Canadian HR Reporter

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK'S PANEL of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. CANADIAN HR REPORTER EXECUTIVE SERIES 15 www.scnetwork.ca MAY 2019 Tweaking management style in the fl exible workplace age ree SCNetwork members discuss Laura Hambley and Giselle Kovary's presentation David Creelman: e reminder that generations are diff erent is best seen as a reminder that people are diff erent. e most im- portant thing for HR is to ensure managers get to know each indi- vidual as an individual. It is somewhat helpful to know common characteristics of millennials but, as the speakers point out, each individual is diff erent, so the only eff ective approach is for manag- ers to have insight into each of their direct reports. is can be very diffi cult in a dis- tributed workforce. is may be the biggest problem for managers not used to leading a distributed team, and getting to know their team well may be the biggest ele- ment in making those problems disappear. e only addendum to this is there are some troubling con- cerns with people born after 1995 that are outlined in the research of Jean Twenge: iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebel- lious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What at Means for the Rest of Us. e diff erences between this generation and millennials are more signifi cant than the diff er- ence between millennials and boomers — and that should give us pause. Sandi Channing: Distributed work is on the upswing and is here to stay. Benefi ts for business include increased productivity, diversity, enhanced innovation, greater talent pool and better retention. Challenges centre around engagement, connectiv- ity, transition, trust and nimble- ness. Giselle Kovary and Laura Hambley's presentation looked at how to best manage the chal- lenges while reaping the benefi ts. One size does not fi t all. Indi- viduals born in one generation may have the characteristics of another. A millennial may be more comfortable in a traditional setting. Some personalities like to work alone; some need the daily social interaction of an offi ce; and others a combination of the two. Managers need to find the style of work that's best for each team member and accommodate accordingly so they can do great work. A good leader does this whether it's distributed work or not. e presenters' focus on how we foster the human element was welcome. One goal of distributed work is to retain employees by giving people fl exibility around their work life. Retention also requires the feeling of belong- ing to a team, department and organization. e question becomes how to best marry the two. Dispersed teams and virtual collaboration require new or en- hanced management skills. Communication is the one major skill that needs to be am- plifi ed in a distributed work en- vironment. As companies move away from on-site offi ce settings, gone are the impromptu face-to- face brainstorming sessions and water cooler chats. Other forms of frequent com- munication become extreme- ly important for distributed work to succeed. You can never over-communicate. e need to have regular vir- tual meetings and touchpoints cannot be underestimated. e importance of team-building — sharing fun facts and having regular lunches and team chat lines in addition to work discus- sions — brings some of the "wa- ter cooler" benefi ts to the group. Distributed work can be a win- win for all if managed well. With innovation, job satisfaction, re- tention, attracting top talent, and increased productivity at stake, the investment is warranted. Jan van der Hoop: I can vouch for the fact that a person's com- fort working in isolation is going to depend a fair bit on her core personality. As a relatively early adopter in the world of dispersed work, I can say with confi dence that it suits me just fi ne. e of- fi ce is in a clearly defi ned space in the house where I go only to work; I'm not easily distracted by nature and I am fairly low on the sociability scale. at doesn't make me antiso- cial — I can turn on the charm when it's called for, but I don't need a lot of people around me to be happy. Interacting with others when I need to — by phone or on GoToMeeting — works just fi ne. Giselle's comment about it not working for every personal- ity type was right on the money, though. My business partner is very high on the sociability scale. He craves social interac- tion with others, and dies slowly inside when he is starved of it. Working remotely might work for him if he could bring a laptop to Starbucks or the public library, but working alone in a home of- fi ce would drive him bananas. It would honestly disable any abil- ity to focus and be productive. And yet we are both boomers, which lends weight to the conten- tion that the generational label may notionally be correct about the broad attributes of each co- hort, but it is not the territory. Any traditionalism in our mindsets and behaviours is more a legacy of the environment in which we grew up than it is of who we are. As a company, we are pretty non-traditional on almost every level, and I believe we are getting more fl exible and nimble with each passing year. Look at us: Boomers learning to dance like gen Zs. I have to say I disagree with Sandi's comment about this new dispersed reality requiring new or enhanced management skills. I think it requires good, old- fashioned leadership and man- agement skills (yes, both). As humans, we all crave con- nection — to our manager, to our work family, and to the work itself. We are social animals fi rst, corporate rats second. To be engaged, people require engag- ing leaders who are interested in and focused on them and their success. In a dispersed world, weak management fails faster than a parachute with no cords. Un- fortunately, it is most often the dispersed person or the disper- sion itself that gets the blame for the failure. And who says the water cooler is dead in the world of dispersion? It certainly doesn't have to be — the presenters gave lots of ex- amples that demonstrated how the tools at our fi ngertips can shrink the distance. If we only care to use them. "It's easier when you're co- located to lead on the fl y and let things happen naturally. When you're at a distance, you have to be much more intentional," said Hambley. Determining the extent of dis- tributed work that fi ts for each new hire is a start. Other leadership skills include bolstering team unity, fostering relationships and eff ective meet- ing management, she said. "Ineff ective meetings are one of the biggest time-wasters in corporations today," said Ham- bley, noting it can be even more diffi cult for employees to main- tain focus in virtual or telephone meetings. Even a decision such as requir- ing video capability for meetings or gathering a team to kick off projects can help retain the hu- man element in virtual teams, she said. Introducing new team mem- bers with a video or photo can also help in terms of team cohe- siveness, said Hambley. "It builds trust and you can start to get to know the peo- ple, and some fun facts about their life outside of work, be- cause we lose that human ele- ment and it becomes all about work." Managers need to fi nd the best style of work for each team member and accommodate accordingly so they can do great work. FLEXWORK < pg. 14 'You have to be intentional' ree SCNetwork members discuss Laura Hambley and Giselle Kovary's presentation PANELLISTS: • David Creelman, CEO of Creelman Research in Toronto • Sandi Channing, senior director of total rewards at Compass Group Canada in Mississauga, Ont. • Jan G. van der Hoop, president of Fit First Technologies in Toronto Jan van der Hoop David Creelman Sandi Channing is Empowered by: is Empowered by: A Great Leader A Great Leader www.scnetwork.ca Networking, Mentoring, Peer-Peer Feedback Formal Online & Of ine Learning On the job experiences & challenges 20% 10% 70% Join SCNetwork, for a monthly dose of thought leadership and grow your community of peers in a collaborative space. We welcome all HR professionals who support business success through people. Cultivating the Power of Human Capital for 35+ Years! Looking for a way to achieve the 30% you need to become a great leader?

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