Turning Your Workplace Into A Culture Hub
The potential perks of remote working are well known, with the most common ones being increased flexibility, less commuting, and reduced real estate expense. Two and a half years into the pandemic, the shortcomings are also now becoming apparent.
The negative impact on workplace culture is arguably the most significant. As one of the largest commercial interiors companies in North America, BOS has created workspaces for thousands of organizations of all sizes and industries. Our recent conversations with CEOs, people leaders, and facility managers have illustrated many of today’s workplace challenges and opportunities.
One truth we now know is that work culture suffers in a remote world.
From friendships to romance, sports teams to families, all relationships benefit from being together, with the same being true for the workplace. Organizational culture thrives on strong personal relationships where loyalty, trust, engagement, innovation, empathy, communication, and development, all benefit. Without in-person interaction work becomes transactional and disconnected, and a growing body of research is shining new light on this reality.
- A recent study of over 60,000 Microsoft employees found working from home resulted in more siloed, static and disparate workers
- A Gallup study showed that in 2021 (when most work was done remotely), only 1/3 of employees felt actively engaged, the first decrease in a decade
- Corporate culture is one of the most important contributors to your organization’s success. Researchers from Yale and Duke Universities found corporate culture as the most important determinant of employee engagement and turnover in a recent study
Being together is a key ingredient to a strong corporate culture and your workplace can be one of the best facilitators. We’ve leveraged the best industry research, tapped over 74 years of experience, and compared notes with peers, clients, and partners to come up with effective ways to turn your workspace into a culture hub.
First, ensure your culture is worth promoting by identifying the culture type you want for your organization. Leaders can take advantage of the many culture discovery and promotion tools available to gauge current alignment with their desired culture type. If the current state doesn’t match the goal, adjustments to workplace, policy, communication and resources can be made.
Once you’ve identified and understand your culture, the workplace can be used to communicate and strengthen it. Compared to home and third spaces (coffee shops, hotel lobbies, etc.) your organization has significantly more control to facilitate change within the office. An experienced partner like BOS can help manage this change and maximize its benefit to your organization by providing tools, insights, options and guidance.
The pandemic has also reinforced the need for transparent, clear, and consistent communication. Let your team know how important they are to the business and communicate your intent to keep workplace culture strong and work relationships prosperous. Involve employees in your decision-making process and keep them informed them by sharing research, goals and plans. Communicate change in a positive way, framed as opportunity.
Work towards creating a space that people want to come to; one that reflects the investment made in your team and encourages in-person relationship building, collaboration, and development. Address safety concerns and prioritize total wellbeing throughout your space – physical, mental, and emotional.
Consider equity and inclusion when making decisions in order to provide a space that is welcoming and accessible for all team members. Leverage branding to communicate visually throughout your space and tap into the power of workplace technology to connect teams and better navigate hybrid working.
You can also encourage relationship building by coordinating in-person days to maximize culture. Many organizations who have adopted hybrid models are implementing the 3-2 model with three days in the office and two days remote. Look for ways to bring diverse teams together for enhanced collaboration during in-person experiences, and don’t forget to include those who are remote, as technology can be used to bridge remote and in-person teams.
Be intentional about keeping your space, process, and planning fluid and agile. With a great deal of change behind (and likely ahead) of us, you’ll increase your chances for success by incorporating flexibility into your working environment. From modular, mobile furniture to architectural walls, digital signage to smart building sensors, there are many ways to accomplish this and many organizations are actively refreshing or retrofitting their floorplans accordingly.
Finally, be sure to pick quality partners. Just as being together fosters internal team success, working with value-adding workplace partners will save you time, reduce cost, and generate better outcomes. No one has all the answers and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to post-pandemic success.
BOS workplace experts and employee-owners can connect you with the tools, peers, solutions and knowledge to create a space where people want to work and where your culture can thrive. Get started at www.bos.com.
