Book a demo

Blog

Considerations for Workplace Redesign

Workplace redesign – it wasn’t part of the plan

The post C-19 level of workplace redesign is unprecedented and was absolutely never in the plan for Q3 2020. Few if any organisations had blueprints for dealing with a global pandemic. Even now, nine months in, there are still more unknowns that knowns. 

For almost all organisations in most industries and in most parts of the world, how and where we work has changed beyond recognition during lockdown. As we cautiously navigate our way out of C-19, there is much speculation about ‘the future of work’. We’ve considered some of the emerging themes and this is our take on ‘what next’…

The challenges and opportunities ahead

Barely a day goes by without a new ‘post C-19 HR/ workforce playbook’ being published. They’re often written by consulting companies, with small armies of bright consultants off the clock, each with subtly different approaches but all focusing on a common theme: how to get organisations back working effectively and efficiently again.

The best examples we’ve found are Deloitte’s ‘Workforce strategies for a post-COVID-19 recovery Workbook’ and McKinsey’s ‘Beyond coronavirus: The path to the next normal’.  These playbooks are fascinating reads and very logical, but can be pretty overwhelming at a time when leaders are looking for actionable clarity.

At PCS, we spend a significant amount of time speaking to senior leaders in HR and Learning & Development and researching contemporary themes. It’s going to be a busy few months for business leaders reshaping businesses and realigning workforces. Below we’ve compiled three considerations to help you navigate this challenging but potentially transformative process.

1. Provide employees with a choice

Although it’s easy to focus on the short-term business imperative to keep costs down and rejuvenate revenue streams, employees have both become used to the perception of choice (“do I come into the office or not”) or are craving for it (“I can’t wait to have more adult company outside the four walls of this flat”).  Forcing employees, who have coped with a lot of change recently, to do 180s on working patterns will add to heightened stress and be could be counterproductive.

Consider a win-win position where you’re only able to physically accommodate a fraction of your workforce and invite employees to spend a proportion of their working week ‘back at work’.  This will help reconnect some people (possibly those who need to be co-located) and empower people to choose where to work. When employees can actively participate in the decision to ‘return to work’, they are more likely to be happy and motivated.

2. Plan for resilience 

We don’t know how long the C-19 tail will be and what challenges are around the corner. Plan to succeed but have a few plan Bs to cope with protracted disruption and more shocks. Invest time to understand what worked well and what didn’t during the peak of lockdown. Have a plan B to roll-back to full lockdown mode at a few days’ notice and ensure that the systems and processes are in place to be able to activate this state if necessary. 

3. Be bold

Last few months have forced most aspects of most business to think outside of the box – don’t lose this momentum and innovative thinking. Employees, customers and investors have become accustomed to sizable and rapid change. As a HR leader, you won’t have another opportunity like this to try something different and novel. 

Right now, stand back, breathe then act

We’re not saying ignore industry thought leaders’ playbooks. What we are saying is to stand back from rushing into tactical decision-making. Think about what works best for your employees, how to mitigate risks and how best to leverage change appetite. There’s never been a better time to innovate in workforce redesign, but ultimately it will only improve performance and wellbeing if people are at the centre of it.

By Chris Milliner, Director PCS

If you’re interested in Workforce Redesign, join our webinar on 10th September at 2pm – WORKFORCE REDESIGN: LESSONS LEARNT SINCE FEBRUARY AND PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE – REGISTER HERE.

pcs solutions
how it works
practitioners
PODCAST
about
contact
Linkedin Twitter Vimeo

PRIVACY POLICY COOKIES POLICY

Copyright 2021-2023 © Performance Climate Systems Limited

Linkedin Twitter Youtube Spotify Podcast
e-learning Accreditation Signup
Practitioner Area

Zac's Challenges:

Zac’s tech business is growing rapidly. He’s gone from being a developer with a good idea to now overseeing an ever-expanding team. Zac knows that in order for the business to grow successfully, it needs to stay true to its founding values and his staff need to feel valued and engaged. Zac wants to understand if he and his team are on the same page and he needs to do it quickly and cost effectively.

Zac's PCS Solution

Zac decides to use PCS Lite to get a quick temperature check of how his team are performing and what they think about the business. The PCS Lite report quickly surfaces the fact that his team have lost sight of the organisation’s purpose and goals. Zac realises that he needs to improve his on-boarding processes and help orientate the new team members better in the company culture and vision. 6 months later, Zac uses PCS Lite to check his new onboarding process is working; concludes that the growing team are much better aligned to his vision and are generally operating in a more positive working environment.

Learn more

Annabel's Challenges:

It’s Annabel’s job to help the Partners in the firm manage their clients and ensure they’re consistently adding value. Recently, Annabel has been asked by one of the Partners to find a tool or framework that the consultants can use to benchmark new clients looking for team and leadership improvement programmes. It needs to be cost-effective, established and reputable and able to be branded with the firm’s own logo.

Annabel's PCS Solution

Annabel recommends PCS Pro to the Senior Partners as it provides an objective measurement of team and leadership climate against which the consultants can build performance improvement programmes. PCS has a good track record, academic validation, excellent training and customer service, so she’s confident that it’s the right tool for the firm’s consultants to use.

Learn more

Sarah's Challenges:

Sarah has to keep across the multiple training and development needs in the organisation and do it within a tight budget. Recently, Sarah’s been asked to design a L&D programme that improves the staff retention rate and helps staff feel more engaged with the changes happening in the organisation, not least the shift to more flexible working.

Sarah's PCS Solution

Sarah uses PCS to measure how different teams across the organisation are performing and look at any patterns which suggest the need for organisation-wide, leader or team training. Sarah notices that all teams and leaders have a low climate score in the Processes segment. Sarah knows that allocating budget in this area will improve performance. She works with the Senior Management Team to review the organisation’s processes as they transition to more flexible working and designs a training programme to support staff in the transition. She’s helped staff to feel supported, acknowledged and engaged which ultimately drives performance. 

Learn more

Jim's Challenges:

Jim’s client has a team that’s not performing as well other teams in the organisation. The team has a high staff turnover, sickness and the lack of cohesion is impacting the team’s wellbeing and performance. Jim needs to get to the bottom of why this is happening and design effective coaching interventions which can generate tangible results for his client.

Jim's PCS Solution

Jim uses PCS Pro to measure / benchmark how the team and leader are performing across the 6 segments critical to team performance – Goals, Roles, Processes, Adaptability, Connection and Resilience. He can immediately see the disparity in Goals, Processes and Connection between the leader’s perception and those of her team. He uses this information to build a coaching programme designed align team and leader. After 6 months, the team seems to be more settled and productive. Jim remeasures using PCS Pro – the results show the client the effectiveness of his coaching intervention.

Learn more