There is a huge issue that exists across CRE as the concept of the workplace shifts from being an office to being anywhere: What role does the workplace have in establishing a business culture and how should that process work as the workplace becomes virtual?
Traditionally, the physical workplace is both a reflection of the company’s culture and a reinforcement of that culture. A hierarchical culture would tend to have more private offices. A collaborative culture would have more shared spaces. A flat culture would have workspaces that are all about the same. Of course, culture is more than just one thing, but this example is demonstrative. Level of fit and finish, number of amenities, and other factors all play a role.
This relationship between culture and workplace is now breaking down because of the increase in virtual working. Few companies actively think through the impact of real estate change on culture because it is difficult to bring all the right people together that are needed for it. When a large percent of your workforce works outside of an office, a concerted effort is needed to help employees feel like they are on one team. This effort does not come from real estate, it must start with business leaders. But many business leaders do not have much experience in managing virtual teams.
Think about the impact of virtual workplaces on a new, fresh-out-of-school hire. Your most experienced people are the most likely to be taking advantage of the virtual side. This means those new hires who could most leverage that experience will not have easy means of accessing and learning from that experience. Lack of access and learning means that it is harder to hire and onboard people with less experience – those who were previously viewed as the future of organizations. Struggling to onboard leads to a struggle to retain. Low retention rates lead to higher HR costs and drops in work consistency and quality.
The workplace should not be viewed as just the physical offices controlled by the company. The definition must be expanded to include all the ways of working in the organization. As those ways move more and more virtual, the role of IT in workplace experience becomes more and more important. Tools should enable the teams around the world to collaborate regardless of location. There also needs to be an openness for people to reach out and respond via those same tools. This means the role of managers is to not just focus on productivity and delivery but how their teams communicate.
Active thought and proactive pushing of culture are critical through all levels of the organization. How knowledge is transferred, how new hires are brought into the culture, how employees are encouraged to move up, how colleagues positively share information, and how work is done are the manifestations of culture. Negative cultures shut down these paths.
Postive cultures foster communication and teamwork. The easiest way to communicate is face-to-face. Text communication is also easy but can often be impersonal and allow misunderstandings. Voice communication is often seen as annoying. Meetings can easily be misused to fake productivity. Yet all four of these methods must come together to establish a culture in virtual workplaces.
There are no right or wrong answers as long as there is open communication. However, a lack of direction on the right ways to leverage each of these modes can lead back to a negative culture. Just because communication is happening, doesn’t mean the communication is constructive.
Box Thoughts 