Helping teams work more effectively, whether in the office, on the go, or in a hybrid mode
With so many lists circulating the internet about how to be more effective, productive, and happy when working from home, we felt it would be helpful to offer advice from a different perspective-one that we, as ActivTrak executives, consider on a daily basis. Because, while it’s vital for individuals to identify the best ways to work from home, it’s even more critical for leaders and managers to develop work environments that allow for at-home practices while still achieving critical company goals. Here are three key concepts for leaders looking to create and sustain a post-pandemic remote or hybrid workplace that fosters innovation, engagement, and success.
1. Trust & Transparency
In some capacity, managing in a hybrid or remote work environment will be a change for your company. Perhaps it was something that was implemented during the pandemic, but the environment six months ago looked nothing like it does now. With travel on the rise and eateries hitting capacity, it’s evident that, while people can still work remotely, their working conditions have changed dramatically. Some people prefer to work from home, while others prefer to work from a coffee shop or co-working facility.
We now have to deal with competing priorities at all hours of the day and in greater abundance. This isn’t a reason to return people to the office; rather, it’s a reason to foster a culture of trust and transparency in which employees feel comfortable disclosing their work schedules, at-home responsibilities, and ideal concentrate time. We foster an environment that leverages people’s strengths while remaining inclusive when we allow this knowledge to be shared openly. To build a productivity improvement culture, trust and transparency are essential.
2. Strategy Alignment & Accountability
With the workforce increasingly being spread for all or part of the week, it is critical for enterprises to ensure that a clear plan is communicated from the top. Then, to ensure that each team and employee understands how their work contributes to the company’s overall goal, we advocate defining OKRs (objectives and key outcomes) that may be cascaded across the business.
Each manager is then held accountable for these OKRs, ensuring that work is finished on schedule so that other departments may get on with their jobs. Flexible work arrangements necessitate close coordination and clearly defined tasks. A software product called Lattice at ActivTrak to help us design and manage OKRs set deadlines, and provide performance feedback in order to improve accountability and results.
3. Explore how managing and coaching have changed
The company is undergoing significant transformation as it transitions to a hybrid and remote work environment. This is true for businesses that had remote procedures in place prior to the epidemic, as well as those that were forced to try it for the first time in response to the pandemic. As a result, it’s critical for us as leaders to remember that change requires time, careful planning, and ongoing two-way communication between managers and employees.Managing and coaching have taken on new meanings. We must discern what we used to see in a conference room from behind web-conferencing programs, messaging tools, and productivity indicators.
The managers at ActivTrak use our own workforce analytics software to evaluate productivity data so they can see when employees are most engaged in their job if they are taking enough breaks and where they might need extra help. The managers monitor the most essential productivity indicators on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to help their teams provide the personalized, timely, and relevant support that their employees require, but that they would otherwise be unable to see in remote settings.
