Author: Laura Zapata, Associate Academic Dean of the Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Recently, I was discussing with a colleague the questions that arise around flexible work. How to manage teams where members are located in different cities or even countries? How to manage remote work that has not fully integrated into organizations? The concerns stem from the fact that, despite flexibility, we still need to standardize schedules, align commitments, and monitor goals since managing work can become chaotic if there are collaborators who understand flexibility as having their own working hours, advancing at their own pace, and on their own schedule.
Before the pandemic, some organizations were already experimenting with remote work with good results. For these organizations, migrating 100% of their operations home during the health crisis was straightforward. Certainly, the pandemic also brought us closer to a future of work that seemed distant. Technological advances have not only accelerated this approach but also social and environmental challenges that urge us to modify how we manage work models.
The Deloitte report "Global Human Capital Trends 2023" mentions that the ideal workplace is not just a physical location dictated by tradition, law, or necessity but the place where work is done best. The same report recommends that leaders focus on something that becomes fundamental: the design and practice of work itself, as work will dictate the combination of the physical and digital workplace necessary to achieve organizational results.
Therefore, changes in talent management and the workplace become critical. We manage talent and its capabilities for the joint achievement of organizational objectives; both employers and collaborators are expected to identify the best way to do this when it seems that the workplace is no longer a determining factor.
To address this, we share three key premises: 1) organizations as a group of people who co-create and share value; 2) employers and collaborators aligning their expectations to have clarity on expected commitments and goals; and 3) effective communication that provides the opportunity to redirect, align, and improve current and future actions to achieve set objectives.
Co-creation of value and alignment of expectations. During the pandemic, employees responded positively to virtual work. Employers and employees had a common goal: to maintain the organization's operations amid the uncertainty brought about by a global health crisis. This also showed the motivation of employees to co-create mutual benefits with their employers. Some research shows that when employees are engaged with the organization, productivity increases.
Employees commit not only because their work has a purpose for the benefit of society but because they have the support of the employer who provides them with the means to do so, including the physical and/or virtual workplace, technological platforms, and personalized professional development.
Clarity of commitments, goals, and follow-up. Companies that have opted for remote work post-pandemic have done so with clear rules and a focus on results. For example, Unilever has introduced global guidelines for office use, giving its employees flexibility and the choice to do their work from wherever is appropriate, only asking them to spend at least 40% of their time in the office to collaborate and connect with others. Smucker’s has designed a somewhat unusual strategy for returning to the office.
'The core week' involves spending six days of the month in the office, no matter where the employee is based, who must be present and available during that week, with a well-structured agenda to make the most of the in-person time, scheduling work sessions to develop or review project progress, and having informal sessions such as meals or dinners with colleagues. Therefore, the relevance of remote work is to have clarity on commitments, goals, and timely follow-up by leaders.
Continuous communication and timely feedback. Even though remote work has its benefits, it becomes crucial to be in continuous communication with colleagues, whether to advance a project or to ensure that we are on the right track. If we have clarity and alignment of expectations, we know what we have to do, how to do it, and when to deliver it, so the physical space is not a constraint; but the follow-up and feedback obtained become essential for improvement or even redirection.
Review sessions become essential, but they should not be so exhaustive that they limit progress and the employee's development. For example, no matter how experienced a new employee is, they require closer mentoring of their activities, progress, and integration into the organization.
The key is to be clear about when it is essential to be present in the facilities, which activities can be carried out remotely, and how to make technology an ally. The workplace becomes a means to fulfill our work commitments; it is a facilitator of work itself, not a condition.
Originally published by El Financiero.