Canadian HR Reporter

50 www.hrreporter.com In almost all of the solutions to this looming problem, communication is key. Communication has to go beyond just words and extend into the tangible. Taylor is now working with Tom De Iulis, SVP of Product + Strategy at Venngo Inc., to talk about how benefits and other tangible forms of communication can play a role in preventing the hybrid office from tearing organizational culture in two. "A hybrid workplace risks dividing the team," Taylor says. "Two cultures could begin to form and a power difference can emerge in meetings between those attending in person and those attending virtually. There's a wider risk that remote employees can feel "left out" as some of their team members and managers come back into the office." Taylor says it's crucial that important decisions are made with buy-in from remote workers. If it feels like decisions are coming only from in-office staff, it can lead to alienation. Workplaces also now need to redouble their efforts to add the social aspect back into remote employees' day-to-day made between the core of the culture and how it was delivered. Time (the hours employees worked), space (where their work was done) and communication channels were just the delivery mechanisms, not the core of what makes your organization special. Find your core culture, then think about how it can be delivered in the hybrid workplace." That self-reflection, Taylor says, needs to then inform a clear statement on hybrid culture. Organizations should edit their current culture statement to reflect the hybrid work environment. Office traditions unique to every team should be adapted as best as possible within the hybrid format. Growth and development plans need to be shifted online so employees still removed from the office don't miss out on career opportunities. Communication, again, is key. Taylor says a company events calendar can give employees a sense of time and connection between remote and in-office teams. Communication guidelines, as well, can structure and add meaning to conversations in the company. Communication platforms are crucial, too, and after six months of "Zoom fatigue," Taylor says, organizations need to use other media to facilitate communication. In the six months of remote work, organizations have lavished praise on their teams. While that praise has been deserved, the value of a compliment is suffering from a bit of inflation. With so many kind words floating around, isolated employees can feel they're losing meaning. One way De Iulis and Taylor say compliments can be made effective again is by making them tangible. Venngo works to offer employees benefits in the form of perks and savings that they notice almost every day. While traditional benefits are feeling a strain right now, De Iulis says the lifestyle benefits a program like Venngo offers can help remote and in-office employees stay connected to each other and feel a sense of culture when they save on their morning coffee or latest online order. Those benefits are a tangible form of communication that speaks far louder than words in many respects. "We've always been proponents of benefits that go beyond the workplace, that people use in their everyday lives," De Iulis says. "It's something I think makes a lot of sense these days as much of the workplace still can't foresee returning to the office. It works as that additional line of communication from the employer to their teams, allowing the organization to be part of everyday moments, and giving employees that extra bit of outreach by letting them know the company really does care about them, wherever they're working from." CHRR work. An HR survey from Clutch found that 63 per cent of workers have spent less time socializing with their coworkers as a result of the pandemic. Communication needs to go beyond Zoom meetings and become more flexible and consider other technologies as the office reopens. Past experiments with majority-remote workforces can inform some of the solutions we need. Taylor cites the example of MailerLite, which had been mostly remote pre-COVID. It had a clear vision for effective team communication and set guidelines to ensure it. It was able to recognize looming challenges through this communication effort and overcome them in order. "Emotional check-ins," Taylor says, are especially helpful in these efforts. At the same time, she says, these communication efforts must reflect the company culture that already existed. De Iulis echoes this point. "Every company has to take a good look at what made it special," he says. "They need to ask what values they believe in and what formed the core of their culture. A distinction needs to LEADERSHIP SERIES HYBRID WORKPLACES Darci Taylor is the principal at HR Compass.

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