People & CHRO at Carolynn's

Carolynn Ryan

Cast your minds back to the craziness of four years ago. We were in the throes of having to reimagine the way we work, all while navigating a global state of uncertainty and the employee anxiety and upheaval that goes along with it. But we did it. We figured out how to send people home and work productively, as well as bring them back under a new framework of flexibility. We struck the right balance; our leadership and employees are happy, and our problems are a thing of the past – right?! 

Now, a new battle wages before us, one where:

● We must remind managers to look at flexibility through the lens of a manager, not an employee. Reminding them that a manager's obligation is to the company, and we need to think beyond what's easy and make people happy to do what best meets our collective needs.

● We’re constantly questioned and held to account on whether the company is benefiting from the flexible arrangement in terms of productivity, engagement, costs, culture, employee development, etc.

● There’s an onus on us to make sure the workplace is an inspired place so that employees want to come in.

It’s on us, as HR leaders, to balance the scales, but we can’t do it alone. These new tensions have shifted my approach to talking about flexibility in the workplace to one of protectionism: we must protect what we value, and that responsibility falls on all our shoulders.

In chatting with a group of colleagues at a recent event, they commented that there’s no longer a reason to work physically in the office based on their view of the requirements of their roles. I shared how I understood that it may feel that way, but I also shared my thoughts on what we lose when we don’t come together in person. I’m not talking about collaboration; we can collaborate from anywhere. Rather, it’s the connections and the culture we build that enrich our work experience, shape our perspectives and help us advance collectively. I mentioned my son, who is 22 and entering the workplace, and how I want him to be able to learn from others the way that I was so fortunate to. My colleagues echoed that desire for their own children – so I suggested that it’s incumbent on all of us to uphold the other side of the bargain.

As another CHRO in my network recently shared: “Bringing people together contributes to a vibrant and connected workplace that inspires people.” So, how do we challenge our teams to consider how they're contributing to an inspired workplace?

I’ve started to remind employees and leaders alike that although we’re enjoying the current flexibility, the tides could turn. Our executive and board members could change, bringing with them new philosophies on what works best. Our profit margins could shrink, or our targets might be missed, causing a rethink of our strategy.

In my view, we can’t accept the flexibility afforded to us without being flexible in return. Not doing so impacts the integrity of the models we’ve built and the culture of the companies we work for. At a basic level, this means:

● Letting go of rigidity and shifting our in-office days to respond to the tasks before us.

● Looking up and out by coming into the office when it makes sense not just for us but for our colleagues – recognizing this might be inconvenient, and that's okay.

● We should not seek out loopholes to avoid office presence (e.g., selecting in-office days based on the stat holiday calendar, not shifting our flexibility following sick days or inclement weather).

● Working beyond the lowest common denominator – it’s not a game of meeting minimums but of meeting our collective needs.

So yes, let's pause and congratulate ourselves on moving telework from an uncertain concept we talked about for decades to a proven way of working. But let's not lose sight of the fact that our next hurdle is to keep bringing out the best in our employees by exercising strong leadership that reminds them they have a horse in the race to protect the flexibility they so ardently desire.