When it comes to returning to the workplace, there’s no shortage of conflicting viewpoints in the marketplace in general – nor among advisors and their teams in particular. I’ve spoken with more than a few firm founders who have told me, “I’m never going back into a 9-5 office environment. I get way more done, more quickly and efficiently, working remotely without all the interruptions.” And I hear the same thing from many team members who love the fact that they get back two hours of time every day that they otherwise would spend commuting.
Other founders, however, have emphatically told me, “The minute we can all get back together, we’ll be back in the office. I’m paying $3,000 per month on a two-year lease for our upgraded office space, so you can bet we’re going back as soon as we can.” And lately, as more and more time away from the office passes, I’m hearing a growing number of firm principals starting to consider ways they might devise solutions that bridge those two extremes.
Instead of rushing back to the workplace (and forcing your team to join you there), now’s the time to pick some date in the future – even two or three years from now – when you’re highly confident that COVID-19 will be far in the rearview mirror, and ask yourself: What would an ideal work environment look like at that point in time? To answer that question thoughtfully, however, you’ll need to consider four unique perspectives:
When you put all of this together, you’ll then have the information you need to make an informed decision about the long-term impact to your organization of a traditional office model versus a remote distributed workforce model.
Keep in mind, consensus on an issue like this is difficult, if not impossible. And you can’t allow the inmates to run the asylum. There will be employees who think they work particularly well from home, who others on the team view as being the biggest disruptors. There also may be compliance considerations associated with working remotely which will need to be addressed as well as technology upgrades that need to be made.
Ultimately, what we at ClientWise envision as a common outcome of this type of exercise, is the idea that working from home and workplace flexibility will become another earned company benefit – like paid time off and bonuses – that is based on each individual’s performance reviews. And for those working remotely, they’ll still need to participate in weekly team meetings where the team does physically come in, as well as some kind of periodic team bonding / culture-building events.
Whichever avenue you ultimately choose to pursue, the time to start strategizing your firm’s approach and planning out how things are actually going to work is now.
Coaching Questions from this article:
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