TiER1 Performance
“Work is something you do, not somewhere you go…”
Even though this motto became popular in the mid-nineties, it seems to be a lesson we are all still trying to learn well into 2020. Yet, as we settle into new ways of working, we must remember that our collective new normal is not a static thing.
Though many of us are getting more comfortable with working from home, and we consider daily videoconferencing and online collaboration the norm, it doesn’t mean that this version of “normal” will last. Remember: Many assumed initially this would be a “blip on the radar;” hoped things would “go back to normal” quickly; and may have been “grinning and bearing it” ever since. Are you confident that the existing patterns you have settled into will be sustainable for yourself or your team? Your customers? The business? What about the world?
Inevitably, our reality will change, and we’ll need to adapt again. This was true before COVID-19, and it will be true long afterward. We talk about “new ways of working” with our clients because the concept allows us to focus our attention on building the continuous ability to adapt our patterns of behavior.
Understanding our ways of working
Ways of working are the principles, rules, and behavior patterns that guide our routines, rituals, and rhythms at work. When we take a systems-based view of the world, we see how powerful these “ways of working” are. (If you’re new to this way of thinking, check out this article for a deeper dive into new ways of working.)
While routines, rituals, and rhythms govern a majority of how we operate, manage, and decide what to do, we rarely examine them until circumstances force us to adapt. An intentional approach to new ways of working empowers employees to change their routines, rituals, and rhythms based on their frontline experiences. When leaders place trust in their employees, giving them the freedom to adapt their ways of working as needed, it often leads to a more engaged, adaptable workforce that’s better equipped to handle unexpected events.
Recently, the process of redesigning ways of working has been on full display. As companies rapidly shifted to a digital-first mindset in the spring of 2020, many organizations had to rethink their technology and process. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough to actually create and sustain new ways of working; behavior is critically important to this equation, and too often is underestimated or not addressed. To make remote work successful, we also must re-examine our old principles, rules, and behavior patterns.
Ways of working bring into focus the words we use, the behaviors we partake in, and the structures we design. By incorporating a “new ways of working” mindset into your organization now, you can build the adaptive muscles necessary to continuously invent new ways of working.
How to design new ways of working
“Inevitably, our reality will change, and we’ll need to adapt again.”
Remember: New ways of working won’t always be new. Many digital ways of working will be easier to sustain than others. In our current context, sustainability depends on the duration and frequency of lockdowns, digital infrastructure maturity, our own digital literacy, the industry or market we serve, and preferences of customers and employees. In the future, the need to adapt to another new normal, digital or not, will still be there.
Maybe you’re just starting down this path of new ways of working. If your team is thinking about redesigning its ways of working, the first and most important step is to deconstruct the “raw materials” of work (e.g., tasks, roles, pacing, props, and environment). Once you’ve done that, you can work to reconstruct those materials into new designs that better serve whatever new normal you and your team are settling into.
Ways of working in today’s “new normal”
Check out the following examples and case studies of how high-performing teams have designed new ways of working to adapt to the “new normal” of today.
Influencing Customers & Building Relationships (B2B)
Old Norms:
- “Across the table” selling, mostly in-person.
- Staying top of mind with face-to-face interactions and handwritten notes.
- Leaving physical collateral and print pieces behind.
- Casual meetings over food or drinks.
New Norms:
- “Across the screen” selling with an emphasis on optimizing person-to-person interactions and letting tech distract as little as possible.
- New tech being used for coordinating scheduling (e.g. Calendly, Veeva).
- Time to “talk business” is longer, not shorter (but the work to build rapport is that much harder).
- Navigating this balance requires careful planning to ensure messages are relevant to real-time needs and that the exchange still feels authentic and genuine.
Engaging & Supporting Customers (B2C)
Old Norms:
- Customers prefer in-person interactions for more complex questions (with voice, or with chat, in decreasing order of preference).
- Real-time response is a high priority.
New Norms:
- Many interactions are now digital, with self-service as the single most critical experience feature.
- When customers do interact, chat features are important (asynchronous) for customers juggling a busy home life (e.g. pets and children).
- Chatbots and voicebots have become more popular to manage surges in contact volumes.
Company Gatherings & Meetings
Old Norms:
- Work is a location, and physical offices are the center of workplace community and communication.
- Hosting in-person events at our offices and traveling to different markets for meetings.
New Norms:
- Work is an activity, making location less relevant as workplace community is now built in digital spaces, through internal social networks (e.g., Yammer, Slack) as well as chat, email, and video.
- Switching to permanent “work from anywhere” options (e.g., Square & Twitter allowing employees to work from anywhere indefinitely).
- Holding all-hands meetings in shorter time increments, with a mix of real-time and recorded media taking the place of 100% live content.
Leading & Aligning Team Priorities
Old Norms:
- Urgent, in-person working sessions in a physical “situation room.”
- Team members hash out the details of the new path forward.
New Norms:
- Leaders gather virtually and block time to focus or “GSD” (get stuff done). Rather than a one-time session, focus sessions happen more regularly.
- Adopting the daily 15-minute standup meeting for the team to align on pivots and smooth over miscommunications or blockers to the action plan.
Daily Structuring (AKA the 9-5)
Old Norms:
- Daily commuting to and from work.
- Consistent work schedules with clear boundaries for “personal” or “break” times.
- Work attire policies and casual Fridays.
New Norms:
- Boundaries of home and work have blended and become more porous.
- Establishing team norms to create space between work and home time: notification settings, which channels to use for what, response time expectations.
- Setting up intentional rituals for “connection” time vs. “task” time.
- Leveraging the “working alone together” model, where team members join a call and create a shared virtual office, creating space for informal chit-chat.
Connecting (AKA Water Cooler Moments)
Old Norms:
- Team members catching up informally throughout the day and creating shared memories and in-jokes.
- Coworkers meeting up in public spaces (e.g., elevators, kitchens, lobbies) to build relationships and make connections.
New Norms:
- Planting seeds and triggers like a routine “good morning” message through text or chat features. (This keeps check-ins casual and gives team members a chance to talk about whatever is on their mind. If necessary, these informal touchpoints turn into quick calls.)
- Making everyone’s calendars fully transparent and allowing team members to hold windows where it’s ok to check in (creating a new non-verbal cue).
- Navigating an organization’s new “digital commons” with an increased tolerance for vulnerability. Posts on internal social media feeds or in group chats may get no or little response from attention-strapped coworkers, and yet, these channels are crucial for continuing to build community.
- Developing respect for differences in digital habits and digital literacy. It’s critical to take into consideration individuals’ differences in digital literacy and adjust our expectations and ways of building digital community with that individual accordingly.
Celebrating & Team Bonding
Old Norms:
- Meals, happy hours, and planned events were commonplace.
New Norms:
- Laughter is an essential ingredient to shake loose some of the rigidity that can show up at work, and teams are getting creative for how to boost their connection time. Moments for connection and silliness might seem, well, silly, but they can be especially important as new team members are onboarded during our “remote normal.” Getting to know peers and feeling like a part of the group is particularly hard right now.
Tactics for connection time can be as simple as a check-in or ice breaker question before meetings start, or be more involved like some of these tactics:
- Funny debates (crunchy vs smooth peanut butter, tea vs coffee, are hot dogs’ sandwiches?)
- BYO drink, hat, virtual background
- Remote work bingo
- MTV cribs edition for remote teams
If you’d like to connect with our team to learn more about new ways of working, give us a call at 859-415-1000 or reach out through the form below.
