j flexibility that our existing staff now have is much greater .
“ It ’ s essentially enriched the team ’ s weekly working lives , reducing the pressure that comes with working full or part time and balancing other personal commitments such as childcare , looking after pets and caring for elderly relatives . Our employees are no longer worrying as much about dealing with these important personal commitments , as they may have done previously .
“ This more flexible work / life balance has encouraged us all at Be More Social to focus more on communication , collaboration , connectivity and creativity more than ever before . Everyone has been supporting each other more than ever throughout the pandemic , and we ’ ve even hired a mindset coach who works with each employee on a monthly basis to help foster a positive mindset .”
While culture remains a priority for many leaders , remote or hybrid working will clearly have an impact on what your culture now looks like . It doesn ’ t go away in a remote or hybrid setting , cultural beliefs and norms are still established and reinforced , but they are no longer guided by the routines and processes that were once established in the office .
Moreover , cultural norms will likely now be subject to more flexibility and will be influenced by new , non-work factors in employees ’ day-to-day lives .
Danielle Attard , MD of Comgem shared how the pandemic has meant they have embodied the flexibility that the pandemic has provided , and their culture has evolved in the same way : “ Covid has allowed us to become more flexible as our customers have become more flexible , too . This means some of our team work from home . As a working mum this provided me with greater flexibility with caring for children and juggling working .”
For many , in both HR and other functions , the pandemic has widened the breadth of their roles . From HR having to manage remote work , find new ( remote ) methods to ensure employee engagement and satisfaction and updating benefits overnight to sales teams having to master the art of online sales meetings , demonstrations and negotiations ; many employees ’ roles have changed significantly in a very short space of time .
Aleksandra Krstevska is the HR Manager for Evopure , a natural health company . She shared how the pandemic impacted their culture early on in the pandemic : “ We experienced a lack of motivation and enthusiasm in our team , especially because people react differently in times of crisis and the pandemic was hard for some of our colleagues .”
She introduced virtual on-to-one meetings with colleagues to provide a forum for employees to share how they are feeling , how they are finding remote work and to allow employees to provide feedback and suggest ways HR could help them through this lull in motivation : “ I found these one-on-one meetings very helpful even for me as an HR Manager to track each colleague regarding their progress and their performance . However , I ’ m trying to be not only their HR Manager , but their friend too , because I noticed that empathy is something that is really needed in the workplace .
“ We are a pretty small company , everyone knows each other so it ’ s much easier to act not only as colleagues , but as friends too . Whenever I ’ m sharing tips and feedback with each team member , I can see that they are starting to feel more motivated . Also , their tasks are successfully completed and their technical and soft skills are improving each week , too .”
As workplace cultures evolve , it is important for HR and wider business leaders to maintain flexibility and agility . Not everyone will be managing remote work in the same way , nor will their attitude towards the pandemic be the same .
OnSkil is a digital platform that connects candidates in the IT industry with employers . Throughout the pandemic , co-founded Nick Brand has noticed a significant shift in the way their clients ’ roles have changed : “ We work with HR teams and they ’ re telling us that as many have seen their role expand in terms of welfare during the pandemic , they ’ re on the lookout for tools and systems to make things such as hiring or admin much more efficient . We ’ re seeing an appetite for innovation accelerated due to the pandemic , which I don ’ t think will slow down .”
In a practical sense , it is clear that Covid has heightened the demand for tools and techniques that deliver efficiencies in every area of business . Throughout the pandemic , HR teams , together with senior leadership have had to devise new ways to maintain meaningful connections with their people and ensure they don ’ t become alienated from the business .
We continue to witness an abundance of social events on Zoom , quizzes and virtual get-togethers taking place at many businesses , but many have also actively sought new systems to streamline recruitment , on-boarding and engagement during these newly remote times .
As a result , workplace culture will be impacted by these new ways of doing things . Different processes and procedures for tasks that may have been carried out in person before , are now being brought online . Job roles and expectations are changing . More and more team members may be working remotely . Importantly , HR leaders must reassess their outlook on what constitutes a good culture and how it is fostered in this entirely new world of work . S
46 Executive PA | Autumn Issue 2022