How Leaders are building back better for the hybrid workforce

“If we’re to ‘build back better’ we need to make the most of what we’ve learned from managing through the early stages of the crisis; what has worked, what hasn’t, what old practices do we want to return to and what new ways of working do we want to embrace and embed in the new working world?”

This question, posed by CMI’s Management Transformed report, identifies perhaps the central set of decisions senior leaders must make as pandemic response turns to economic recovery: where do we go from here?

In recent weeks, I have had many discussions with senior clients and partners on what we should expect next in terms of the future of work and how to best leverage technology along this journey. I wanted to share some of the common themes I have taken from these conversations, hoping that they may strike a chord as you prepare for this next wave of change.

The challenge for leadership

The world was thrust into a completely new way of working virtually overnight, but 12 months later, this “marathon crisis” continues and what were expected to be short-term fixes are turning into long-term trends.

Where managers once feared their employees’ productivity would suffer outside of an office environment, the reality of the pandemic has proved anything but. CMI found that 41% of managers had seen the productivity of their direct reports increase and that almost half reported their employees were now more involved in decision-making.

Collaboration has been one of the biggest challenges that has emerged, but as a result of better technology, new products and software – most notably smart computers – working together is becoming easier and more efficient even within a distributed workforce.

This is a time for leaders to break and unlearn the traditional rules of work – an opportunity to open up to new formulas and early experimentations, so that you can find the best strategy for your organisation.

Redefined workspaces

The economy has relied heavily on technology over the past year to continue to function, to deliver for customers and to keep people in jobs. At Dell Technologies, we have seen it first-hand, and have supported businesses to pivot previously face-to-face models to digital. Strategic technology change that once would have gone through significant rounds of executive due diligence and prolonged discussion is being executed with speed and decisiveness to address new requirements and ways of working.

CBRE has outlined 10 predictions for the future of the workplace – identifying that yes, remote working is here to stay, but so too is the office. Slack’s Future Forum study similarly found that while 16% of workers want to be fully remote and 12% to return to the office full-time, 72% want a hybrid model.

It is inevitable that most organisations will look to open up their physical space to some degree when it is safe to do so. But after a year of remote working, leaders must prepare for a more flexible model in the long-term. At Dell Technologies, we expect that 60% of our workforce will continue to work either remotely or have a hybrid schedule.

Organisations have invested in our ‘workspace redefined’ tools that have made distributed working productive, trusted and safe. These enable organisations to begin implementing long-term infrastructure changes today, for the workplace of tomorrow.

The importance of culture

The key to making this a success is to ensure that this agility is embedded across the entire corporate culture of an organisation. As a paper I read recently in Harvard Business Review explained, work from home does not have to dilute your corporate culture.

In fact, the reverse is true – with organisations offering more flexible hours for employees, hosting regular virtual events to keep staff engagement high and showcasing tools that enable collaboration. CMI found that employees overwhelmingly felt that their workplace culture had at least stayed the same, if not improved during the pandemic.

There is an opportunity to rethink how we build a new distributed workplace that leverages technology to its full, but more importantly, is rooted in an inclusive, purpose-driven and agile culture, led by strong leaders.

Making progress

Given the ongoing uncertainty, I am continually amazed by the way in which the leaders we work with are continuing to adapt. One comparison I heard recently related to Stockdale’s Paradox: “People who survive disasters are the ones who are able to regain cognitive function quickly, assess their new environment accurately and take goal directed action to survive within it.”

Made famous in Jim Collins’ book From Good to Great, this is analogous to how the best leaders are managing the current crisis; adapting to the day-to-day demands of the moment, rather than planning for a future rooted in past experiences. Hearing this left me hopeful about the months ahead, and the importance of purpose in driving better organisational cultures.

At Dell Technologies, we are clear on our own purpose, which is about creating positive impact and leveraging technology to advance human progress. As a technology firm, we have conversations with clients and partners every day on how they can foster a workplace fit for a hybrid context. Together with strong leaders, who have the courage to evolve their corporate cultures, we can redefine the workplace and build back for a better future.