To some degree, performance can boil down to ensuring that
employees understand exactly what’s expected of them, and man-agers
know what results to anticipate from employees.
“This may seem overly simplistic, but it’s so true,” said Dr. Melanie
Peacock, associate professor at Mount Royal University. “In my 30
years in HR, I’ve found – if you really dig down – problems with
performance often come down to a lack of understanding about
roles. If we use roles, rather than job descriptions, then people can
more reasonably use flexible hours and remote working because
they understand what it is that needs to get done. Then as long as
managers have strong connections with employees, they can use
those for performance management.”
ONE SIZE FITS ALL?
Of course, flexible hours and remote work won’t suit every team in
every organization. A Deloitte report from a few years ago found
three distinct workplace strategies in the market, says Harrington.
“There were some organizations on the fringe that were trying
to push virtual as far as they could, trying to diminish the size
of their head office as much as possible and distribute people as
widely as they could,” he said. “For the organizations that are do-ing
that, hopefully their customers are benefiting as much as they
can, their employees are benefiting, their culture supports it, and
it all lines up.”
On the other end of the spectrum, says Harrington, some com-panies
were convinced of the value of face-to-face interactions for
their organizations.
“Maybe they’re in the business of innovation or maybe their big-ger
customers come to them; either way, they’ve decided they’re
cover feature
going to completely buck the remote working trend, but with in-tention,”
he said. “Those are the two extremes, but we think many
organizations are going to fit somewhere in the middle and they’re
going to be a hybrid of campus, an amazing place to work when
you come in, and virtually, a workplace that gives you flexibility.”
While he predicts a hybrid workplace will be the most common
model, Harrington points out it might also be the most difficult
to successfully build.
“An organization will really have to break down the segments
of its workforce by the kind of activity they do and the way they
work, and then figure out the best design for the workplace that’s
going to engage them,” said Harrington. “There’s still this impulse
for organizations to build a workplace with one design for every-body,
as opposed to thinking deeply about segments.”
Organizations need to keep in mind, of course, that many em-ployees
thrive in a bricks-and-mortar workplace.
“Some people don’t want work from home. They like the buzz
of the office and they like being around people,” said Weiler
Reynolds. “It’s important to actually ask employees what types of
flexible work policies they would prefer if they could choose – not
that they’re necessarily going to get what they would want – but to
help craft that policy. Maybe only 45 per cent of your employees
would be interested in remote work, but 75 per cent would like a
more flexible schedule.”
It takes a careful, thoughtful process to determine the right mix
– or whether or not to have a mix at all – for each segment, team
and individual.
“Every company is starting from a different place with this,” said
Weiler Reynolds. “Some have many remote and flexible work-ers
and formalized policies, and some have none. For companies
“MANAGERS CAN’T SIT BACK AND
WAIT TO SEE PROBLEMS POPPING
UP OR WAIT FOR EMPLOYEES TO
COME TO THEM. THEY CAN’T WAIT
UNTIL THEY CAN PHYSICALLY SEE
SOMEONE STRUGGLING IN THEIR
CUBICLE. INSTEAD, THEY HAVE TO
REACH OUT AND ASK HOW THINGS
ARE GOING, WHERE PEOPLE ARE
STRUGGLING, WHAT’S CAUSING THE
PROBLEMS AND WHAT IS UNCLEAR.”
– BRIE WEILER REYNOLDS
elwynn / Shutterstock.com
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ NOVEMBER 2017 ❚ 19
/HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA
