Here’s the Latest WE:Brief – WE keep you in the know – March!

It’s time to take a lesson or two from companies that are fully remote and one of the most important ones is this: synchronous communication should be the exception, not the rule. 

The author, the CEO of Doist, an all-remote company, argues that synchronous communications:

-Lead to interruptions

-Prioritizes being connected over being productive

-Creates unnecessary stress

-Leads to lower quality discussions and suboptimal solutions

This is one of the best articles I’ve read on the why and how of making the shift asynchronous communications. I’ve personally tried this and can attest that it works!

I highly recommend this interview with Darren Murph, Director of Remote for Gitlab. He offers a completely new perspective on what is needed to excel with remote and distributed teams. From process overhaul, to on-boarding, to async communications, and more. I promise it will be an hour well spent.

“Of course, there’s satisfaction in finishing a jigsaw puzzle, but you’re rarely, if ever, surprised by the outcome. Everybody’s already seen the picture on the box. But what if designing workplace was less like solving the jigsaw puzzle and more like designing the game itself?” The author goes on to describe a fascinating study around following the use of various kinds of space over the life of a project.

Eighty-two percent of managers and employees say it’s important for the organization to have a purpose, 72% say it should receive more weight than profit, 62% say their company has a stated purpose but less than half say it drives impact. The article offers some solid advice for how organizations can close their purpose gap. In a paragraph about being genuine, the author points to Aetna’s mantra: “No margin, no mission” and Pixar director Brad Bird’s take: [M]oney is just fuel for the rocket. What I really want to do is go somewhere.”

Gensler’s U.S. Workplace Survey (Summer/Fall 2020) is, as always, worth a full read, but the three big takeaways for me were:

– A hybrid-remote model offers significantly better outcomes than either all-remote or full-time in-office for: creativity, relationships with colleagues, the ability to manage, problem-solving, team productivity, and communications

– People want a whole lot more privacy at work. 47% say they want a private work environment compared to 29% who say they have one.

– Employees are more positive and/or effective across 11 out of 12 key factors and activities (e.g. focus, learning, thermal comfort, noise, privacy, etc.), The only activity that is clearly better supported at the office is socializing.

Is the reason so many people want to work from home that their work environments are ineffective?

Take the guesswork out of safe office space planning

Plan safer spaces intelligently and adjust instantly. With the Space-Right™ smart office space planning tool from iOFFICE, you’ll get intelligent recommendations to automate workplace changes so you can keep employees safely distanced and avoid wasted space.

Learn more: https://www.iofficecorp.com/space-right-physical-distancing

Contact Info:

Mike Petrusky

Director of Events and Growth Marketing

mpetrusky@iofficecorp.com

To learn more about sponsorship, contact Susan Spiers. View the WE sponsorship benefits for further details.

A study just out from the University of Sydney confirms what many of us have known for years. Not everyone likes happy hours or team building events. In fact, this new research suggests they can even have a negative effect on your team. Rather than forced fun, the full study suggests pairing colleagues who are essential to success, and having them engage in a structured conversation aimed at building trust. In the experiment, the team used the “36 questions that lead to love.” There’s a more thorough, and un-gated, description of the study here.

I always enjoy Gary Burnison’s writing. This piece struck me as particularly apropos. He talks about the need to be radically human in the post pandemic world and the role humor can play in doing that. 

Yet another example of necessity being the mother of invention. I have to say, it appeals to my inner neat freak. 

This report and the interactive reporting tool is a real treasure for any organization wanting to get a handle on what others in their industry or geography are doing or plan to do across a wide range of HR practices including:

– Compensation: including cost-of-living adjustments for remote workers, raises, and bonuses

– Reimbursement of home office expenses

– Employee location policies

– Remote work policies

– Diversity

– Skills gap

– Automation

– Technology 

– Mental health and well-being

– Productivity monitoring

– Total rewards

It also covers what’s driving workplace change, employee involvement in decision making, voluntary turnover rates and reasons, and much more! Spaz out all you data junkies!

Two Ways to Join WE! 

1)  IFMA + WE (International Facility Management Association + Workplace Evolutionaries) for current IFMA Members

• NEW! Retired Members: Join IFMA for just $100 and add WE for $10/year 
• NEW! Student Members of IFMA get a free WE membership 

2) WE (only) Membership