More than a year after the entire world locked down in various ways, life is slowly returning to normal in the U.S. Vaccinations are going extraordinarily well, with nearly half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated. People are ready to return to life as we knew it. Flights are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Restaurants are seeing an increase in traffic in-doors. Overall, there is a positive energy to be free and move past the pandemic for good.
While many parts of the economy are returning to “normal” there are some aspects that are seeing a post-pandemic shift—particularly in the corporate world. The ability for many white-collar employees to work from home for a year or longer has created a demand for more flexible working conditions. Companies big and small, especially in the tech industry, are considering both hybrid and full work-from-home. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently told CNBC he expects up to 60% of company employees to continue working from home.
Is this really the new norm?
Microsoft seems to think so. The company CEO, Satya Nadella, said in a LinkedIn post, “Hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation. And it will require a new operating model, spanning people, places, and processes.”
After over a year of staying away from airplanes, I recently took my first flight from LA to San Francisco for a few meetings that couldn’t be done via Zoom. My meetings took place in a large conference room in a co-work space—which was 90% empty. Shortly after my trip, our group needed to get back together for a follow-up. Ordinarily, I would take a day trip, which would cost over $800 and take more than 12 hours. Instead, and without hesitation, I scheduled a free Zoom call from the comfort of my home office. This hybrid approach to business let us get the same amount of work done but way more efficiently and cost-effectively than before.
Hybrid work is the way of the future, but the model may be different for every company depending on size, addressable market, product/service offering, and geographical location. Large companies may easily be able to design and fund a compelling hybrid model. The biggest challenge may be for startups due to their smaller budgets and more challenging schedules. They need to deliver more value for less cash and may not have as many resources to dedicate to solving the challenges of a hybrid work model.
The companies that do try to solve for hybrid work have the opportunity to create a new organizational structure and behavior that will far exceed traditional models. In my view, they can drive a new culture and efficiency far better than what we previously called normal.
To be truly successful at a hybrid model, I think companies need to focus on three key elements: management and organizational structure; organizational behavior; and advanced technologies.
Management and Organizational Structure
Multilevel management structures will not work in a hybrid model. Instead, companies should focus on a flat model removing excess layers of management. If companies don’t already have the position, they should also add a head of Organizational Behavior that is empowered to help employees dealing with work-from-home challenges and lack of daily personal interactions with coworkers. Beyond that, each organization will need a leader, but they need to develop a new set of plans for monitoring that the work is done. For many companies, work will be task-based instead of employees filling 40 to 60 hours of work.
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior will be even more important in the hybrid work environment. Companies will need to think about new ways to train and manage the employees remotely and in-person, as well as how to allocate responsibilities. This requires a solid HR organization that can create a customized structure with on-demand delivery of information. The head of Organizational Behavior will play a very important role. This person should understand both psychology and organizational behavior because they will need to drive culture in a world where many interactions may happen over a computer. Even with the advances of technology and video conferencing, there is a layer of separation between employees interacting on a screen that is not there when they meet in person. Overcoming that and helping employees feel connected instead of isolated is a big challenge that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Employees need to feel they are part of the ecosystem rather than islands on their own.
Advanced Technologies
The critical technology enablers during the pandemic were video conferencing, teamwork applications, and high-speed communications bandwidth, including high-speed fiber or cable connections and 5G wireless technologies. Moving forward, those technologies will deliver even more functionality, enabling virtual connections as real as human connections. There is a vast amount of focus on providing the next-generation of video services and the on-demand availability of those services. Virtual reality glasses promise to bring more reality to working virtually and enhanced collaborations between remote people and groups. 5G is also growing in availability and features. Enhanced video communication must be at the center of the hybrid model and companies need to provide their employees the technology tools they need to take advantage of the latest in virtual communications.
Hybrid working models will certainly experience growing pains as we start to accept this new normal for big parts of corporate America, but this model will also pave the way for exciting new technologies. Even now, Zoom and other video service platforms are adding new features to make the experience even more personable. The pandemic stunted many parts of life over the past year, but the silver lining may be a future where people enjoy the added flexibility and work-life balance that working from home can provide.
"behavior" - Google News
June 13, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://ift.tt/3zgRUJ8
How Organizational Behavior Science Can Help Startups Manage New Norm - Forbes
"behavior" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2We9Kdi
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "How Organizational Behavior Science Can Help Startups Manage New Norm - Forbes"
Post a Comment