Since it does not appear that this will change for some time, I have begun to wonder what impact it is having on our organizational cultures, and what it will look like once we return to the office.
While there are many opinions of what corporate culture is, I like the definitions that include shared values and beliefs. In a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) article titled “Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture,” culture is described as one that “defines the proper way to behave within the organization. This culture consists of shared beliefs and values established by leaders and then communicated and reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviors, and understanding. Organizational culture sets the context for everything an enterprise does.”
Our typical office routine was turned upside down when we closed our facilities on March 23, 2020. I think we all believed we would be back to the office in just a few weeks and left things on our desks and in our office spaces just as they were. However, it’s been about 10 months since our office teams began working from home. Someone mentioned to me recently that there are still March basketball brackets hanging up on workstation bulletin boards.
Like it has been for many of you, working remotely was challenging at first. We had to purchase equipment, boost our cybersecurity efforts, change telephone routing, and learn applications like Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Webex. Over time, people became more comfortable with working remotely, and the conversation began to change. We figured out how to be productive from home and many of us have grown to like it. I’ll admit that I don’t miss my drive to work, especially during a Minnesota snowstorm that could add a full hour. I like being able to start my workday earlier, work a little later, and not be late for dinner. I’m pretty certain that I’m not alone in this.
It’s not all great, though. My staff can’t just stop by my office to ask a question or say hello. We have scheduled virtual meetings instead, and those quick visits have turned into texts, chats, and calls. Quite frankly, I miss our personal interactions very much. As leaders, we connect with all areas of our organizations when we are in the office. Before the pandemic, sales, IT, engineering, estimating, human resources, and finance got to know each other because we were together. Today, we find ways to make this happen virtually, but it is different.
We have changed how we do so many things as an enterprise over the past 10 months. The most important thing we did was make a concerted effort to stay in touch with all our employees – through personal phone calls, video calls, and weekly e-mail updates. This effort was in the hopes of keeping our community and shared values intact. While we can measure productivity when employees work from home, we won’t know how our culture held up until later this year. I believe that many of us will continue to allow for flexible schedules while truly appreciating our company’s culture.
Be well,
Gretchen
Copyright © 2021 by the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). All rights reserved. This article first appeared in January/February 2021 CFMA Building Profits magazine.