By Ray Birch
MADISON—The new hybrid work environment is forcing credit unions to pay close attention to employee convenience, the technology used to communicate with staff and their own corporate culture, according to one design and build expert, who is sharing advice on how CUs can excel in all three areas.
“Absolutely, the future work environment is going to be a hybrid one,” said Mark Alguard, president of Momentum, during a recent Filene Research Institute webinar. “So, it's a combination of working from home and then working from a centralized corporate office space. And we know that working from home has worked quite well for the majority of office workers. People say they can focus better. There seems to be less distraction from what you may have at an office.”
Nevertheless, Alguard noted that while working from home has its advantages, including workers’ preference for the arrangement, a big concern for all organizations, including credit unions, is how to maintain culture—a point on which many CUs take pride?
“Certain work activities are better supported in the home, and others are better supported in the office,” said Alguard. “What we need to do is make sure we deliver the best experience we can for employees in both worlds. When we talk about the work from home experience, one thing you have to keep in mind is that experience varies, just as much as your workers vary.”
How Views Differ
Alguard noted data show employees rank support and productivity in their home work environment higher than in the corporate office.
“But be aware that leaders rank the home experience better than do younger workers,” he said. “Women rank the home experience lower than men. Black and Latino workers rank the experience lower than white workers. So, working remotely is not the same for everybody. You need to be aware of what's going on in your own organization.”
Alguard said another big challenge that has surfaced with hybrid work environments is keeping different parts of the organization engaged with the credit union.
Getting a Thumbs Up
What do workers like most about working from home?
He said data show it is convenience.
“By far, that is number one,” said Alguard, noting fewer distractions and greater productivity rank highly. “They also like the fact they don’t have the commute to the office.”
Meanwhile, Alguard said what employees have indicated they like about working in the office is the ability to collaborate and engage with team members.
“They feel a greater sense of community,” he said, adding there are some staff who feel they are more productive in the office. “In the office they also have access to amenities and support spaces, and can get to specialty tools they just can’t get to when they are at home.”
Getting a Thumbs Down
What workers say they don’t like about working from home is the lack of a dedicated work area.
“Many people just don't have that,” Alguard said. “They may not have something as simple as an ergonomically correct chair.”
What employees say they like least about working in the office is a decreased ability to concentrate.
“They have less control over their work environment,” he explained.
What’s a CU to Do?
With that data in hand, what should a credit union do to effectively run a hybrid work environment?
“What you want to do is find a way to seamlessly bridge the physical and virtual worlds. One way you can do this is by having thoughtful, clear, flexible policies towards hybrid work,” Alguard said. “In doing this you have to be careful you don't engineer out some of the benefits of remote work that people like. To a large degree, it is the ability to flex. You have your own decision-making power in the way you work.”
What Hurts An Organization
Alguard said that flexibility aspect people like so much about remote work will be somewhat muted if the credit union mandates employees must be in the office certain days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Then, what you’re doing is taking that decision-making power away from your employees,” he said. “At our offices, for example, we decided everybody can work from home one day a week, whatever day works for them. And they can change that day every week, if they want.”
Alguard emphasized the hybrid environment still needs to be orderly.
“It’s structured hybrid,” he said. “If you're using virtual meeting platforms you want to make sure they are working smoothly and democratically. For example, you don't want it to become a situation where the eight team members in the office have a great experience and they get a lot out of the meeting, and then the two people working from home are a lesser part of the meeting. You want to find a way to democratize the interactions, and that comes through technology.”
Office Configurations
Turning to the physical configurations of office space, Alguard said organizations are now providing spaces for teams to come together witj “more flexible project rooms and more amenities.
“I also think you're going to see a lot more attention paid to aesthetics and comfort—the ability of workers to choose and control their settings in the office,” he added. “And I can't emphasize the importance of this enough. Everyone is talking about aesthetics and being comfortable, something that is relaxing visually pleasing and stimulating.”
It would be a mistake, however, for the CU to begin to view its corporate office simply as a collaboration hub.
“That is not the only purpose for it,” he reminded.
A ‘Little Creativity’
With the home office, Alguard said it is critical for the credit union to help staff carve out some type of dedicated space.
“Perhaps what you can do is throw a little creativity,” he said. “Have a designer consult with your team and actually visit employees in their homes and give them ideas on how they could reconfigure furniture or even purchase key pieces of furniture. Maybe a mobile computer screen, or something—tools that could help your employees carve out a little bit of space for that dedicated work.”