Part of the Transform to Perform series
We’ve carved out new working routines and juggled the curve balls this year has thrown our way. In establishing new ways of working, many organisations are adopting agile approaches to manage their people and develop or refine business strategies for the future, while more employees are adopting flexible working arrangements than ever before.
To maximise success, there is much we can learn from High Performance Employee Experience (HPEX). It’s important for employers to define what workplace flexibility looks like for their organisation, what can be offered to employees, and how to deliver it in a way that drives a HPEX.
Settings that move beyond the construct of a single, designated workspace and work time for each employee. Common action to connect wellbeing with the Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
The pandemic has required companies to quickly re-evaluate workplace flexibility to support business and people needs.
A recent Willis Towers Watson study explored the pre-pandemic employee experience for employees working remotely while most of their teams and colleagues were still based at physical work locations. There were some interesting differences in experiences for the work from home employees and implications which organisations can apply today – providing a helpful guide to managing a more flexible work environment as we reimagine work for the future.
| WFH EX challenge | The reopening work experience | The new opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration : Lack of face-time versus workers at company locations |
|
|
| Growth : Missed opportunities to grow, not top-of-mind for managers |
|
|
| Voice : Input not heard |
|
|
| Supports : Lack of enablement or ability to sustain work efforts |
|
|
Many organisations had to pivot extremely quickly to facilitate working from home and other flexible working options, giving rise to new ways of working not available to some employee cohorts before. These were rolled out on a much faster timetable than previously thought possible, showing what can be achieved with a true spirit of cooperation and very clear priorities.
Awareness of each other’s wellbeing and mental health has come to the fore. Managers and senior leaders have led with empathy and, in return employees have shown more trust in their leaders, well beyond pre-pandemic levels. It has been gratifying to see organisations take note of their employees’ individual and unique circumstances.
Organisations can continue to leverage the trust built during the pandemic, by ensuring their employees maintain access to the flexible working options proven to work well in 2020. It is a great opportunity to ensure that all employees feel valued and can contribute fully.
We have a greater appreciation of the person behind the colleague, leader or client. WFH has given us a window into other homes and lives, working from their dining tables, looking after children’s remote learning, battling interruptions from pets. For those organisations where all employees have been WFH, we have seen more instances of an inclusive forum, with everyone joining meetings from video calls, utilising collaborative tools and software to connect.
As we progress to hybrid working it is important to consider how we continue to integrate the experience of those physically attending in a work meeting room and those WFH – ensuring everyone has the same voice and is enabled to collaborate well, regardless of their physical work location, mode of employment or other individual differences.
New ways of working have even expanded talent pools as we realise that a person can contribute and participate remotely from other locations. This has implications for how best to deliver recruitment, onboarding, learning and growth experiences, and continue to create those invaluable organic coaching and team building moments.
Organisations also need to weave in their culture and values to ensure these are fully lived and continue to guide employees’ work in this new landscape. Just as importantly, organisations should build flexible and resilient managers, who are supported to guide their teams as new ways of working continue to emerge, are trialled and implemented.
As we move forward, it will be essential for organisations to put themselves in the best position to support a successful flexibility program and understand where they fall on the work flexibility maturity curve. See some of our pointers on how to achieve that below.
01
02
03
04
