Transcript
Elsie - So embedding these kinds of things and trying to recreate as much as you can that sense of your workplace in hybrid is a really good tip moving forward and the question, I really wanted to end on is what kind of tips like that do we have what you think is most necessary for hybrid work models to succeed going forward into the future.
Alex Rippberger - I'm a process person. I, you know, go back to town my first answer here, I think it's really important that we think about intentionally what we're trying to get out of the office experience and we're trying to get remote experience. And you know Alex touched on earlier there's something unique and great about being in person and we waste that so many times. I think a lot of companies right now are doing hybrid or you can't do your own thing and you come in when you want to and that's great for personal choice, but it's pretty lousy when your meeting experience in person end up being ten people in the office on given day out of 100 and those ten people when they meet with each other just meet via teams anyways, right? So they're not even benefiting from that office experience. So I think being very intentional with what you're trying to get out of that experience so that, ‘hey I'd rather say summer free for all two days a week’ that you come in one or two or three days a week on a very clear day, I think it's just far more useful. So be very intentional.
Alex Erickson - I think that's a great way to look at how to be successful moving forward. I also think transparency, being able to communicate with end users and with your employees well and being able to find those things that are desirable for them and bringing that into their awareness so that they want to come into the office or they're happy with the ability that they have to join meetings. If they're not in the office, I just, I think that a lot of the times we kind of skip over those legal skills or empathetic leadership skills that people sometimes are lacking and I think that that is something that everyone can can gap knowledge for, and really work on to make hybrid and remote work successful.
Elsie - Yeah. I think the real beauty of hybrid is it allows you for the best of everything but whether you're actually using it is, you know, and the options can be overwhelming to the point that it waters down the benefits of any given, you know, way of working. So, I think that, like Alex said, structure and intention is important and so is the aspect of trust flexibility and frankly accountability, that is a little bit different in a hybrid workforce.
Alex Rippberger - I think also don't be afraid to practice. You know, we've been practicing being in office for most of us our entire career. Some people have been remote for a long time but, you know, don't be afraid to practice this. And that to give yourself some grace when we mess up and I think as long as you have that good intention and the idea behind, it is valuable that people are going to get there right and it's not going to be overnight it's not got gonna be, certainly, in the last two years, I'm not sure that we got any better at hybrid but as we move forward the next few years, I hope that we spend a lot of time practicing something about how do I build those potential connections right so then choose one thing I would say you know touchpoint Tuesday something our group does I know everyone loves doing those kinds of things but that intentional thing where you say, like get out of your normal meetings, get out of your normal schedule, what you're doing, people you normally talk to, and meet with someone new or someone that is an old friend you haven't talked to in a while at your work. I think that's a really cool way of practicing kind of these new virtual skills and remember how It’s like to talk to these people without having it be some big production right, just be out well 15 minutes back to each other. It'll be fun. I'll get back to what I was doing best in my day.
Alex Erickson -It is, well the beautiful thing about hybrid is, that goes like water cooler conversations can be with anybody and they don't have to be in your corporate office that day. It's with anybody that you wanna talk to get to branch out.
Elsie - I think that is the perfect place to end it. So, hopefully, we'll do more of these conversations in the future. Thank you both for taking the time to do this with me today and if you're looking for change management services for your organization or you just want to talk to us about hybrid you know where you can find me in the Alexs.
Valorem Reply specializes in not just finding the right technology for your unique needs and environment, but also integrating the people and process change needed to ensure success and maximum return on digital investments. If you are considering new solutions or processes for your frontline staff and want to learn more about what a change management journey might look like for you, email marketing.valorem@reply.com to schedule a consultation with one of our change management experts.
