Work culture expert imagines your post-pandemic professional life

Summary

The discussion centers on the seismic shifts in work culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the future of remote work and its impact on collaboration, productivity, and recruitment. Andrew Al, co-founder and president of Intercept, emphasizes the importance of a strong work culture and the need for businesses to adapt to a hybrid model, balancing remote and in-office work to maintain team harmony and leverage technology for seamless collaboration. The conversation also touches on the challenges of creating an inclusive work environment and the potential for a more flexible and empathetic workplace.

Takeaways

• 🏠 The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a massive shift to remote work, which is likely to continue in some form.
• 🛠️ Work culture and operations have been rethought to adapt to new ways of engaging customers and motivating teams.
• 💡 Innovation is no longer just about leading the industry but has become a necessity for businesses to survive.
• 🔄 Assumptions about remote work have been challenged, proving that productivity and collaboration can occur outside a traditional office setting.
• 🌐 Businesses are now in a 'talent race' to retain top talent, as remote work has made job-switching easier.
• 🤝 The emphasis on culture is heightened to give employees a reason to engage beyond financial incentives.
• 🛫 Technology is a crucial tool for seamless collaboration, requiring curiosity and the right tools to be effective.
• 🏆 Creating a strong work culture in a remote setting involves identifying and activating the organization's values through new rituals and habits.
• 🔄 For new employees, navigating a remote work environment requires balancing professional presence with the flexibility of virtual interactions.
• 🕰️ The traditional 9-to-5 work schedule has been disrupted, with a shift towards a hybrid model that includes both in-office and remote work.
• 🌐 The future of work is expected to be more global, with teams collaborating across different time zones, requiring effective technology and infrastructure.
• 🔄 The risk of creating an 'us versus them' dynamic within a company due to hybrid work models needs to be managed by fostering equality and inclusiveness.
• 🌱 The opportunity for more flexible and empathetic work environments has emerged, but it requires conscious decisions and governance from organizations.
• 🏆 The successful office of the future will be one that harmonizes remote and in-office teams effectively, creating a level playing field for all employees.

Q & A

How has the onset of the pandemic affected the world of work?

The pandemic has sparked a huge transition with many people now working from home, and it has led to a seismic transformation in work culture that may continue in the months and years ahead.

What does Andrew Al believe has changed most about work due to COVID?

Andrew Al suggests that we've had to rethink work, including how we engage customers, deliver experiences, motivate team members, and innovate, as innovation has become a requirement for doing business.

What assumptions about remote work did the pandemic challenge?

The pandemic challenged assumptions about remote work, particularly the trust in employees' productivity, collaboration, and compliance when working from home.

What is the new reality of work from home according to Andrew Al?

The new reality of work from home is likely to continue in some form, affecting aspects such as collaboration, productivity, recruitment, and development within organizations.

What does Andrew Al think is the key to retaining top talent in a remote work environment?

Andrew Al believes that creating a strong work culture and providing reasons for people to show up to work beyond just a paycheck is key to retaining top talent in a remote work environment.

How does Andrew Al view the role of technology in the future of work?

Andrew Al sees technology as a requirement rather than a differentiator, emphasizing the need for businesses to use the right tools for seamless collaboration.

What challenges does creating a work culture present when people are not working face-to-face?

Creating a work culture without face-to-face interaction involves identifying the culture and finding ways to activate it, such as through new rituals and habits that foster a sense of community and learning.

How can new employees navigate their career trajectory in a remote work environment?

New employees can navigate their career trajectory by learning to 'walk the virtual floor,' engaging in quick chats, instant messages, and calls, and balancing professional and personal life effectively.

What does Andrew Al predict for the future framework of a workweek?

Andrew Al predicts a hybrid future of work, with people working from home and in the office, and an emphasis on creating harmony and team flow across different working environments.

What risks does a hybrid working model pose in terms of creating an 'us versus them' within a company?

A hybrid working model risks creating an 'us versus them' mentality if remote and in-office workers do not feel they are on an equal playing field, which requires managers to create a level playing field.

How does Andrew Al view the role of governance in empowering flexibility in the workplace?

Andrew Al believes that having the right governance and flex policies from organizations is critical in empowering employees to take advantage of the flexibility offered by the new work environment.

What does Andrew Al envision for the successful office of the future?

The successful office of the future, according to Andrew Al, is one that can harmonize remote and in-office teams effectively, creating a level playing field and leveraging the opportunities presented by the new work environment.

Outlines

00:00

🏡 The New Work Reality: Transitioning to Remote Work

The pandemic has catalyzed a significant shift towards remote work, with many questioning the necessity of returning to traditional office settings. Andrew Al, co-founder and president of Intercept, discusses the seismic changes in work culture, emphasizing the need to rethink engagement, customer experience, team motivation, and innovation. He highlights the importance of trust in remote work productivity and collaboration, and the necessity to leverage technology to create value from data.

05:02

🌟 The Talent Race: Cultivating Work Culture in a Virtual Environment

Andrew Al addresses the challenges of maintaining top talent in a remote work scenario, where job-switching is easier than ever. He stresses the importance of culture in giving employees a reason to engage beyond financial incentives. Al also touches on the need for curiosity and the right technological tools to facilitate seamless collaboration. He suggests that establishing new rituals and habits, such as 'Friday Failures', can foster a learning culture that values progress over perfection.

10:03

🔄 The Hybrid Future of Work: Balancing Remote and In-Office Dynamics

The discussion shifts to the hybrid working model, which combines remote and in-office work. Al envisions a future where the traditional 9-to-5 workweek is replaced by a more flexible schedule, with some employees working permanently from home and others in the office. He identifies the risk of creating an 'us versus them' mentality and emphasizes the importance of technology and infrastructure to ensure productive meetings and a level playing field for all employees, regardless of their work location.

Keywords

💡Pandemic

The term 'pandemic' refers to an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. In the context of the video, the pandemic is the catalyst for significant changes in the world of work, leading to widespread adoption of remote work and a reevaluation of traditional office environments.

💡Work from home

Work from home (WFH) is a flexible work arrangement where employees perform their work outside of a traditional office environment. The script discusses the shift towards WFH due to the pandemic and the potential permanence of this arrangement, highlighting the need for rethinking work culture and productivity.

💡Remote work management

Remote work management involves overseeing employees who work outside the traditional office setting. The script addresses the historical concerns of trust and productivity in remote work environments and how the pandemic has proven these assumptions wrong, necessitating a reevaluation of management practices.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. The script suggests that innovation is no longer just a competitive advantage but a requirement for businesses to survive, indicating a shift in the importance of creativity and new ideas in the workplace.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration refers to the act of working together to achieve a common goal. The script discusses the challenges and opportunities of maintaining collaboration in a remote work environment, emphasizing the need for new tools and practices to facilitate teamwork.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of productive activity, often measured as the ratio of output to inputs. The video script explores the impact of remote work on productivity, noting that the traditional 9-to-5 work schedule may not be as effective and that new strategies are needed to maintain or enhance productivity.

💡Recruitment and development

Recruitment and development encompass the processes of attracting, selecting, and growing talent within an organization. The script raises questions about how these processes will evolve in a remote work context, particularly in terms of onboarding new employees and supporting their career progression.

💡Work culture

Work culture refers to the values, norms, and environment that shape the work experience. The script highlights the importance of cultivating a strong work culture in a remote setting, where traditional cues and interactions are absent, and the need for new rituals and habits to foster a sense of belonging and motivation.

💡Hybrid working model

A hybrid working model combines remote work with in-office work, allowing flexibility in how and where employees complete their tasks. The script suggests that this model may become more prevalent, requiring organizations to balance the benefits and challenges of both remote and in-person work.

💡Technology race

The term 'technology race' implies a competitive environment where organizations strive to adopt the latest technologies to gain an advantage. However, the script argues that technology itself is not a differentiator but rather a requirement, emphasizing the importance of people and talent in creating a competitive edge.

💡Global teams

Global teams are groups of individuals working across different geographic locations and often time zones. The script mentions the increasing prevalence of global teams and the need for effective collaboration tools and practices to support seamless communication and productivity.

💡Work-life balance

Work-life balance refers to the equilibrium between an individual's work responsibilities and personal life. The script discusses the challenges of maintaining this balance in a remote work context, where the boundaries between work and home can become blurred, and the importance of establishing recovery routines.

Highlights

The pandemic has led to a significant shift towards remote work for many individuals who may not return to the office.

Andrew Al, co-founder and president of Intercept, discusses the transformation in work culture due to technological change.

Work has been rethought to include customer engagement, team motivation, and collaborative operations.

Innovation is now a requirement for business rather than a means to lead the industry.

Assumptions about remote work have been challenged, proving productivity and collaboration can occur outside a traditional office setting.

Managers face new challenges in maintaining collaboration, productivity, and recruitment in a remote work environment.

The ability to switch jobs easily has intensified the importance of workplace culture in retaining top talent.

Technology is a requirement for seamless collaboration in the new work reality.

Creating a work culture without face-to-face interaction involves identifying and activating the organization's culture.

New rituals, such as 'Friday Failures,' can foster a learning culture and progress over perfection.

Balancing professional and personal life is crucial for productivity in a virtual environment.

The traditional 9-to-5 work schedule has been disrupted, necessitating a reevaluation of work patterns.

A hybrid working model is emerging, combining remote and in-office work.

Creating a level playing field for remote and in-office workers is essential to avoid an 'us versus them' mentality.

Investing in the right technology and infrastructure is key to productive remote and in-person meetings.

International Women's Day highlights the opportunity for a more flexible and empathetic workplace.

The successful office of the future will harmonize remote and in-office teams effectively.

Employers must implement new governance and flex policies to empower work-life balance and flexibility.

The pandemic presents an opportunity to rethink work environments and create better products for consumers.

Transcripts

the onset of the pandemic nearly one

year ago

sparked what has since become a huge

transition for many people who are now

working from home

thinking they may never go back to the

office it's not the only seismic

transformation to the world of work

though that may remain with us in the

months and years ahead and that's our

focus for this morning

with some of your questions and a number

of guests including

andrew al with us who's the co-founder

and president of intercept

which is a consulting company that helps

businesses respond

to technological change he's someone who

knows all about work culture

and he's in toronto this morning andrew

welcome to our show

heather good morning and thanks for

having me well i'm looking forward to

tapping into what you know

about and what the future is going to

look like in your view andrew

what has covid changed most about work

well you know heather i think we've had

to rethink work

you know everything from how do we

engage our customers and the

experiences that we deliver them to how

do we even motivate the people on our

team how do we get them to be working

more fluidly together

operations we've seen a ton of

transformation here in terms of

how do we take data apply technologies

to actually create value from that

um and i think we've had to rethink what

does it mean to be innovative

because innovation used to mean that we

could lead industry now it's

it's simply a requirement to do business

um

and i think we've also had to re recheck

our assumptions because before the

pandemic

i think the whole concept of remote work

management always had this issue of can

i trust people to be productive

from home can they be collaborative in a

remote environment can we be compliant

and we prove that we can do that

so that's a really interesting thing to

pick up on the assumptions i was going

to ask you specifically this new reality

of work from home

which seems destined to continue in some

form or shape or form which we can look

at what you think it's going to look

like in the future but

for managers for bosses owners what

happens to collaboration what happens to

productivity what happens to recruitment

and development from the bosses

standpoint andrew

it's a great point i think that you you

know you think about the race that we're

in a lot of people think we're in a

technology race and and i disagree

because technology it's all the same

right that doesn't create difference

what creates difference is people and

that and and so we're in the talent race

um i'll say so i think for for for

businesses it's

how do you keep your top talent i think

that's harder than ever because

the the ability to switch jobs is easier

than ever

if you're going to be working remotely

whether you work for company a or b

it's the same desk that you're working

from so you've got to work that much

harder so i think it really places an

emphasis on culture

and how do you give people a reason to

show up to work that's beyond beyond a

paycheck

um and so that's that's that's a big

piece of it and i think also

i come back to technology yes it's not a

differentiator but it is also a

requirement it is a small hinge that

swings a pretty big door

we have to get good about using the

tools if we want to have more seamless

collaboration

so a little bit of curiosity is needed

on that phone so to bring in and keep

the best talent in this new reality

technology uh a good work culture but

how do you create a work culture

when people aren't dealing face to face

and seeing each other

every day yeah that's that's a great

point and it comes down to

frankly first of all identifying what

your culture is

uh and then finding ways to to activate

it you know some some organizations are

exploring with

friday failures right so that's every

friday they get around the table and

they talk about the things and not just

the triumphs and the wins and the

successes

what are the things we failed at what do

we learn from that

that is what builds a learning culture

that incense

progress over perfection so it's it's

new rituals

like that new habits that we need to

form

from the employee standpoint if we've

talked about the employer for a moment

you know again how do they and i'm

thinking particularly maybe a new

employee how do they navigate this

because how does someone who just starts

a new job

how manage the career trajectory they

don't have opportunity to meet the

bosses and show off their stuff in the

same way

it's a that's a great point i think that

it comes down to how do you how do you

walk the physical floor but also the

virtual floor

and so how do you pop in and have these

quick chats or ims

or quick calls i think the thing we need

to get over is that

in a virtual environment not everything

has to be scheduled

not everything is a 30-minute meeting so

it's okay to just call somebody and if

they're

available they are if they're not

they're not

but i think a big part of being

successful as an individual these days

is how do you balance your

professional and your personal lives

because i think heather

the thing that we've we've gained time

as a result of not having a commute but

i'll tell you what we lost

is the ability to transition in and out

of work mode

oh that's a good point they're all on

the same now aren't they really for so

many people

exactly and so if we're caught in this

perpetual work mode

and we're not building in recovery

routines we're not being our best

version of ourselves

that's the key is that to be more

productive we need to be able to take

breaks

that ensures that we're performing at

our at our best and also again how do

you walk that virtual floor

how do you peek in and just you know

have those instant messages have those

calls

not everything has to be a 30 minute

call scheduled call

it's really blown up the nine to five

schedule hasn't it in so many ways

you know when we talk about remote work

uh there's a lot of discussion about a

hybrid working model

that will have people in the office for

a couple of days and at home for a few

days how do you see

the actual sort of framework of a week

in the future yeah heather that's a

great point i think if i were to sum up

you know what does that future of work

look like

it is hybrid it is people going from

home

in office and having some people maybe

working permanently in office and some

working permanently remotely

so i think that we have to get good

about how do we create harmony how do we

recreate that team flow here

because that's really the key piece um

but yeah it it is

that the nine to five in office five

days a week it's just

it's it's not going to survive i think

we're in office a couple days a week

at best and i think we're going to have

more global teams

you know being able to collaborate yeah

across time zones

when you say that some are going to be

in the office permanently some are going

to be at home

does that risk creating sort of an us

versus them

within the company absolutely i think

heather that's

that that's a huge risk because i think

that it doesn't take

a lot to have this feeling of

somebody that that we're not on on an

equal playing field i think that

the objective for the manager is to how

do you create that level playing field

and think about before

the pandemic when you had a boardroom

meeting and you had somebody

conferencing

in and you didn't have a shared screen

and it was through one of these

conference phones

is that a great experience for somebody

on the phone not really

right so i think little things like that

you can make people feel uncomfortable

and inhibit productivity so the goal is

how do you again

you know invest in the right technology

the right meeting spaces

the right infrastructure so that you're

able to have productive meetings both

you know remotely is also in a boardroom

you need screens you need platforms like

teams

you need these these core infrastructure

pieces

technology key in all of this obviously

um

i'm wondering we've talked through the

morning andrew as we've looked

particularly as it relates to

international women's day and women who

bore the brunt of so many of these

changes

there are some who look to this the

office of the future as being

an opportunity an opportunity to become

more flexible to become you know

different ways of performance

assessments to become even perhaps more

empathetic now how do you see that yeah

i

i agree with that um i think that

we have more choice more flexibility but

it's up to us

as to whether we take advantage of that

whether we leverage that because like i

said we go back to time

we've gained more time but do i feel

that we've achieved more work-life

balance

absolutely not so i think that's a

conscious

that's a conscious decision i think it's

also on the employer on the

organizations to implement new rules

you know what what are your flex

policies because i think without the

right governance you could have the

options there

but people feel hesitant to to to use

them to exercise them

so i think having the right governance

from the from the organization side

um is is absolutely critical to actually

empowering

something like that so paint the picture

for me then i mean not everybody

only 40 i believe is the number of

people can actually work from home

so a lot of this has yet to be sort of

formalized this is all a period of

transition but in your view

what does the successful office of the

future look like

i think the successful office of the

future is the one that can

harmonize remote and in

office teams the best

i think that is really the key is

creating that level playing field

um is because the thing is the grass is

greener mentality always exists the ones

that are working in office think that

the people working

remotely have it best they can do their

laundry and their work

and vice versa the ones working remotely

think the people in office they get all

the attention they're plugged in they're

in the know

it's about harmony whoever can harmonize

that the best

um i i think again too is that we have

all these new opportunities

we have a choice management leadership

individual workers we have a choice we

can either return to work

um and and simply have that survived

mentality hope for the norm

or we can rethink it and that really is

the opportunity how do we rethink it

um to create better work environments

better products for

for for consumers as well andrew thank

you very much

andrew thanks for having me heather is

the co-founder and president of

intercept and he's with us from toronto

this morning