Back to the office: How leaders can help their staff through the transition

With restrictions continuing to ease and ‘work from home’ directives disappearing, employers are considering how best to welcome back employees into their office spaces. While some leaders are excited at the opportunity of gathering their teams and bringing life back to their offices, many employees are keen to maintain a work-life balance that they have become accustomed to with a hybrid working model.

So what are leaders to do in these times of transition? Here are some tips for leaders who are tasked with the role of transitioning their teams back into the company office.

Tips for coming back to the office

1. Show empathy

   Take the time to acknowledge the incredible efforts of your employees and any challenges they have faced since you were last together. Remind your colleagues that this is not a ‘return to work’ transition, but a return to the company office transition.

   Initiate a new employee workplace survey to get in tune with your people and any challenges they may be facing. Be sure to gain a strong understanding of their appetite to return to the office, and any changing preferences. Provide clear and obvious questions to get a new read on the basics, such as preferred break times, working hours and opinions on communal spaces and facilities. This will demonstrate transparency and a willingness to make the transition as comfortable as possible, for all.

   Some will be enthusiastic about returning to the office, while others will not want to venture back yet. Others may want to re-enter in theory, but worry about risks to their health and the safety of their loved ones.

2. Give your teams a voice

   Be sure to communicate to your colleagues that this transition will be a journey for all, and that you will be taking it together. Once your survey has been issued and the results reviewed, host an employee briefing to address any key points and suggestions, and discuss openly how they think any new suggestions can work.

   Address any potential changes and new policies, and flag these before they are rolled out. By opening up the channels of communication across all levels of your organisation, you are demonstrating that this is a team effort and that all opinions are valued. Ensure that everyone has the opportunity to speak, contribute ideas and provide feedback.

   While surveys play an important role in collecting feedback across many departments, much can be said about the old fashioned technique of asking people face to face what they think and how they could be better served and supported.

3. Do your research

   The challenges we are facing are not new for many of our international counterparts, so do some research and see how firms abroad have addressed the new issues that COVID-19 has brought into their workplaces.

   In October 2020, MIT Sloan Management Review analysed 1.4 million employee-written reviews on Glassdoor, to examine how the pandemic had influenced employees’ perceptions of corporate culture.

   They compared 50 companies that saw the biggest jump in their culture and values rating during the first six months of COVID-19, with 50 companies that saw the biggest overall drop in the same rating. As a result of their research, they concluded that the top 50 companies distinguished themselves in three main areas:

   1. Clear and effective communication;
   2. Increased attention to employee welfare; and
   3. The ability to deal with environmental changes in a flexible manner without losing sight of strategic priorities.

4. Prioritise wellbeing

   Placing people and culture at the centre of your business strategy should never be underestimated. Discover how the wellbeing needs of your people may have changed. What constitutes a work-life balance to them? And has this changed since pre-pandemic days? Don’t forget to regularly ask “are you ok?” and be genuine.

   While it can be tempting to adopt a cookie-cutter approach to employee wellbeing, most experts advise that the starting point is culture.

   Danielle McMahan chief people officer for Wiley commented in a 2021 Forbes article: “Without culture being considered as the ‘true north’ for wellbeing efforts, companies run the risk of having a disconnected jumble of tactics which are ineffective — or worse — inauthentic.”

5. Be inspiring

   Make the return to the office transition a memorable experience. Take the opportunity to engage your leaders and refocus your teams on the organisation’s vision, strategy and goals. Include them. Listen to their feedback, and provide opportunities for people to work together and make a difference. Whether it’s a company or community initiative, don’t be afraid to start something new and allow it to inject fresh energy into your workplace.

   Regardless of whether your people are physically located in your company office or working from their homes, they need to feel a strong connection to your purpose, strategy and values. When your people feel engaged, they will feel valued for their contribution and empowered to make a difference. Not only will this create a positive workplace culture for your organisation, it will also enable you to build a sustainable competitive advantage over the long term.