The working environment post-pandemic, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, has changed – the demands on an office environment, and on the employer have changed.  Pre-pandemic, we thought we were doing a good job if we put plants in our offices to help the ambiance.  But symbolic gestures are not enough, we have to look at what our employees need.
 
And we’re not talking salary or benefits, so let’s take that off of the table.  What do our employees need from us?
 
We could go on about the structure of the work place, that they need targets and feedback – for their development and for the operational performance of your business.  We also like to go on about the company culture – hard to pin down but we know it has something to do with a supportive work/life balance, about a “listening” environment, about development and if you’ve got a bit lost in the sauce, you often find employers throwing benefits out in hope of finding a cultural balance.
 
So, let’s pause…

Working a four-day week while still be paid for five days would be a dream come true for many.  Being able to have three days off each week means more time for… you, family, friends, hobbies – whatever you may want.  Brilliant surely?   

But as a small or medium-sized business how can it be affordable? 

We are asked this question on a regular basis – how can we afford it – “our salary bill is already high and with the recent increases in national insurance”, “losing a day’s productivity from each member of staff doesn’t make sense”. 

It is a difficult question to answer.  So, my response is normally to explain how we work.   

Previously an office of eight people, we started working from home about five years ago.  At first it was challenging, and we didn’t always get it right.  We also quickly discovered that some people like the idea of working from home but not the reality and initially some people were working more hours than less, which had always been our main objective.  Work smarter not harder.  The first 12-months were a steep learning curve as we approached working from home in the same way we used to work from the office.  That’s the first step to getting it wrong. 

After the slog of those first 12-months, we revisited our initial decision – is that still what was best for our business? The answer was yes, so instead of trying to make “working from home” look like “working from the office” – we re-designed the way we worked. ​

I really like the term ‘discretionary effort’, to me it differentiates employees that are not just engaged in their business but those that are engaged and really invested in the success of their team, department and company. They show their level of engagement by consistently helping their colleagues, sharing, supporting, coaching, mentoring – all done without needing to be asked.
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When someone starts working with a company - they are engaged. They want the job (they've normally gone through a long process to get the job); they want to work in that company and look forward to meeting and engaging with their new colleagues. Fast forward a few years (less than that in many cases) and that sparkle of engagement has diminished despite the new suggestion scheme or the free lunch on a Friday. So, what’s happened? What has changed? These are key questions for any business that values employee engagement.

​In our experience one of the factors that seems to keep popping up is the internal customer experience. If your experience with colleagues is poor – poor communications, not sharing information appropriately, Chinese whispers etc. or if your experience of your managers and the company is poor - lack lustre induction process, no feedback system in place, favouritism etc. our research indicates that this is a key factor in undermining employee engagement. Time and time again we have been told how a lack of communication between departments, teams, managers and individuals is detrimental to the sense of an individual’s sense of fulfilment, success and achievement.

In February, the BBC ran a business article about Octopus Energy's Founder and CEO Greg Jackson, with the inflammatory title "My billion pound company has no HR department". As you can imagine, as an HR Consultant, this is a rattling title to have thrown out into the wider business market.

The article goes on to say that with "more than 1,200 employees, [Mr Jackson] has no interest in traditional things like human resources (HR) and information technology (IT) departments". I enjoy the use of the word 'traditional' instead of the blatant meaning: 'old fashioned' and I have to say it makes me laugh. I sometimes wonder what people think HR people do? I'm certain that the general consensus still is that HR provides glorified filing.
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Clearly, if we take this prime example, the industry is often thought of as 'old fashioned' and I can't tell you how many times, when I've told someone what I do, their energy flatlines and you can see the infamous eye-roll. Why has HR received this damning reaction?