Why Your Team Location Strategy Needs a Post-COVID, Hybrid-World Strategy
Matt Brooks 🏳️🌈
Technology Executive - Data Strategy, Global Operations & Enterprise Complaints
WebEx (remember them from the pre-Zoom era! 🥲) defines a hybrid workplace as:
[...] a flexible work model that supports a blend of in-office, remote, and on-the-go workers. It offers employees the autonomy to choose to work wherever and however they are most productive.
The world has shifted, and so have our workplaces! The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that remote work isn't just feasible; for many, it's preferred or even necessary. But let's face it, Zoom fatigue is real, and nothing can replace the magic of face-to-face interactions. Now more than ever, you need a location strategy - and that strategy needs a strategy!
Time-Zones: The Hidden Productivity Killer
Globalization has its perks, but coordinating across time zones isn't one of them. Sure, technology has bridged distances, but it hasn't yet managed to stop the Earth from rotating! Working in a global team often means compromise, but should productivity take a backseat? A well-crafted location strategy considers the time-zone impact on team dynamics and productivity.
"Teams need to define their work hours not by location but by overlapping availability," says Cali Williams Yost, a flexible workplace strategist. Essentially, this strategy allows for 'synchronous windows' where all team members are available, maximizing collaboration opportunities.
In my teams today, I utilize a cohort strategy and a buddy system. I created US- and India-based cohorts within larger teams. Members and roles are balanced between the two countries. The buddy system refers to each team member having a counterpart in the other country. These pairs build trust and a rapport that enables them to hand off work and drive productivity on Agile stories around the clock.
The Power of Face-to-Face Interactions
We've proven we can be productive remotely, but let's be honest, certain things don't quite make it through the screen. A Stanford study recently found that
Remote collaboration makes it more difficult to establish trust and rapport.
When I worked at GE, I remember participating in a week-long, face-to-face meeting. After days of whiteboarding, doing sticky-note activities, having real dialog, and summarizing how we were going to tackle a major transformation, one of my colleagues said,
Boy...I wish we could be together all the time! This was so productive!
The in-person sessions during the day helped build connections and surfaced new "ah-hah" moments. In the evening team-building events, relationships were formed, offline discussions added clarity to topics, and the group coalesced on a personal level. Some of these folks had worked together for years without ever meeting in person - these meetings built personal bonds between colleagues.
That initial spark, the so-called 'chemistry,' is most effectively created in person. So how do we balance this in a hybrid work setting?
Local Hubs and Network Benefits
A noteworthy approach to balancing remote work and face-to-face interaction is to establish local hubs. Teams in proximity can meet more frequently, fostering better relationships and seamless collaboration. I've tackled this in my teams by centralizing certain kinds of work in our major, strategic cities. My development teams are based in Dallas and my operations teams are based in Charlotte. This way the teams can come together, but also work comfortably remotely, balancing the environment with their work needs.
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Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, adds, "We need to get back to the office because it promotes spontaneous interaction and collaboration." Indeed, local hubs allow for spontaneous 'water-cooler talks,' volunteer opportunities, and employee-engagement events which often lead to innovative ideas.
Where good intentions go wrong
The bane of many an office worker's existence right now is the dreaded "open floorplan". These "high-efficiency" workspaces are wonderful if teams are local. I've witnessed great collaboration when scrum teams are coding and collaborating around a table. Balanced with quiet spaces for people to put their heads down, this strategy can really drive satisfaction and productivity!
However, most companies look at the opportunity to squeeze more people into their existing workplaces as a way to save money. What's typically left out is the cost of the productivity drain that a noisy, telephone-based collaboration environment causes. Senior Executives (who usually still have their own, large offices) will say that these spaces increase collaboration and people love the flexibility they offer. I would venture to guess that none of them have walked an actual floor, unannounced, and observed people straining to listen to phone calls with colleagues based in various cities.
The number one question my teammates ask me is, "If we have to be on the phone all day anyway, why do I need to come into an office?" It's a fair question that we as leaders need to stop avoiding and start concentrating on fixing.
The Future is Hybrid, but Mindful
As we advance into this new norm, we must be mindful that 'hybrid' doesn't mean haphazard. Leaders need to transition from disorganized team structures to planning for seamless, interactive, and engaging team dynamics.
⚠️ Consider these actions NOW:
And finally, make sure your location strategy has a strategy!
Quotes and Sources
Matt Brooks is a seasoned thought leader and practitioner in data and analytics; culture; product development; and transformation. View additional articles by clicking below; like them/follow him to learn more!
Fractional CPO | Robotics, Utilities, Energy, Tech | Product & Portfolio Management Strategist
1yI think its important that this strategy takes into account the advantages networking tools give (you can hire the right person for the job no matter what city they live in as long as they follow your "time zone rule") and incorporate a flexibility that allows a worker who has a full day of calls to work from home that day, while ensuring when they are in the office they are able to be present. Its also important that a company allows the strategy to vary on a function by function basis. Some roles require far more "in-person" time while others try to force it (i.e. you must come into the office but you end up locking yourself in a room on the phone all day). Ultimately as you build the strategy, it should be based around trusting your employees where most are built because leadership doesn't trust them to do the right thing.