The Improved Normal

How the global pandemic is accelerating change in how we work and why it’s a good thing (we think!)

Work as we know it has transformed. The traditional approach is out the window.

9.2m people are on the UK Government’s Job Retention scheme. A substantial proportion of the remaining working population have not seen the inside of an office for a few months now. Businesses up and down the country have been thrust into new and untested operating environments.

The global pandemic has forced many questions to come bubbling to the surface. Businesses have had to adapt to new ways of interacting with employees and new ways to get the job done. As a result, employees and employers are questioning whether we need to return to the traditional model of work when the crisis ends.

At Home of Mortgages we think this is a good thing. And the rest of this article explains why.

The (not so) good old days…

Remember what it was like in February? 

Many people would get up, put on business attire and head out for their hour-long commute, battling with traffic and delayed trains. Finally arriving at the office (probably grey walls with ‘motivational’ posters on the wall) they would then sit at their desk buried in a computer screen for 10 or so hours, before commencing their return journey back home to their families.

Enter Covid-19. We’d seen the lockdowns in China on the news of course, but we didn’t expect the unrivaled disruption that was about to hit US. 

“Our Government would never lock us down” we thought.

“Surely that won’t spread to Europe so quickly” we thought.

We thought wrong.

Lockdown Living

Suddenly, offices were closed, toilet paper became a most valuable domestic commodity and working parents were left with the monumental effort of balancing their day jobs with homeschooling their children.

Meanwhile, employers were rushing against the clock, hoovering up any spare laptops they could get their hands on and migrating their IT operations across into the cloud. Tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams showed us what we’d all suspected was true for a long time. The office was just a place we went to work, it wasn’t necessarily essential all the time.

Somethings were great of course:

 ●    No commute meant the average commuter had 2 hours extra per day.

●    Many realised that they can do their jobs perfectly well from home.

●    Some people re-discovered long lost hobbies and passions.

●    Some took up new ventures, capitalising on more time at home.

●    Tiger King showed us the consequences of marrying a woman obsessed with tigers and fame. ????????????????

 But some things were not so great:

 ●    Our creative projects, which rely on face-to-face interaction stalled.

●    Many found they were actually working MORE hours. On average, results show that people added three extra hours to their working day. Is that Healthy? Debatable.

●    Some felt like they were sleeping in the office rather than working from home.

●    For some people, sitting in a home office all day has meant they simply are not moving much anymore.

●    Health and well being has undoubtedly been impacted by a lack of mobility and social interaction.

At the time of writing, lockdown restrictions are starting to be eased. Pubs will be open soon, so will restaurants. Employers are now faced with the question, “What’s next?”

We think that this is a pivotal moment. Those businesses that learn from this period and adapt how they work will stand out from those that try to revert to business as usual pre-Covid. Businesses that take the best bits from Lockdown Living and use them to transform their operations stand to be more resilient, more agile, and more productive. These will be the pioneers for the new normal.

 At Home of Mortgages, we’ve been thinking A LOT about this topic, we LOVE it. We want to pioneer a new way of working. What follows are the things we’ve learned and how we will be shaping our business in the new normal.  

We Work happy

Underpinning our entire ethos is this simple formula:

 Inspirational Work Environment → Happy and Fulfilled Employees → More Growth

 It is simple. And simple is actionable.

 We are passionate about going the extra mile for our customers. But making our customers happy is more than just a focus on excellent customer service. The source of happy customers is happy employees. Happy employees feel valued, they live rich and fulfilling lives and they are constantly striving for self-improvement and personal growth. Happy employees are also inspired by the meaning and purpose of their work.

 Therefore by inspiring their workforce and creating an environment where employees can flourish, this will naturally translate into dedicated employees that will go the extra mile for their customers. 

 Mental Health Awareness

 We must pay attention to our mental wellbeing. Adapting to the changes COVID19 brought us was sudden and unnatural. A lot of pressure was put on us all to quickly adapt to a new way of socialising, shopping, and of course working. Employers were keen to keep staff safe, whilst as a nation, we all shared one common value: keep yourself and family safe too.

 Suddenly, the biggest priority was health and safety for all.

 This brought us together as people. Having a virus lurking around us like a ghost made us more vulnerable. We became more compassionate towards each other. Whether you’re an employer, employee, self-employed or unemployed, we have all felt the mental and physical effects of this pandemic. As individuals, our biggest concern was… how am I going to do this? Homeschooling, restricted social life, endless queues, and empty supermarket shelves.

 There was a lot to take on.

 Are we really going to go back to the way we used to work after much effort and mental strain adapting to the new “temporary” way of working? This is why I am taking it upon myself as an employer, to stay compassionate and to stay flexible.

 Talent is what matters. People matter. Not their location or how many minutes past 5.30pm they stayed in the office.

Flexible, Adaptable, Agile

In June 2020 some 49% of the workforce was working from home according to the ONS. THAT is significant. Another survey shows that some 60% of those that have worked from home during Covid, want to continue to work from home in the future.

 Now apart from the ability to wake up 1 min before your first Zoom meeting of the day (better make sure you turn off the camera buddy! ??) There are some real benefits to working from home, but they all boil down to one thing…

FLEXIBILITY.

Employees love the idea of being able to do their household chores, help out with the kids and also churn out that important report that needs to be submitted by close of business.

Most people working from home have also discovered that their quality of work has NOT suffered as a result. Which begs the question…

  ….if we have managed it during lockdown, surely we can continue to do so?

 Offices will still have their place and still be relevant to productive, high-quality work. But workers should be able to choose where they work on any given day.

 Is location relevant at all to work?

Employees are increasingly advocating for choice. This is a good thing. If people are empowered through choice and that results in greater job satisfaction and higher productivity, then that can only be good.

 Allowing employees to choose where they work, if and when they come into the office, is an essential part of making them feel valued. If you are given the choice, you are being trusted to get the job done. And that is empowering.

 And if you want the best out of people you need to trust them and they need to trust you.

There is More to Life

We want our people to have a life. We want them to be itching to get out of the door at a reasonable time every night. We want them to spend valuable time with their families.

We want our people to feel a clear separation between home and work life, especially if they are working from home.

People who have a life, get stuff done. They prioritise effectively and they make responsible calls to make sure the work gets done on time so they can get back to their life.The previous model of work, pre-Covid-19, meant that many employers focused on presence, time and overtime. That is to say, people are measured based on how many hours they do rather than efficiency and quality.

But when it comes to work, QUALITY MATTERS.

When we work long hours and burn the midnight oil, we make bad decisions, our judgement is impaired and our motivation starts to take a hit. We become tired, sloppy and one-dimensional. Having varied experiences enriches us. This translates into better decisions and more creativity. We are well-rested and refreshed which means we are more productive and motivated.

Getting the right work-life balance is all about setting boundaries and leading by example. We need to make sure WE have purpose and meaning outside of work to unwrap the benefits they bring.

Personal Growth, Mindset and Mentoring

How can we ensure survival for both people and businesses?

We believe the following is a useful framework:

●    Inspired by purpose

●    Driven by values

●    Flexible and Agile

●    Focussed on results and outputs

●    Meaningful work-life balance.

For this to work you need the right people. You need people that are also inspired by your same purpose, they already live your values and already have an enriching life.

No one person has all these aspects. They need nurturing in each of us which is why we think we need to include personal growth into the conversations they have with our teams.

I once had a conversation with a leader in a major UK listed business, he encouraged each member of his team to read one business book a week, to help improve their awareness of the world of business and sow the seeds of personal growth.

This is a great idea, we liked it a lot. So we stole it. ??

We actively encourage our team to read up on:

 ●    Goal Setting and Success Principles

●    Purpose, values and happiness

●    Leadership

●    Creativity and Innovation

●    Productivity

●    Emotional Intelligence

●    Resilience.

Are the whole workforce spending time reading every week? Certainly not and that's ok.

Those that do will benefit. The topics and skills and techniques we learn from these books naturally become woven into the conversations we have with each other. In this way we sort of have an informal mentoring session with most of our conversations.

We believe that this learning compounds over time. Each individual builds upon their strengths and closes gaps in their weaknesses and gets stronger over time. And because we have a culture of sharing what we learn, they spread throughout the team in the conversations we have with each other, the advice we give, and the actions we take.

Standing Out

Our team is inspired, motivated, driven and supportive. I’m confident that when we bring new people into the team, they are entering an environment in which they will thrive.

Imagine what this means when our clients speak with these guys and gals…

Every day we are serving our customers, focussed on bringing clarity to critical financial decisions. We are inspired and constantly learning. We are agile and responsive, able to navigate problems and obstacles no problem. 

We are engaged and most of all HAPPY.

Are we perfect? Hell No. But we are making progress towards a worthy ideal.

Now contrast that with speaking to someone who is just there to collect a payslip.

There is no basis for comparison to the level of service that the customer is going to get. That is why employers and business owners that create meaning and purpose for their team will stand out from the rest.

We live in a world that is highly dependent on technology. As Artificial Intelligence becomes more and more a part of our day to day world it will be the natural, human touch that delivers true value. Businesses that are adept at this will become market leaders. It’s a fundamental shift, and it’s already happening. We are already ahead of the curve but are approaching our way of working with urgency.

The question is… what are you going to do about it?

If you’re an employer, can you afford NOT to change?

If you’re an employee, would you rather be working in an inspired, capable, growing firm centered around creativity, flexibility and driven by results? Would you rather grow? Or are you comfortable with being comfortable? 

If you are as passionate as we are about finding purpose and meaning in your work and would like to be part of the workplace of the future, click below to see our current job vacancies. 

 P.S. We’re really passionate about this topic (can you tell? ??). We’d like to know what gets YOU out of bed in the morning. Comment here with what you want to see in tomorrow’s workplace. Okay now it’s coffee time...