Corporate America Is at a Crossroads

Which side of history is your company going to be on? Flexibility or rigid structure? As leaders, we have ample evidence that remote working is achievable on a large scale over the last year. With COVID-19 forcing us all to shelter in place, that left no alternative but to work from home. That, for the most part, has worked out well.

With the vaccine rolling out over the next few months, that means we will eventually be able to go back in the office. How do you want to lead around this opportunity? There are employees that loved working from home full-time, versus those that can’t wait to get back in the office full-time, and everything in-between. This leaves corporate America at a crossroads. How will you accommodate all those differences?

Steps to take in figuring out how to accommodate your employees in this new environment:

• Conduct an employee survey. See what your employees want and what it will look like for them. Use that data to inform your decisions.
• It is important to work with your HR partners to dust off those remote worker guidelines and take a critical look and make necessary changes.
• Create policies and resources that will support the employees that want to work from home. Ergonomic furniture, tools to allow them to be safe and successful.
• Use existing and new technologies to support that collaborative environment that remote and in-person employees need for continued growth. Just because you are remote, doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to replicate that in the office feel.

We are in a world that looked very different a year ago. With these new opportunities, it is important to meet your employees where they are today. Why punish all employees when you might have a few bad apples. Those bad apples are performance-related and dealt with in that vein. Do you make these changes or not? If you don’t, you risk losing talent. Can you afford that?

Embrace change and this opportunity to look through fresh eyes and the impact your company can have on the world.

If you would like help mapping out the direction you want your company to take, please reach out.