How will work evolve?

A lot of people have been asking me, ‘Laura, how do you think HR will evolve after COVID-19? How are our workplaces going to change? What trends will emerge? What good will come from this?

As a curious person, I love when you come to me with these questions. I want to be helpful and have answers to share, so I have been thinking so much about this. Thanks for giving me the food for thought. Things are evolving daily, so who knows if any of our predictions will be accurate. But, I have found that pondering the HR and workplace trends for the future are comforting in this moment; it keeps me hopeful and optimistic for better days ahead. It reminds me that the HR profession that I love so deeply will have many wonderful opportunities ahead to continue define the way we all work.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been reminded that at the core of work are human beings with fear, worry, anxiety, grief, sadness. No matter where we live in the world, we are globally sharing a trauma. Some may dismiss this or resist ‘going there’ but those of us who love EQ and self-reflection have been fascinated with the goodness coming out of these times. I have never had more transparent, open discussions with people across the Talent and People community than I have in the last few weeks. It’s so refreshing to talk about our feelings and our shared experiences; it is comforting to take off our ‘masks’ and truly show up as human beings for each other.

Alas, I am so incredibly hopeful that we will emerge from this experience bringing less ego to work and more connection. Less competition and more generosity of spirit. I am confident this shared experience will help us recognize each other’s superpowers/talents and capabilities. We will be better as teams and as a community because we have learned how to lean on each other and learn from each other.  

As I have pondered your questions, below are my initial thoughts. These are the changes I’m hopeful and optimistic we’ll see in our work cultures going forward:

1.      Overcoming bias. How long, as a Talent community, have we been talking about removing culture ‘fit’ and recognizing what people add to a culture? We’ve been training hiring managers for years on recognizing their own biases and letting people show up at work as their authentic selves. We’ve talked about the value of diversity and yet, have we really seen great evolution in this arena up until now? I am hopeful that all of these video calls—seeing our colleagues with their guards down (kids! Dogs! Their living room furniture! Sweatshrits!) are helping people realize we're all unique and have our own lives and come from our own special experiences. We’re showing up (for the first time ever?) as ourselves. It's so wonderful to see. I am hopeful this is going to make a huge positive impact on our workplaces going forward. Will dress codes finally become more casual? Will the vague understanding of what makes someone ‘polished’ or with ‘gravitas’ go away? By necessity, we've all shown up as ourselves these last few weeks--in all ways. How can we go backwards from here?

2.      Being able to pivot will be more important than ever. Can slow decision-making be a trend after this? I can't imagine it! Think about it: Isn’t it truly remarkable how fast we got entire companies working from their respective homes? Companies talked about this for years and said it wasn’t possible. Yet, in the course of 5 days--it happened. For years, HR candidates have been expressing a desire to find remote opportunities, but they have been so rare to find. Often we hear "We offer remote working for some employees, but not HR. We need them to be in the office" Will this be true going forward? Will remote roles be so rare anymore? I am hopeful that Executives will recognize that remote working…worked. And that some of their employees prefer it and so need to offer the option going forward. Most importantly, perhaps these types of decisions won’t take years of discussion and strategy… we’ll be able to pivot and be decisive. That will be a wonderful change.

3.      Masks are off  in that we are more human and vulnerable than before. Is it possible that going forward we’ll have less hierarchy, bureaucracy , more open door policies and more transparency from leaders? This is something we’ve talked about happening for years, but won’t it HAVE to happen going forward? No one wants to work for and among robots… people crave human connection and realness. How a company handled their humanity in this crisis will say a lot about their employer brand and ability to attract and retain talent going forward. Did you show up as a human being?

4.      Psychological Safety will be more important than ever. It’s wonderful that Executives have normalized needing ‘coaches’ and ‘trainers’ but why not also therapists? We may find more organizations investing in Psychological care for their leaders so they can better improve their own level of EQ and self-awareness. We’ll likely see the discussion of ‘mental health’ become less stigmatized once we’ve all been through this disruptive time. We will need workplaces to make room for feelings and emotions; I’ve talked to so many people this week who told me they’ve cried for the first time ever to colleagues. While it was scary for them to let their guard down, they said they also felt more deeply connected to each other and safe with each other. Will we find we are less ‘buttoned up’ going forward, and able to make more space for each other in good times and bad? What a wonderful evolution, if so!

5.      Creative solutions through active listening will likely occur. We've been talking for a while about being better listeners at work—really making room for our colleagues and employees to say what they need and want. But, what are we doing with that data? Surveys are sent, but are we reading them? Stay interviews happen, but what are the outcomes? Going forward, I’m optimistic that we’ll see Leaders listening to what their employees want and need and truly customizing solutions for them. This will be a more creative time in that we’ll see companies want to retain and engage their talent in new ways--and customizing solutions for each employee.

6.      We see HR’s value in times of crisis, don’t we?! Some still see HR as a ‘cost center’ and a ‘non-revenue generating function’ and an ‘administrative function’ (things I hear often). But, how can that continue? Haven't you seen how HR saved your company in this time? How they showed up for leaders, employees? How they kept up-to-date with laws and policies changing by the minute? Going forward, I think we can agree that we are officially DONE with this antiquated notion of HR not being valued. I’m hopeful that the ‘seat at the table’ we’ve been coveting for HR Leaders has actually arrived. What CEO would have gotten through this crisis without their People leaders leading the charge with them? I am SO proud of what HR and People pros have accomplished over the last few weeks. I am hopeful that coming out of this, we will continue to see HR seen as the most important department in an organization.

7.      Company values will be more important than ever. How did you show up for others in this time? What does your company stand for? What do you value? Candidates are already saying they are going to ask “How did your company handle the COVID-19 criss?” on interviews going forward. They will do this as the answers they gather will determine if an organization’s values aligns with their own.  As employees continue to look for mission-based orgnaizations, this will become more important than ever. I am hopeful Leaders will take this time to define/redefine their values and ensure they are really acting in accordance to their beliefs.  

8.     Will pace of work evolve? As New Yorkers, many of us can attest to working in cultures that put endless pressure on us with little regard to burn-out. Some, often in start-ups, talk about a pace of work that has led them to complete exhaustion with little life outside of work. It’s not good. We’ve been learning from our colleagues on the West Coast and in other cities who have demonstrated a strong work-life integration and have slowed down their pace a bit. Will we all do that going forward? Will we need to feel so pressurized all the time? Will we need to reward busy? Will we need to glorify full schedules? I am hopeful that people are enjoying this quality time with their families and recognize that they want to bring a different pace of work into their lives. Don’t worry, the work will still get done. We’ll still be productive and efficient. I just wonder if we’re all going to allow ourselves to exhale a bit more? Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

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Would love to hear YOUR hopeful thoughts about the potential evolution of our work environments going forward. You, your families, friends and loved ones are in my thoughts. This is a challenging time, and I gain great comfort in knowing we’re all in this together as a community. I am endlessly grateful for the global community of friendships I continue to cultivate (thanks Twitter #HRCommunity #RecruiterTwitter). I look forward to continuing to learn from you all and am humbled by the fact that we’re all hiking through uncharted territory together!

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