De executie van de zeven voordelen van hybride werken

Strategy = Execution

Seven Benefits of Hybrid Work and Its Execution

The new hybrid way of working requires leadership to maintain its benefits and avoid reverting to the pre-pandemic approach. Therefore: CHOOSE a new balance. And remember: work is an activity, not a place. Seven benefits of hybrid work that you’ll want to keep post-pandemic. And: the “3 x 33% principle,” or: what to DO and what NOT to DO

Throughout the entire pandemic, Turner Jacques Pijl asked clients, business partners, and colleagues the same question: “What positive elements do you never want to lose post-pandemic? And how are you going to make that happen?” This yielded a wealth of insights that remain relevant today. And that’s no small matter: 90% of organizations know they want to continue working in a hybrid model because the benefits outweigh the drawbacks (customer satisfaction and productivity have increased), but only 11% have a plan^{for how to do so}.

It’s a no-brainer that work will look permanently different post-pandemic than it did before. The pandemic has served as a catalyst for years of discussion about the new digital way of working. It’s been one big experiment in innovation. No one wants to go back—there’s plenty of research to^prove it^.³ Except for some (not necessarily older) executives, driven by outdated notions about how to preserve corporate cultures or by an excessive need for control. But many professionals and executives are concerned that we’re too quick to assume it’s clear which benefits we want to retain and how. Yet those are the truly exciting questions.

Seven benefits we don’t want to lose.

The pandemic was a massive experiment and has fundamentally changed the way we work. Spoiler alert: the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Identify, harvest, and secure those benefits now. Otherwise, you’ll lose them. So, execution.

1. Productivity can be higher—both directly and indirectly.
This is the most obvious elephant in the room that needs to be soberly identified and addressed. Rudi Fransen, Director of Engineering Quality & Continuous Improvement at Bilfinger Tebodin: “In hindsight, many fundamental issues become crystal clear, and this is one of them: the positive, immediate impact on productivity is undeniable. Thanks to several mutually reinforcing factors—greater focus, fewer disruptions, and less travel time—we can free up a lot of time for our clients and ourselves.”

It’s also possible:^A U.S.^study⁴ from December 2020 shows that 54% of respondents say most of their work can be done from home. That figure was previously only 20%. The majority say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Even motivation is higher. Employees are more likely to meet deadlines (up from 19% to 80%), they are happy to be able to work without interruptions (up from 32% to 68%), and they feel motivated (up from 36% to 64%).

Lisette van Breugel, ArboUnie Board of Directors: “The indirecte effect is hugely underestimated: we’re more focused and hold fewer meetings. And switching tasks less often means we don’t have to dig up documents and ideas as often. “How did that go again? What are we supposed to do now?” This effect is much greater than we think. “Strategy Execution consists of day-to-day processes (run) and their improvement, renewal, and innovation (change).” And the productivity benefit applies to both “run” and “change,” as emphasized by the executives and professionals I spoke with. E-change tools (Zoom, Miro, Mural, Mentimeter, MST, Slack, etc.) have also proven to be a highly effective means of making “change” more productive. Colleague Tjalle Hoekstra: ‘ In the past, we used to face a lot of delays just because of the difficulties involved in reserving physical spaces in offices, but that’s no longer an issue—which is ideal. We’ll meet in person at specific times and work flexibly from wherever we want the rest of the time. ‘.

How does all this add up in societal terms? McKinsey argues that the new way of working could even accelerate economic^recovery.^⁵ Productivity growth could be one percentage point higher through 2024—twice as much as in the pre-COVID-19 era. But are you saying that productivity could actually be higher? Whether that’s the case depends entirely on careful analysis and differentiation by sector, by organization, and even by individual. Otherwise, you’ll soon find yourself talking about^{a loss in productivity6}.

2. Innovatie floreert.
It is well known that innovation is primarily the result of systematic processes (think, do, think, do) rather than coming up with new ideas every day. Digital work lends itself perfectly to this.

Innovation Specialist Tessa Rombouts-van Puijenbroek: “I find myself being more creative in workshops because the format imposes certain limits. In Miro, just like on Twitter, you only have forty characters at your disposal. You have to think carefully about what you write. Of course, we want to be able to brainstorm in person again after the pandemic. But let’s also continue to effectively blend these approaches in Innovation. .” Her colleague Frits Korthals Altes: “Take strategy sessions, where you spend a day working with a group to develop a new strategic or innovation plan. We preferred to do this in person, over the course of a full day. I’ve learned that it’s also possible to do this in three or four digital sessions of two hours each, with time for elaboration and deeper discussion in between. That’s also easier to schedule than finding a day when absolutely everyone is available.’ .

Another colleague: ‘Interaction during work sessions using tools like Miro—where, as a facilitator, you can do a lot of preparation in advance—works exceptionally well. Working digitally is an Accelerator. ”. Tessa: “ This period has been one big “experiment” from which we’ve learned an incredible amount of learning. And this is exactly what we mean when we say “Innovation = Execution.” ”. I previously wrote a post about how to^accelerate external innovation7.

Lisette van Breugel: “We’re keeping the momentum going and innovating faster—for and with our customers, but also in our management processes. Last March, we were able to set up remote work in just a few days. We’ve maintained that momentum and are now innovating in a different way. Come up with ideas, test them quickly, make adjustments, and test them again. Communication lines have become much shorter, which means there’s a great deal of understanding among customers and employees for ‘little mistakes’ in the beginning.” I hear examples like this in many places: “How can you truly shift to output-based management, eliminate leave policies, and remove the backlog of unused vacation days from the balance sheet? As far as I’m concerned, you can work and take time off whenever you want, as long as you meet your objectives. All within reason, of course,” “We’ve seen that people work hard from home; trust now serves as the starting point for adjusting all kinds of other processes, such as expense report systems, where we want to operate on the basis of random spot checks.”

And there are more opportunities: why not overhaul the biannual performance review circus while we’re at it? Here’s a question of conscience: do you know a single professional who has ever looked forward to his or her performance review?

“The future of fully live? Much less of it, but better quality.”

3. It is the No. 1 driver of self-organization and self-management.
People take responsibility—so give it to them. That, too, is innovation: social and management innovation. It’s clear that there is still a great deal of untapped potential among professionals since the shift from hierarchical, Taylorist organization toward autonomy began (including modern concepts of self-organization and self-management, and even “nested structures and holacracy”). Digital work reinforces self-organization.

Colleague Tjalle Hoekstra: ‘I feel more in control of my own work and experience greater well-being through blended work. And I no longer have to feel like a second-class participant when, unlike other team members, I decide to join a meeting remotely while others chose to attend in person. .” The benefits that professionals consistently mention: higher productivity, smooth progress, fewer disruptions—and thus fewer errors and higher quality—as well as greater autonomy over their work, flexibility, and freedom.

Head of Innovation at a major international organization in the energy sector: “We are convinced that blended work only reinforces the autonomy and self-direction we’re already striving for.”And perhaps this is the most important benefit: work becomes more interesting and more fulfilling. Colleague Yanick Mollema: “ Don’t forget to build in or take some “unplanned time.” Before all meetings become strictly “business-related,” make sure some are “casual” as well—that’s where the best unexpected encounters and exchanges of ideas happen. And always do a check-in round at the start of every meeting; otherwise, there’s a good chance you won’t notice if people aren’t fully engaged. ⁸.’

4. Professionals have a higher level of well-being.
A business contact commented on this: ‘My husband and I blame ourselves for having bowed to the dictates of corporate culture for years—a culture that demanded we come into the office. Now, after our last meeting at 5:30 p.m., we go for a run and then have dinner with the family—it’s nice and relaxing. Every once in a while, we see each other in person, and those encounters are much more meaningful. .” The well-known coach Zeta Yarwood has noticed⁹ that the mental health of many of its clients has improved, partly because people can now use the two hours they would have spent commuting in other ways. Professionals are experiencing many benefits they no longer want to give up (see quotes). Grant Thornton, the accounting firm based in England, found that nearly 90% of employees want to continue working from home for the majority of their work time. CEO David Dunckly: ‘ I thought that if the lockdown lasted longer, people would want to go back to the office, but the percentage of people who prefer to work from home has actually gone up a bit¹⁰.’

5. Many people thrive when working digitally. And the organization benefits ¹¹.
Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a growing awareness that organizational cultures and processes approached the concept of diversity in a way that was far too narrow and one-sided. A necessary understanding of diversity goes beyond gender ratios or the representation of population groups. And it no longer turns a blind eye to the overly dominant extroverted norm. It’s about proper appreciation, equality, and opportunities for diverse personality types: introverts, thinkers, and doers alongside extroverts. An article in Het Financieele Dagblad by Maartje Laterveer¹² woke me up. She writes about untapped neurodiverse talent, suppressed by the “corporate straitjacket” and the extroverted norm. Laterveer advocates for opportunities and recognition for people with certain neurological characteristics (such as those on the autism spectrum). Certain team activities that extroverts view as preserving the culture are, for others, a weekly or monthly ordeal they dread.

6. This directly promotes sustainability.
A direct result of fewer physical trips and less travel time is less strain on the environment. A client: “ We will schedule live work hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on fewer days. We will schedule live work to avoid peak traffic times. .” How do you align that? “Simple,” he says, “by thinking and working in weekly blocks—think of Monday as laundry day, Wednesday as meatball day. For example: Tuesday and Thursday are live days. Two—not three again, right? ”. A COO I spoke with quantified the effects and concluded that the sustainability benefits are sustainable.

7. Work is primarily an activity, nota place.
New and virtual ways of working—but this time for real. A great deal of time and money has been spent on projects to implement new and virtual ways of working. Now it’s time to go full steam ahead with implementation. Checklist: office square meters, office furnishings, lease agreements, etc. Major employers are set to cut back on office space after the pandemic. A few examples¹³,¹⁴: Accenture (-20–30%), Capgemini (-50%), Arcadis (-30%), Essent (-15%), PostNL (-10–20%). Reducing office space therefore seems obvious. What’s interesting is what you do and where you do it. Pauline Bieringa of Triodos and Bas van der Veldt of AFAS no longer seem to view this as a dilemma: you work from home, they said on Nieuwsuur. Also interesting is how you use the remaining workspace. The general consensus: it’s for collaboration and team cohesion—and for those people who simply can’t concentrate while working from home. That calls for a redefined vision of work.

Putting the Seven Benefits of Hybrid Work into Practice: The 3×33% Principle and What to DO and what NOT to do.

From the discussions and based on an analysis of the most important studies and articles, the 3×33% principle clearly emerges, along with a number of guidelines on what to do and what not to do during implementation. See Figure 1: The art of hybrid work lies in a carefully considered blend of 33% in-person, 33% digital, and 33% blended work. The key is to have a well-defined vision and to apply it in a decentralized, customized manner. My colleagues Annelieke van Schie, Martijn Babeliowsky, Yanick Mollema, and Alex Crezee have called this an “alignment framework” for our organization, Turner: on the one hand, a concrete vision; on the other, plenty of flexibility for each team to apply it as they see fit.

DO:

Develop a detailed vision and decentralize its implementation. CHOOSE a new balance, distinguish between three formats, and implement all three: (1) fully digital (33%), (2) blended live-digital (33%), and (3) fully live (33%). But it starts with a vision of work in the broadest sense of the word, within the framework of the strategy. An important point about blended sessions: they’re seen as the most challenging, because IT doesn’t always support them well and they’re difficult to manage. But don’t be a “Don Quixote,” It’s going to happen a lot. Make it the norm. And as a leader, make sure that anyone participating digitally instead of in person never feels like a “second-class participant,” even if he or she is the only one in the meeting. Incidentally, the “everyone in person” format isn’t even feasible organization-wide—the office isn’t set up for that anymore. Nor does it need to be.
Maak het zo simpel mogelijk: kies vaste ‘default, tenzij’ dagen voor live. For example: Mondays and Thursdays. This prevents someone from having to come into the office on a Tuesday just for a single meeting because one manager decided that he or she “wants to have the team together” then. Or two Fridays a month at organizations such as consulting firms, where employees primarily work at client sites or from home during the week. Choose a simple but not dogmatic structure (“you have the structure, not the other way around”). And/or set activities, such as half of the training sessions or the periodic team and company meetings. If you don’t think this through, the coordination burden within teams becomes sky-high: “How are we going to handle this next week?”
Decentralize and differentiate where necessary. By level of work: teams, projects, departments, organization, internal versus client-facing. And by sector and type of organization. In any case, live operations will remain the norm in production environments. And for knowledge workers, it will be digital. By personality type, by individual. Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, emphasizes the importance of personal differentiation in an^{interview¹⁵} with McKinsey’s Eleni Kostopoulos. Cognitive trust can be built digitally (“I see your resume and hear you speak; you can do this”), while emotional trust requires time and closeness (“I know you look out for me and take care of me”). Emotional trust requires time and closeness and varies from person to person; (2) while one employee may prefer to attend digital meetings exclusively from home, another may want to go to the office to work—and then participate digitally from there. Ask people what they need. And be realistic: not everything is possible.
Experimenteer gericht met wat belangrijk én lastig is, ‘get it right.’ Normaliseer in plaats van dramatiseer. Tjalle Hoekstra: “I see the biggest challenges in the multidisciplinary meetings. For us, the added value of being on-site at a client’s location is that you can run into anyone and get a feel for the atmosphere in the cafeteria—not just from your client, but especially from the internal audit department as well. Or within our own organization, where spontaneous cross-functional connections arise that aren’t formally organized. When there are set days where one team is on-site one day and another team at a different time, you lose these spontaneous crossovers. .” So it’s really going to be a matter of experimenting. The biggest challenges lie ahead of us—not behind us. Experiment with controversial processes as well, such as in recruitment and selection. Many interviews with candidates—though not all—can also be conducted digitally.
Kies en creëer nieuw gewoontegedrag. If you don’t choose within a short period of time (weeks rather than months) what the new balance will look like and what behaviors and language go along with it, it will be too late.
Overleg minder. That’s always a good rule, no matter what. Praise be to the organization where everyone does what they’re supposed to do and doesn’t rely on meetings to make progress or feel good.
Zorg dat (ICT-)middelen digitaal werken naadloos mogelijk maken. All applications must be available at home offices. This is one of the top 10 “satisfiers.” Everything else can fall by the wayside if this isn’t taken care of. The 33% blended model will be a disaster if IT doesn’t provide seamless support.
Embed digital work as the new normal in all HR processes and contracts.
Implication: A completely new way of working is emerging. Consider the implications for, among other things, healthcare for one another (horizontally, as “peers”) and for management and^{leadership.¹⁶} And embed the new balance in leadership processes and exemplary behavior. That requires^{discipline.¹⁷} Mixed signals arise quickly—for example, if, as a manager, you emphasize one moment how important a new balance is, but the next moment call your team back together in person because that’s just nicer. Right down to the details: the term “out-of-office” no longer captures the reality. Unless we’ve accepted that “office” has become a different concept altogether.
Markeer de overgang naar de nieuwe situatie. This affects everyone down to the very core of their daily work experience. Don’t just discuss it with one another—also celebrate this new way of working, even if it seems to be emerging quietly.

DON’T:

Don’t let the disadvantages be a reason not to harvest the benefits. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
In de valkuil trappen dat een visie en structuur strijdig is met flexibiliteit en maatwerk. How is that not contradictory? A clear vision and structure provide direction for what we can expect from one another and how. And it prevents the “new way of working” from inadvertently reverting to the old ways or getting lost in the new, which would prevent us from connecting with one another. A differentiated implementation, combined with a high degree of autonomy, ensures that it is sensibly tailored to each organizational unit. There are groups of professionals for whom the limits of digital work are still far from being reached. And there are groups of employees who, on the other hand, need to meet in person more often. Don’t ignore it, and don’t let it slide. Otherwise, the“articulate minority”will prevail in no time, and you’ll lose all the benefits. Culture specialist Edward^Schein¹⁸ says this: if you do nothing in the face of major change, the new culture will “take hold” on its own—but rarely the way you want it to. This is evident even in very small things, such as automatically assuming in-person meetings as the “default” when making appointments. I would set “digital” as the default. You first have to “steer in the opposite direction to end up in the right place.”
Het stapelen van schijnproductiviteit. With a devastating effect on well-being. Digital work can turn into a “fragmentation bomb,” a chaotic “mishmash” of work. The^{nightmare scenario¹⁹} is that of an Asian IT company where, during the pandemic, the number of hours worked increased by 30%, 18% of which were outside regular working hours, yet without a significant increase in productivity. On balance, productivity there decreased by 20%. And well-being likely even more. Give people control to foster focus. By setting aside blocks of time for “deep work” that must be able to be carried out undisturbed for extended periods. You really need to think carefully about how to structure this new way of working. At Turner, we follow a principled and practical work agreement: all time from Monday through Thursday is reserved for clients; internal activities take place on Friday or at the beginning and end of the day.
Doorschieten. You want to strike a good balance between digital and in-person collaboration. The regular “all in person” sessions you choose are becoming even more important—for team cohesion and results. Esther Timmer, head of HR at Turner: “ The live moments you experience then really stand out again. Fewer, but better .’
Ongedifferentieerd werken. Not every process lends itself equally well to working exclusively digitally. Consider sales processes, network development, and key moments in the proposal process. Sales (in the private sector) and service delivery (in the Public sector) are the lifeline and raison d’être for every organization. Another example is (change) projects. Key moments in these include the initial stages, breakthroughs in complex analyses, decision-making, monthly progress updates, and quality assurance. Innovation, too, requires sufficient in-person interaction. Various components of innovative processes rely heavily on face-to-face interaction. Finally, HR processes—such as recruitment, onboarding, and coaching young people—should also be conducted partly in person.
Allow for polarization. You don’t want a “digital versus in-person”battle of the tribes. There’s a group that prefers to work in person or in the office more than others do—for a variety of reasons. The most important thing is that this group doesn’t hijack the discussion with arguments that are almost impossible to oppose. The same goes the other way around. “The danger is that the positive tone surrounding remote work masks the fact that a group of people is actually worse off,” says Professor Frederik^Anseel20. Such as young mothers, who still bear a relatively large share of the responsibility for caregiving.
Thinking that informal gatherings can’t be held in a blended format. And , for example, once again declaring Friday afternoon drinks to be universally“important or a cultural necessity.”Consider neurodiversity: for some high-performing and sociable professionals, it’s certainly no fun.
De middelen centraal zetten. Choose them carefully to reinforce the strategy. Innovation = Execution.

QUOTES:

“I’m more productive, faster, and have more control, freedom, and well-being—and I still enjoy working with others just as much. We’re better at meeting deadlines and have fewer backlogs.”

—–

“The guiding principle has become: what is needed at any given moment, and what do you need to achieve your goal—rather than whether it fits into the daily schedule or where you are located. This allows you to be more flexible toward the customer, but also toward yourself and your colleagues.”

—–

“We’ve become far too dependent on in-person meetings and team discussions—under the guise that teamwork is so important, try objecting to that. We need to return to a culture where everyone does what they’re supposed to do as part of the bigger picture. Meetings should be the exception rather than the rule, not just a pretext for collaboration.”

—–

“The objectives and format are a better fit—not everything has to be live. And I’m actually more creative. ‘With Miro, brainstorming and workshops have become more effective.’”

—–

“The future of fully live? Much less of it, but better quality.”

—–

“‘We all want to get back to the way things were as soon as possible,’ you hear people say. Well, speak for yourself.”

—–

“I can pick up my child early—that alone is a big deal. And sit down to dinner with the whole family at six o’clock instead of spending another hour and a half stuck in traffic. Why are we only doing this now?”

—–

“Staying in touch has become easier. Our conversations are shorter. We connect more quickly, and online interactions can be just as personal. You can even go for virtual walks—everyone goes for a walk, just not in the same forest.”

—–

“Introverts are better able to shine, and that makes things so much better.”

Strategy = Execution. Improve, Renew and Innovate Faster

How can organizations make strategy execution their number one priority? And improve, renew and innovate faster? This I describe in my book Strategy = Execution. Strategy = execution is based on the research that Turner started years ago into the success factors of strategy execution and innovation. We interviewed 60 directors and professionals and analyzed more than 75 cases, 300 relevant books and articles.

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