home.

A report from Owl Labs indicates that more than half of full-time in-office employees want to work remotely. That also tells us that almost half of full-time employees don’t want to.

Presence based culture

The resistance to doing this has been from presence-based corporate cultures where accountability and efficiency are measured by what is physically visible. I have two big questions after discussions with network contacts:

Does this mean that a need for accountability and control will shift in our brave new world? I am not so convinced.
Will that control just become digital in format? I think so!

We also be clear what people are looking for. It is more nuanced than selecting one location over another. It’s about flexibility.

WFH Post COVID19

What the global pandemic has revealed is that it is indeed possible for many jobs to be successfully distributed remotely. But for employees working remotely today, it is not business as usual. They are home schooling kids, working with their partners at the kitchen table (with the great new COVID19 term co-spacing which covers a multitude of sins) and under stressful conditions.

There are widely reported issues include:

a lack of training of managers and supervisors
a need for established protocols
inconsistent tech and hardware
lack of social interaction
feelings of isolation
limited understanding of personal circumstances
reduced understanding of individual needs
convergence of home and life

Intention is key

One of the main drivers for any organization post introducing WFM Post COVID19, will be their intention. Those with an inclusive culture which have successfully adapted during the lock- downs will surface in a stronger place. For businesses which struggled to cope, their progress will become a key differentiator in the post pandemic business world. The gap between successful adopters and the laggards will become even more exaggerated.

Cutting costs – looking at reduced office space

The opportunity to work from home may not be about inclusion and employee needs, but about cost saving. When governments lift restrictions, some businesses in all sectors will be in dire circumstances. Many will be forced to make economies and one way is to close offices. They now have a workforce which is used to working from home and in some cases clamouring for it.

A report from Gartner suggests “nearly a quarter of respondents said they will move at least 20% of their on-site employees to permanent remote positions.”

I spoke to one leader who is already under pressure to cut budgets in Q3. With a workforce of 200 located in an office in a high rent area of Brussels, he has calculated by switching 50 employees to become home based, he can save significant sums per year on rent. This is regardless of whether the individuals want to work at home or not, or even have suitable accommodation for a home office. “We know now it can be done – even though today it’s less than ideal. But if we moved 25% of our company or an even a higher percentage to remote working, we can apply significant economies in terms of rent reductions. For 50 employees we could save around €2 million a year. We may have to make IT investments in the short-term, but over time that will be recouped. ”

Accountability and control

The other red flag came from a conversation with another leader who expressed concern about employee accountability and was looking at software to track employees’ activities and productivity. Tracking software can calculate:

The tasks a team is working on
The time they’re spending on each task.
Internet usage and the sites they are visiting
Times they log in and log out and therefore attendance
Times the device is “sleeping”
Task management – the result each employee produces and how efficient they are.
Billable hour if applicable.

Digital tracking softwares are not based on trust and result driven. It is presence-culture in a virtual form. I have heard from one contact whose computer is being monitored and IT note when it goes into sleep mode. She is actually taking care of her mother whose carer can’t have access during the COVID19 lockdown. This is a source of resentment for her.

Workplace agility

There is no doubt that for any organization to extend their work from home practices, they have to incorporate soft skill training for remote managers. If this way of working is imposed on employees, it produces different results to the employees who seek it voluntarily as a workplace benefit.

Those who embraced the gig economy found agile working to be the ideal opportunity to create a different type of work/life balance. For others it created significant problems around job and financial insecurity. This has had an impact on their daily lives and well-being, which is plaguing them to this day. In extreme cases workplace agility has become workforce exploitation. Obliging employees to work from home will also impact the office real estate business and all the other enterprises that support large-scale business centres. You also have to factor in when we do go back to a physical workplace, those away from the centre of decision making, for whatever reason are always disadvantaged.

So for those who are saying that the global pandemic has boosted their chances of being able to work from home – be careful what you wish for. It’s not without its downsides. WFH post COVID19 is all about intention.

One solution will be to trial a meaningful split when creating an exit strategy for the confinement period. Most businesses may want to apply a staggered return to work to maintain social distancing. Now would be a good time to see who wants to WFH and who prefers the physical workplace.

If you want to recruit top talent – get in touch.

12 inclusion nudges to manage a remote team – from the teams

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12 inclusion nudges to manage a remote team – feedback from the teams!

With enforced lockdowns in many geographies, organisations have had to switch quickly to remote working. In some cases, they have been scrambling around to get the tech in place and even hardware. Not all employees have a company lap top. I know this from working as a coach that one of the biggest areas for concern is that many managers and supervisors do not have the skills to manage remote teams specifically. This is especially hard in a time of crisis. Based on feedback from people who have found themselves unexpectedly working remotely, here are 12 inclusion nudges to manage a remote team.

Exceptional times

As Suzanne Lucas aka @RealEvilHRLady warned us in an online coaching session we did for 3Plus International “Don’t think that the working from home conditions that people are experiencing now, are the same as usual conditions. They are not.”

Parents are home schooling, partners are also at home and trips for groceries are a challenge. Perhaps someone in your house could even be sick. Your team is anxious and so are you. Under stress we all tend to default to our basic settings, which are not always productive. This is when incorporating some basic inclusion nudges which can be applied in an office work space can also be helpful in the future, if you are not applying them already.

Many organisations went from having some sort of remote working protocols that covered a section of the company (usually, but not always parents) without the time to implement a cohesive strategy. In many cases they thought it would be easy – but it’s harder than it seems on the surface.

12 inclusion nudges to manage a remote team – from the teams

I have talked to coaching clients during the past two-week and this is the feedback they would give new managers of remote teams to overcome some basic errors.

1. Check how well you know your team

Understanding that everyone is different will be a great lesson to bring to the table when things get back to normal. If they ever do. Now is the time to do both a self-awareness check and understand your own leadership style and how you exhibit and deal with stress. You will need to take steps to manage that.

Find out how well you know your team. Establish if you can, if any of your team have any mental health issues. This is not always easy as many may not be willing to be open. When they are working remotely it will also be easier to cover those issues up. They may need some extra support – but find out what they need exactly and don’t make assumptions about what you think that input might be.

Philippa said “I have some anxiety issues and an invisible disability. My boss is brilliant and asked me what she needs to do to make this work better for me.”

Alex added “I am dyslexic so my boss thinks she’s being helpful enlarging the font when she sends me reams of texts expecting a response in five minutes. That doesn’t help! A voice mail would be more useful.”

2. Communication-style check

Check with everyone their preferred communication style. Some people like to feel in regular contact others, are happy to be autonomous and report up when there is a problem. Have a meeting with each one of your direct reports to establish how they want to work and how that sits with your expectations. In many cases this hasn’t been possible during the crisis, but it can be done over time.They can then apply the same rules to their reports.

If you have a large number of direct reports (which you shouldn’t) consider allocating coordinating responsibility to break your team into “cells” or “pods” with someone responsible for one-to-one meetings

Jessica said “My boss is literally sending me 20 What’s App messages an hour. I could scream”

Darren recounted “My manager has simply disappeared. He has sent one round robin mail once since this started. I have no clue what is going on even if he is sick. No news or direction at all.”

The key message is everyone is different!

3. Train on software usage

Many employees will not be comfortable with some of the software programmes and platforms. Make sure that they are properly trained and have someone to support them. They should understand basic manipulations such as turning the mic and camera on and off and using the chat.

4. Offer support

Allocate an opportunity to have a buddy or peer mentor, someone who is their first point of contact if there is a problem. It can be overwhelming if the haven’t used any of it before.

Pieter shared “My company did some reverse buddying up, so that technically savvy employees matched with less technically knowledgeable employees (they tended to be the older ones) and it’s working out well.”

5. Schedule a weekly meeting

Schedule a weekly online team meeting which should be mandatory for everyone in the decision-making process. Set up a poll to find a time that works for everyone. For team members who are not actively involved, record the meeting which they can listen to afterwards. Have an agenda and make the meeting focused and short.

Sophia told me “I am spending a huge amount of time in pointless meeting where I’m not directly involved in the action points. If I need to know send me the recording so I can skip through it to the relevant points.”

6. Manage expectations

Do not apply the same pre-crisis expectations to the current situation. Everyone is faced with new and unprecedented challenges. Find out what is going on for your team members. Everyone will have something and a different something. If they are home schooling kids, they will struggle to meet standard reporting deadlines and respond as they did previously. Maybe their partners are also working at home. Maybe they live in an area where fast broadband isn’t available.

Create jointly agreed time lines which may need to be extended.

Martin said “My boss doesn’t get that I can’t make certain deadlines agreed before this crisis started. I am at home with my partner and two kids running home schooling programmes as well as working. His parents look after his kids, so his schedule is as free as if he was in the office.”

7. Video conferences

Don’t expect everyone to want to switch on their cameras. This is not because they are in their PJs (although they might be) but because they want to keep their home circumstances private. They may feel uncomfortable if their living accommodation is not the same as a colleague or boss who lives in a different kind of home.

Pay attention when asking introverts to speak. They can contribute via the chat options if they wish.

Check out Hannah Morgan’s (aka @careersherpa) thread on this on LinkedIn to find lots of great tips.

Zoom offer an option to have a personalised background which can be helpful. They also offer a chance to “touch up your appearance” an option I am grateful for. Look on video settings.

8. Set up a roll-up open line policy

This is similar to a physical open-door policy in the office. Allocate a 30 minute slot two or three times a week when anyone can roll up to an online meeting if they want to.

9. Don’t make assumptions

Don’t assume that because someone is slower than usual that they are slacking off. There could be something going on for them. They might even be sick. Some organisations have time tracking apps on company hardware. This could be a good time to deactivate them.

Cassie’s disabled mother lives with her family. Her carer can no longer come to the house. She has to fill the gap which means time spent in the “granny flat” on her property, which is away from her computer.

10. Make communication mindful.

One of the biggest spaces for miscommunication is email. Research shows that there is only a 56% chance of our email communications being correctly understood as intended. Claire Godding, Brussels based Diversity and Inclusion expert suggests using emojis to indicate intention. This is a great idea! Make sure you are not like me and use the right one. The chances of miscommunication using online messaging platforms with text speak, increases those chances. If we are stressed or distracted the problem becomes even more exaggerated.

Use the voice mail options offered by some platforms. This can be a welcome change to both the receiver and sender if they are feeling isolated. I love this facility.

11. Create an online breakout area

This can be a space where people can go for a virtual coffee. Some organisations are introducing games to create a sense of camaraderie.

One organisation has set up a daily check-in process, such as we see on Facebook during a disaster, that everyone confirms they are healthy and safe.

12. Not everyone likes working from home

There has been so much written about people wanting to work from home there is an assumption that everyone wants it. This isn’t the case. It is clear from talking to people this week, both men and women, going into the office is a welcome break. It maybe a chance to get away from an abusive, controlling relationship, a dysfunctional family situation, find respite from care issues or just a change of scenery that stimulates a particular style of creativity. Many people prefer to go into a physical place of work and this time is very difficult for them. Loneliness and mental health issues will be collateral damage from this crisis.

Bonus: Practise self-care

It’s important through out all of this is to make sure you take care of you. Good nutrition and sleeping habits are the best places to start. Creating a schedule with good work/life boundaries and closing rituals to stop the morph of work and personal life into one long continuum is also important. If you feel in a good place then it’s easier to be there fore others.

Going forward it will also be important to ask the “how was it for you?” question to get reliable, real-time data on the employee experience for your organisation whether your colleagues or reports!

Understanding people’s differences will be a good inclusive leadership lesson for the next normal whatever that might look like.

If your organisation needs support during this crisis – get in touch.

Can personal workplace relationships really be regulated?

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Personal workplace relationship have always been a hot topic in any organisation and an equally hot potato for HR. I have been running workshops on sexism and harassment for organisations way before all of this became a hashtag thing and the question is always posed.

Many professionals today work very long hours. They tell me if they didn’t socialize with colleagues, they wouldn’t have any friends or even romantic partners. There is simply no time to develop relationships outside the office. Research suggests that as people get older the number of friends they have decreases. We see workplace loneliness is a growing phenomenon.

So the issue of personal workplace relationships is complex and has many nuances which need to be addressed rather than swept under the carpet. Which is what we tend to do!

Friendships

Studies show that 47% of workers enjoy the workplace because of relationships with their colleagues. This tends to work fine amongst peers, but can shift when careers advance at different rates, which introduces a power dynamic. The more senior person can be accused of playing favourites. Or more.

Arabella told me: “My husband and I were friends with his peer Javier and his family, who at the time was the Marketing Director of the company. The children were in school together. When Javier was promoted his wife told me she couldn’t see me anymore and returned all the toys and clothes I had given her kids. It felt very hurtful at the time and an exaggerated response. Some months later Javier fired my husband in a head count reduction. I guess they were just putting distance between us.”

If there is a gender difference bias becomes even more deeply embedded, especially if the man is more senior. This can be a source of gossip and speculation.

The office romance

The office romance is even trickier to navigate because it involves all sorts of more subtle boundaries. The University College London has just introduced a ban on intimate relationships between staff and students which have been regarded as some of the most stringent. They are setting the line clearly between discouraging romantic approaches and prohibiting them. The academic environment is not exactly the same as a corporate environment because the relationship between faculty and student is always power based. However there are some takeaways for other organisations.

UCL’s new personal relationships policy prohibits staff from having:

“close personal and intimate relationships with students where there is direct supervision; and
intimate relationships with staff or students who are under the age of 18 or adults who are “at risk”, for example someone who may need care because of a disability.
An intimate relationship between a staff member and a student who they don’t directly supervise must still be declared by staff.
Any breach of the policy will be investigated under the disciplinary procedure, which includes potential sanctions that range from a warning to dismissal.”

What they haven’t done is applied the same regulations to relationships between staff.

Consensual relationships

What about people not having time to explore a dating pool outside professional colleagues? I have known a number of people who met their future long-term partners in the office. But many newly enamoured couples do need to check out their company policy.

Many companies are starting to create policies around office romances which can create tension with those who work directly with the individuals involved, especially if things don’t go well. Having an office policy can help to outline how these situations will be handled before they occur. If there are problems or backlash then leaders will have to step in to avoid longer term issues. The CEO of McDonalds was fired for having a consensual relationship, because he contravened company protocol which prohibits intimate personal relationships. This came at a time when the company was the involved in class action for sexual harassment and pay discrimination.

F.R.I.E.S

I suggest the F.R.I.E.S. system as a good general guideline to give a framework to any workplace romance situation. I have adapted this from the Planned Parenthood philosophy. Although going on a date is not the same as sexual consent, the basic principles are helpful. Some organisations find this a bit tacky and “in your face” when I make input for any policy documents or handbooks, they frequently make a case for editing it out. My take: better to tackle an issue directly and risk making people feel a little uncomfortable, than to be a headline in a #MeToo law suit.

This is particularly important because the power dynamic also takes on a different note in this case as well if it is a senior person initiating a romantic approach with a more junior person. Generally the perceived wisdom is to avoid that regardless of company policy.

These are also gender neutral guidelines. Complaints from men around sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour are on the increase as men are subject to unwelcome advances from both men and women.

What F.R.I.E.S. means

Here is an adapted version of the Planned Parenthood guidelines around consent to apply to personal workplace relationship:

Freely given. Developing a personal relationship with someone is a decision that should be made without pressure, force, manipulation or under the influence of any substance. (this is sexual harassment.)
Reversible. Anyone can change their mind about what they want to do, at any time, even if you have been on other dates or had previous encounters. If penalties of any kind are imposed, then this is also sexual harassment. This is the situation which causes the most difficulty when personal relationships in the workplace go sour and/or end.
Informed. Be honest. Paul told me “Janine invited me to join a group of colleagues for a TGIF drink. When I arrived at the bar, no one else was there. I felt uncomfortable having a drink alone with her. I was afraid how it would be perceived and the gossip. I also wasn’t sure if she had tried to engineer a chance to be alone with me. It didn’t feel right.”
Enthusiastic. If someone isn’t agreeable and needs any level of persuasion – let it go. The days of the “lady (or even man) doth protest too much” are gone.
Specific. Agreeing to an after work drink or lunch isn’t the same as going to dinner or a night club.

Caveats

Some additional points to consider:

If you are in a relationship with a co-worker regardless of the policy of your organisation you may want to consider declaring the relationship to your boss and colleagues if it becomes longer term.
You should also factor in the professional implications of your relationship on the workplace if it’s serious. Personal workplace relationships present more complex challenges than straightforward private and social contact.

In the workplace the objectives are of the organisation are a top priority and this can interfere with personal needs. If you find yourself conflicted seek a coach or mentor for support.

If your organisation needs support sourcing and attracting top talent – get in touch NOW!

Politics and workplace culture – Help I have a “Colin”

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I was chatting to a long-standing client on Friday and she touched on the sensitivities of politics and workplace culture. As HR Director of an international and multi-cultural B2B organisation, they are trying to address issues impacting diversity, inclusion and gender balance. She is finding the polarisation of political views which are problematic in our wider cultures, is surfacing in her organisation “It’s not serious yet” she said “but it could well be. I think I might have a “Colin.”

For the uninitiated, “Colin” is a reference to a Twitter account that went viral last week. A gentleman called Colin Browning an avid Brexiteer, expressed his disapproval of queues at passport control in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. His tweet made international mainstream media, was translated into other languages and became the subject of blogs and posts across the globe.

Absolutely disgusting service at Schiphol airport. 55 minutes we have been stood in the immigration queue. This isn’t the Brexit I voted for. pic.twitter.com/QcSne9d4qW

— Colin Browning (@ColinBrowning14) February 13, 2020

Now this could be a parody account, but in this case it doesn’t matter. The delays also were actually not due to changes in the UK’s status as a third country. What the tweet symbolises is the reach and impact of this kind of content. The HR Director went onto say “One of my senior sales people who deals with exports is making his views on Brexit clear on social media. There are fears in the leadership team that our European customers and colleagues will react negatively, if he carries on “observing” in the way that he is.”

There was some hand wringing and gnashing of teeth. Yes, some of those customers may indeed have a problem. But how does an organisation handle a diversity and inclusion policy which could impact the company brand and even business results?

Covering

Research from Deloitte suggests that employees who cannot bring their authentic selves to the workplace and have to “cover” or hide part of their identities, impacts team and therefore organisational effectiveness. Teams are less productive, creative and less in tune with their markets. Absenteeism is higher and retention rates are lower, all of which impacts the bottom line. So to be truly diverse and inclusive we should welcome all political persuasions. We have to look at whether it’s the political views that damage business or interpersonal relationships, or perhaps more the way they are shared and expressed.

Today, it might be necessary for organisations to consider taking formal steps to protect their workplace cultures so that they stay effective, inclusive and productive, with a purpose aligned to the mission of the business.

Create a framework for discussion

This HR Director wishes she could outlaw any discussions on politics from the workplace altogether, but knows that is unrealistic. In the current highly sensitive environment in different geographies, even topics which would have been considered straight business issues or discussion points in the past, have become touch points for conflict and a politicised debate.

I have heard clients complaining about vocal resistance on their teams around mundane items such as employee benefits, candidate sourcing or sustainable resource procurement. Even annual promotions can be contentious, as these issues now hit the political agenda. Politics and workplace culture it seems are merging into one hotbed of seemingly irreconcilable differences.

It’s important to be realistic and accept that these differences of opinion, especially on matters that can impact the business, will filter into water cooler discussions and pre-meeting chat. There is also always an opposing view to every issue. The next step is to start the process for agreeing a framework for discussion. In this way key topics can be covered in a civil and respectful way.

Benchmark values that bind your organisation

Organisations can begin by identifying and recognising the shared values that unite their teams and make them effective. They then have to have everyone’s buy in so that they become the benchmark against which all behaviour is measured.

In any organisation you will see divergence on core values and beliefs. That has always been the case. Conflicting values systems have always existed. What needs to happen is identifying critical “must have core values” that all agree on, from the shop floor to the Boardroom. These will be around respect, tolerance, trust, fairness, honesty, collaboration, compassion, corporate diversity and inclusion. In some ways employees may even look for a neutral safe place where they can leave the hot topics of daily life at the door.

Any agreed framework now needs to be linked to the wider corporate mission. This is how organisations work and objectives are met. It means that leaders have to role model these values and their performance should be assessed on their success in this area. Senior leaders need to walk the organisational talk and be held accountable. This will positively impact the way the way the business is run.

“The Culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate.” Gruenert and Whittaker

Create a clear social media policy

Many organisation still don’t have a clear-cut social media policy, especially around managing risk. A report, “A Comprehensive Approach to Managing Social Media Risk and Compliance” from Accenture on this topic suggests “social media risks are difficult to quantify… comprehensive cost/benefit analyses are still in their early stages— meaning that many risks still go uncontrolled.”

What we saw with “Colin’s” Twitter activity is that one contentious or topical tweet can circle the globe in hours. If that activity undermines his credibility in his job and your corporate goals (which will impact your brand and business) then companies will have to take steps.

Most employment contracts have clauses related to activities that will bring the organisation into disrepute. Extreme social media activity which undermines confidence in a company could well fall into that category. It may mean that “Colin” will have workplace issues to face, even if his bosses agrees with his position. There may be backlash from colleagues who support him if action is taken.

Inclusion and Risk Management

Ideally, a leadership team needs to look at the data and assess any impact on the business results. Very often this will take months to harvest and analyse. In the meantime more damage could have taken place. The immediate way is to try to get verbal feedback on the individual’s performance if that’s possible. But very often a business response to a changing relationship is not immediate either.

The workplace is one of compromise and it means finding ways to accept the opinions and beliefs of others. Those limits will be tested if business results are, or could be, impacted. If the “Colins” of the world can’t rein themselves in, they may find themselves on the job market. And even then that individual has left a lengthy digital trail (anyone can research) which could affect future opportunities.

Navigating the nuances where inclusion, brand management and even business strategy collide or are simply not aligned can be challenging.

For all your executive search needs – get in touch now.

Workplace loneliness a new HR challenge

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Addressing the modern phenomenon of workplace loneliness

We are all aware of the decline of civility in public discourse and interaction. Some of the world’s top leaders are openly abusive and guilty of bullying, mobbing and gaslighting. It’s hardly surprising that these behaviours and attitudes spill over into our workplaces. Employee engagement is at an all-time low and despite all the technology at our disposal to take over the heavy lifting in terms of routine tasks in our jobs, productivity is on the decline globally. It seems that boredom and repetition are not the main reasons for disengagement. Addressing the modern phenomenon of workplace loneliness and a lack of belonging, both need to be high on the list of HR and leadership priorities.

What employees want

There has been a flood of research on what is now called the “employee experience” to try and establish what people are really looking for in their ideal workplace. All the research shows that people want the same things. And it’s not what you think. It’s not about massive salaries, fancy cars, expense accounts or first-class travel.

People are looking for meaningful work, fair pay (not even high pay), opportunities for growth, trust and respect. Research from TINYpulse suggests that interaction with colleagues is one of the main reasons why people enjoy going to work, which impacts employee retention. Language that keeps coming up into all research is empathy, compassion, gratitude and feeling connected.

Putting the human into HR

It is no wonder that conferences centred on HR and tech all involve an element of bringing the human into HR. We now also need to replace the word “resources” with relationships. Building on general feelings of isolation in our wider cultures, workplace loneliness is a current trend. Many employees spend large parts of the day working in isolation, even if they are surrounded by colleagues. Many sit in open plan offices or stuck in a pod, quite often wearing headphones to block out ambient noise. They eat lunch at a desk, perhaps ordered via an app, while checking out their social media updates. Even if we commute on public transport, buses and trains are now largely silent as people focus on their devices.

Layer on other changes in workplace practices such as remote working and gig contracts, which can reduce a sense of belonging even further to accentuate workplace loneliness. Some companies even structure themselves to separate contract employees from permanent staff emphasising a feeling of “otherness.” Unmanaged unconscious bias also contributes to workers feeling more isolated as they are excluded by the “dominant ” group in toxic workplace cultures. This can include: race, religion, physical ability, nationality, sexual orientation as well as gender.

Millennials are more lonely

According to a survey from YouGov finds that “Millennials report feeling lonely much more often than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. While 30 percent of Millennials say they always or often feel lonely, just one in five (20%) members of Generation X says the same. Even fewer Baby Boomers (15%) report feeling lonely with the same frequency .”

Research in the UK finds that men also feel more lonely than women. They are at risk of isolation because research shows they make friends less easily than women and don’t take part in as many social activities or community groups. More than one in 10 men are lonely but would not admit it . A study from Eurostat indicates that 77% of suicides in the EU involve men.

Lonely at the top

This doesn’t always improve with career success. One of the comments I frequently hear is from senior executives who admit one of their biggest challenges is not having someone to discuss their toughest issues. Many men feel they need to be infallible, but they too need a safe place to air their concerns. Research in the 2012 HBR found that 61% of CEOs felt that workplace loneliness hindered their performance. If men feel it, then so do female executives who have even fewer “like minded“ colleagues to bounce ideas off.

The role of HR to stem workplace loneliness

Build an inclusive corporate culture which focuses on respect, trust and connection. Persuade your leaders to include these in your company’s mission statement.
Carry out employee experience research. Do your people feel genuinely included and respected? If not why not? Set up focus groups to tackle any highlighted issues.
How do you handle mistakes and failure? Do you penalise or treat them as an opportunity for growth?
Has your company received unconscious bias training?
Have your managers received training on building inclusive teams and managing remote teams?

The World Economic Forum highlighted 10 new skills for 2020. They are all in the new power or essential skills which were previously called soft skills. These qualities are not just for our organisations to make them more effective, where combatting workplace loneliness will be a positive by-product.

They should also be a benchmark for the way to conduct ourselves in our wider lives and in all our human relationships.

If your organisation needs support to build an inclusive workplace culture – get in touch NOW