Nope, I am not talking about your next yoga class. I am referring to a great term I saw used in an article recently, “Instead of ‘Hybrid’ or ‘Remote’ Work, Let’s Call It ‘Strategic Flexibility’.” The author starts by providing google definitions for Hybrid: The offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties such as a mule (hybrid of a donkey and a horse).” and Remote: “situated far from the main centers of population; distant … having very little connection with or relationship to.” Hmmm I don’t think that is what any of us would like people to imagine when they conjure up the image of our company culture. I love the idea of strategic flexibility.
Taking care of your culture takes conscious effort, nurturing, tending to. Flexibility that is thought through and strategic versus a hard core all remote, hybrid or back in the office just may be one of the answers for you.
Another article in the July TD magazine the author talks about– “Culture happens – decide whether it’s on purpose” or not and The (Un)intentional hybrid cultures that are happening. In this article it also talks about “what gets measured gets managed” (and done) which of course we have all heard. But what exactly are you measuring right now related to your culture? Or are you just letting it happen?
You can make decisions about your culture NOW. You don’t have to wait for the next mandate or God forbid, disaster in your area. You don’t need to wait for the “Turnover Tsunami” to hit your organization.
A head of HR I met with recently talked about how their turnover has increased considerably over the past couple of months with employees being recruited by companies located in higher cost areas that are allowing people to work remotely from the Ohio area. The lure of being paid a bit more and working from home outweighed going back into the office, which they required. Was losing good employees worth sticking to the pre-pandemic all in the office policy?
As a leader what are you measuring related to culture right now that can help you be intentional about nurturing your culture? Are you hanging on to things that just don’t make sense anymore? Some things that helped you build your desired cultures before may be hurting you now from a business and culture perspective.
The number one determinant of behaviors in a culture starts with the leaders’ behaviors. While leaders’ intentions may be good, are their behaviors currently aligned with the adapted culture needed for your organization? It has been more difficult for many to have difficult conversations via phone or video; have they missed giving or receiving some key pieces of feedback?
Your culture should reinforce your organization values regardless of where people are working. So, perhaps it is time to take a step back and do some things to measure your culture before you find yourselves wondering what happened.
The following are a good starting place:
- Leadership 360 for all leaders (check out the 363 we offer: https://berkshiregroupinc.com/everything-disc/. Which is a 360 plus 3 strategies for improvement
- Focus Groups and Interviews
- Action Plan Based on the Gap
Cultures take time to develop but the bottom line is, when people know what is expected, are treated with respect, listened to, and cared for, everyone wins.
