Work and the way we view it will never be the same as a result of the pandemic. These turbulent times have brought about one of the most significant shifts in workplace transformation that we are likely to see in our lifetime. Companies have done well to bridge the gap from initial crisis response to the new normal, but more can be done to lay the foundations for long-term success.
As companies continue to recover, it will be important to continue listening to the employees’ voices, assessing the workplace and focusing on the key areas that require attention to rethink the way we work. It’s never been more important to create an environment where employees can thrive and become their best selves, ensuring that company culture flourishes.
Essential skills for success
Recognising that social skills are as important as technical ones is key. Coming from a clinical psychology background I interviewed most of the people we hired until we were about 50 and that led me on a path to a culture-orientated role.
In these early stages of a business, it’s not so much about hiring people who meet the cultural fit, but mostly about finding those who can add to the culture. Who can engage, collaborate, and bring the skills and expertise needed to make better decisions and foster a more diverse and innovative environment. When hiring and attracting talent, it’s important to understand what type of people and experience you need and how this will help your business grow.
Social skills are essential to building healthy relationships and enabling you to communicate, empathise, and connect with other people. You can certainly build a business with a high level of technical skill but, without that human element of respect, empathy, curiosity and generosity, it won’t be possible to build a culture that is sustainable in the long term.
Sustainably growing and building a team
Successfully growing and building a team is no easy feat. No matter how strenuous the process, most companies fall flat by skipping the necessary steps. This is often due to the urgency of hiring new people, especially in the early stages of a business, but having an ideal persona of the type of individuals that not only share your core values but come from a diverse range of backgrounds is key.
As a leader, it’s fundamental to champion and role model these values within the business. Be forthcoming about what your employees are thinking and what can be done to help them thrive.
To re-establish the level of connectedness lost as a result of the pandemic, we have to continuously gather feedback and keep in touch with our teams. The resilience of the business depends heavily on the sustainable practices that are implemented every day and this bottom up feedback is one of the most important ways to develop and grow a team.
The shift to a hybrid working model
Many organisations would not have anticipated the abrupt move to remote working before the pandemic and it was very similar for us at Mambu. We had to quickly adapt to provide the resources needed for our employees to continue feeling supported both physically and psychologically.
The initial challenge of the lockdown was identifying the impact on employees both professionally and personally. Offering an additional level of support and tapping into emotional needs was extremely important to team wellbeing and boosting resilience.
A hybrid model opens up the talent pool which in turn becomes more diverse. On the flip side, there’s now global competition to hire this talent. The flexibility of work is now on another level, as commuting is removed or reduced and employees are able to work from home. On the other hand, we need to be aware and intentional in our actions to mitigate the inequity challenge that this model can reveal when certain groups like caregivers, introverts, or people with disabilities who primarily choose to work from home become less “visible” and than others.
Understanding how we can make employees feel connected when everyone has conflicting views on working remotely and working in the office will be a challenge. Leadership teams everywhere now face a new challenge of connectedness as many organisations shift to a permanent hybrid model. Being able to manage dispersed teams and offer that same level of support in a semi-remote environment will be key.
Promoting diverse work environments and teams
To ensure a diverse workforce, it is vital to continue those conversations surrounding diversity and culture. Those discussions can then be molded into strategies to promote inclusion and diversity within the workplace. Creating a culture where different perspectives are valued and embraced can go a long way to foster productive business relationships internally and externally.
Diversity spans many dimensions. It’s not only about ensuring diversity in who you hire but also paying attention to internal mobility within the company. Referral programmes should be reviewed regularly and teams involved in the hiring process should also be diverse to minimize biases that can impact diversity.
Global organisations will still need to consider the various cultural differences across the countries and markets in which they operate. Respecting the fact that different regions have different ways of doing things is the first step to becoming transparent with the adjustments needed to build a successful global culture within your company.
Final thoughts…
The expression “the people make the place” couldn’t be more relatable in a post-pandemic world, and ensuring that businesses put purpose and core values at the heart of their workplace culture is a concept that shouldn’t be taken lightly in 2022. The pandemic has already transformed how organisations run their operations so there’s never been a better time to assess company culture and ensure any necessary changes are made to reflect this shift in the way we work. Prioritising diversity, connectedness and bottom-up feedback will be critical to ensuring employees feel valued and able to shape a future of work that suits them to foster a productive environment and long-standing, strong workplace ethics.
