The Human Element of Innovation and Collaboration in the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Man is a social animal, we flourish, and evolve in collaborative spaces, one cannot imagine our evolution without a collegial and co-ordinated workspaces. Remote or Onsite, the post-pandemic work-place discussions are polarising even more people than before. Employer's view on collaboration and effectiveness, employees' view on personal freedom of choice and productivity are natural preferences. But where is the new normal? Vhishnu V. explains the journey at FrontWell Solutions towards the new normal.

As societies around the globe tiptoe back to a semblance of normality in a world still haunted by COVID-19, one area that lags in its return to the 'old normal' is the work environment. While movie theaters are bustling and classrooms are teeming with students, the corridors of corporate offices remain less traveled. Yet, the journey back to the workplace can be an opportunity to redefine and rediscover the role of human interaction, soft skills, and the irreplaceable value of face-to-face collaboration.

As a consulting firm, people and their development is at the centre of our operations. Brining in new people, developing existing staff members, paving way for our leadership team defines our success and will continue to be. In this post pandemic work environment, macro-economic drivers and micro-economic factors have evolved to a certain extent to influence this decision making.

Enabling Remote Work

In an era of technological advancement, there are clear developments promoting and aiding remote work. People in different countries can now collaborate more than ever to deliver a common goal. Project teams are scattered across continents which in the earlier decade was considered a hinderance. Such a remote engagement possibility has also narrowed remunerative packages differences to a certain extent. Low cost markets are able to command a premium on comparable skill, experience and linguistic abilities. The salary and price arbitrations are now a thing of delivery model rather than a just a low cost skill from a far market. FrontWell Solutions is at the forefront to enable and embrace this change was before 2020 Pandemic. We still continue to evolve ourselves around this.

Embracing a new-normal: Hybrid work-place

Any decision taken with the company's interest at the forefront, enables us to explain to the team to emphasize the need and change required to adapt to the challenges. Our teams are hybrid, fully on cloud, ready to roll. We aim to maintain this agility in collaborating as well. As a company with young talents, we are driving the hybridization through benefits, perks, and setting the goals and examples from the leadership. New policies to support remote work, new contractual conditions, legal supports, cross-geographical support systems, new age tools, trainings, communication are some that have helped us to ease this transition. We are far from achieving an excellence, but we may be on the right way.

Learning and Mentoring: The Two-Way Street

The traditional mentoring systems where an experienced worker guides a newcomer have evolved (Shadowing). In today's dynamic environment, learning is a two-way street. Younger employees often have as much to teach about digital tools and social media as they have to learn about industry know-how and professional decorum. Organizations like Harvard Business Review have highlighted the importance of "reverse mentoring," where younger staff train senior members on new technologies and cultural trends. But still the core skills on technical or products are a by-product of Teaching-Learning and experience-exposure combinations.

The magic of small talks in office is under-rated. This informal chit-chats bring in a great deal of empathy and understanding to one's ability and problems, probably some solutions too. In the TED Talk, "Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven Johnson, the notion that breakthrough ideas often come from casual interactions is explored. A simple chat by the coffee machine or a brief team huddle can spark ideas that might never emerge in formal settings. Such short talks, therefore, should be recognized and facilitated as essential aspects of a nurturing work environment.

Innovation Through Collaboration: More Than Just a Team Effort

While individual skills and knowledge are vital, it's the collective intelligence that often leads to breakthroughs. Collaboration is not merely about working together but working together wisely, smartly. This involves:

• Shared Goals: Having a clear, common objective encourages team members to contribute their best efforts. We are open and demanding, at the same time hearing our employees' demands and take our feedback.
• Psychological Safety: A term popularized by Google’s Project Aristotle, psychological safety allows for moderate risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and sticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off.
• Mentoring and leading members: New team members, juniors, lateral entry all need some sort of hand-holding to find their place quickly in the organisations. Onboarding about 2-4 colleagues per month, we are still learning the art of personalising the onboarding of our team members.

Conclusion

The world of work is at a significant inflection point. The post-pandemic era provides an unparalleled opportunity to focus on the human elements that truly fuel innovation and collaboration. Soft skills, active learning environments, and open platforms for short but impactful conversations will be the bedrock upon which future corporate successes are built. As we collectively navigate this period of transition, let's not forget what makes us uniquely human — our ability to connect, learn from each other, and create together.

At the time of writing this article, we have our biggest summer event in 2023 yet, where we hosted a series of team games (FrontWell Olympics!), conducted our Leadership training and brought in almost 90+ colleagues to bond on one common theme, FrontWell Solutions . What inspires us is our team, what drives us is our excellence.