Your teams are the powerhouse of your organisation. They need to perform at their best, no matter where they actually sit while working.
Most previously office-based teams have undergone unprecedented transformation in the last 24 months. It’s a change that might have been inevitable even without a pandemic. However, the speed and necessity of the change, as opposed to a gradual evolution, has brought unexpected challenges. We continue to experience fresh challenges as working from home morphs into long-term hybrid working.
With the sudden and enforced (rather than based on consensus) change, teams adapted to meet immediate needs. We all thought this would be temporary, that we would return to the ‘normal’ old way of working. Yet as time passed, and the normal workplace receded into memory, we have become entrenched in our home offices. The aim now is to return to the office, without losing the benefits of homeworking.
But why return at all?
It’s a valid question. The world of work has continued through the pandemic. We have, for the most part, coped well. The shortest of commutes, always being at home for online deliveries and for plumbers, has made life easier in many ways.
But have we become unwitting victims to a form of pandemic related Stockholm Syndrome? Have we developed an unhealthy psychological bond with the captivity of working from home? That might sound extreme. The majority would surely deny it, but after so long at home it is only natural to have concerns about returning to the office workplace.
Yes, we have coped and done well. But the experience has highlighted that we humans are essentially herd animals. We prefer to be and work together. Innovation and creativity sparks at its brightest when people can bounce ideas around the room, instead of via Zoom. Supporting each other through both mundane and high pressure periods is best done with the camaraderie that is formed while making coffee for the team. And, those moments of deal-winning elation are better celebrated in human company, because the cat simply doesn’t care.
For some teams, the return will be full time. For many, including us, it will be hybrid.
What do teams need in order to successfully return to the office?
For those of us who enjoy being part of a team, it’s the people we are with who make it work. Those positive workplace relationships are crucial in the move to a long-term hybrid working environment. And, these relationships are based on strong shared emotional and social intelligence. But after so long apart, with inconsistency along the way, these relationships could be rusty.
Teams might need to be reminded about what makes them special. While team lunches and actual in-person drinks after work can help, they lack depth. It’s learning about ourselves and each other in a structured manner that strengthens workplace relationships. We learn each other’s foibles, and about the impact that we have on those around us.
But what about those remote workers who would prefer not to return to the office, at least not regularly? This could be the springboard your organisation needs to improve its D&I. Being entirely reliant on a local demographic could be restrictive when it comes to widening diversity in your organisation. Having a structure in place to develop and manage a hybrid team will allow you to widen your talent pool and recruit based on what your organisation needs, not just based on who is available locally.
In addition, you may have lost and gained team members along the way. This may have caused and filled gaps in ways which don’t quite fit the way they used to pre-March 2020. Bring your team together as it is now to renew, develop and strengthen the relationships within. This will set it up for success in the coming critical months.
team development with flowprofiler®
team development with flowprofiler® is a bespoke 10 step structured team development programme which uses your organisation’s values and focuses on your objectives. We work with you to identify what your teams can focus on to develop their emotional intelligence, resilience and motivation in order to transition smoothly into a long-term hybrid or full-time office workplace.
This programme brings great benefits, not just to your well-established people, but also to new joiners as they find their place. As part of the programme we run a team facilitation session. Our facilitators help the team increase effectiveness by improving its process and structure.
They help the team to be aware of how its members communicate, who silences who, how they share ideas, make decisions, solve problems together, and how they handle conflict. These facilitated sessions provide the valuable insights you need to build and implement an achievable action plan to meet your organisational objectives well into the future.
Contact us to learn more about team development with flowprofiler®.
Read more in the hybrid working series
Meet Vicky Thornley - The Latest Recruit to Our Hybrid Working Team
Vicky won a silver medal for Team GB with Katherine Grainger in the women’s double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was a member of the GB team that finished fifth in the women’s eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and fourth in the single sculls at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Read More.
Contact us to learn more
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