Freight and logistics employees are subject to a unique assortment of health and wellbeing risks in their working environment, including isolation from family, friends and colleagues, long working hours and shift work, the possibility of critical incidents, sedentary roles, fatigue and sleep deprivation.
Hybrid workplaces are now the working norm for many of us. And implementing a hybrid workplace model can help boost collaboration, efficiency and productivity across teams, whether they are working onsite or remotely.
The hybrid workplace model offers increased flexibility, improved employee morale, and reduced operational costs. It gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies adapted to remote work and realised its benefits. To ensure success, it's essential to maintain clear communication, provide the right technology, and foster a culture of trust and accountability.
The percentage of Australians working from home has jumped from eight per cent to forty per cent and productivity has endured. Many organisations have reimagined the way they operate which presents its own set of unique challenges. When implementing an effective hybrid workplace policy, striking the right balance between working remotely and in-office requires careful consideration.
The hybrid working model affords greater flexibility and freedom for staff but it’s essential that productivity, engagement levels, and inclusive working culture is maintained, in and out of the office.
There are many questions that employers have relating to hybrid workplace policy, implementing the right tech for efficient and effective workflow, and ensuring that productivity levels are upheld.
To help answer these questions we spoke with business and leadership expert Mandy Holloway. Mandy is the Co-founder and Owner of Courageous Leaders and her empathy-based approach to business leadership has helped mobilise different organisations to boldly rise to challenges and embrace them in their stride.
Through meaningful communication and understanding of employees, Mandy believes that organisations can inspire successful working environments, both face-to-face and virtually.
When employers actively trust their staff, they are more likely to perform better. Mandy believes that leaders “have to embrace what it means to be a leader, which means empower people, trust people. You don’t need to see that someone’s sitting there to prove that they’re actually working.”
Policies for flexible working
The hybrid model is effective in future-proofing the workplace. Many studies conducted since the pandemic began show that working flexibility catalyses employee engagement, productivity, and positive wellbeing.
Organisations that welcome hybrid workplace models are more likely to retain staff through giving them the option to work from home or in the office, or even allowing them to modify work hours. What’s more, creating a safe office environment that adopts adequate social distancing is paramount for organisational leaders and promotes the health and safety of everyone in the office.
Incorporating flexibility into workplace policies by giving employees options provides them with a sense of empowerment. Through doing this, you’re “giving people accountability. So as a leader with responsibility, you want your people to take accountability for what you’re empowering them to achieve. There must be a high level of trust and belief from the top leadership team,” says Mandy.
The right tech to support staff and aid productivity and efficiency
Organisations need the right tools to successfully manage change. Staff will need support when implementing new technology into working practices and to revitalise collaborative working cultures.
Encouraging learning opportunities will give everyone the chance to understand the tools and tech they need whether they decide to work in or out of the office. It is essential for organisations to address any gaps in understanding the technology involved in creating seamless, hybrid working environments. It’s also critical to review existing tech and processes.
Employers need to ensure that every staff member has exactly what they need to work effectively and to organise or stagger their in-office working days, all the while supporting digital inclusion. For example, implementing flexible desk/space booking platforms helps to carve a smooth path to hybrid working for organisations.
Change management is a work in progress. Once people have settled into the new way of work and balancing days in and out of the office, it’s important to evaluate the hybrid model’s impact to see how your organisation is tracking and to sustain the model’s long-term benefits.
Employers should consider the individual, team, and organisational impacts. Are staff able to successfully complete their work? Are teams able to communicate and collaborate easily? Are the organisational changes working as intended? What areas can be improved?
Mandy believes that change management is as much about processes, as it is about bringing compassion “as well as information to support staff to transition from where they are now to where they need to be in the future. This creates a safe and powerful team.”
“And as leaders, we need to lead people to be able to make the best decisions to create these outcomes.”
The future is here and now. Australian workplaces are transforming at a rapid pace and the significant changes that come with this historic time are testing the ability of organisations to tackle challenges. The changes are gaining momentum and that’s why being prepared is more crucial than ever.
So evolve, be open to transformation, and understand what the future of work means for everyone. Read our eBook: Wellness and Wellbeing in workplace design and strategy, to help you better navigate through these revolutionary times in the working world.
The freight and logistics industry is facing many challenges including attracting and retaining top talent – particularly as the Millennial workforce typically looks to other industries for fulfilment. That’s where the destination workplaces come into play, giving F&L organisations an appealing edge.
Traditionally characterised by an aging workforce, filling positions with younger employees has become an accelerated requirement of an industry which sits within a competitive business landscape. While the F&L industry is not typically coveted as the most desirable, thanks to creativity, innovation, and collaboration, this is now starting to change.
What’s more, growth in the F&L industry has continued to rise at such a pace that skilled workers are necessary now more than ever. There is great demand for great talent, including tech-savvy personnel and automation engineers. These skilled digital operators will be the catalysts for helping reshape and reinvent the F&L industry.
To attract these kinds of employees into the F&L industry, organisations must embrace the future by incorporating modern methods of working and environments that aid workplace motivation and productivity like the destination workplace.
The destination workplace requires careful consideration and meaningful planning, including the physical office layout, furniture, and equipment. You want to attract the best? You’ve got to offer the best.
A destination workplace is more than just a place employees ‘have’ to come to in order to perform their job. Rather it is an environment that employees want to come to and enjoy working in. It’s much more than just desks dispersed around an office; rather, they’re workplaces that reflect the physical, cultural and social needs of the staff. With this kind of finger on the pulse of employee wants and needs, team morale is boosted increasing the overall work product. Applying the right workplace strategy to your organisation will allow employees the autonomy and flexibility to feel valued and appreciated in the workplace.
Finding perfect equilibrium between working functionality and creativity is key to forming the ultimate destination workplace. This could take many different forms such as a social hub with a café-esque setup, an office gym or workout space, or an innovation zone with cutting-edge interactive tech and a blend of relaxed, comfortable seating. Maybe even some thought-provoking, and inspiring wall murals. The only limit is that of your workplace design partner’s imagination.
The F&L Industry needs working environments that are both purpose-built for the demands of today and the future, meaning the ability to adapt to advances in the industry is fundamental. Driving workplace strategy and design that better motivates employees will naturally compel the kind of skilled labour the industry calls for.
But it’s more than a pretty face. Workplace design and strategy supports not only the aesthetic appeal of the office fit-out but importantly, the framework that can improve workplace output, efficiency, culture, health and wellbeing.
Quality workplace design and strategy will not only attract, but help to retain the talent your F&L organisation needs to cultivate positive and productive working experiences that staff can feel comfortable in. This can even facilitate innovation, growth, and business resilience in the face of competition and demand.
Millennial workers are increasingly drawn to companies that encourage employee health and wellbeing in the workplace.
But progressive F&L organisations are doing more than paying lip service with an on-paper wellbeing programme – they are showing their commitment to employee health by actioning initiatives that make a clear impact. For example, encouraging a healthy lifestyle can be as simple as providing sitting-standing workstations, subscriptions to meditation apps, providing access or perks for healthy food outlets along freight routes, introducing more staircases in the workplace, making use of natural light, and utilising outdoor spaces where possible.
Studies have shown that these measures can drive stress down and positively impact the mood and attitudes of staff – all of which contribute to optimal productivity. A workplace fit-out that interlaces practicality with creative consideration attracts the top talent.
People are increasingly sympathetic to social and environmental issues. Freight and logistics organisations that work to regulate their own impact and actively support constructive environmental and social governance (ESG) are the same ones that quality talent will be more inclined to work for.
By incorporating ESG in the workplace, organisations can do their bit for a greener planet while also aiding employee connection, commitment, and creativity and in doing so, drive results. Allowing employees to engage with a positive purpose, extending beyond the parameters of their individual role, marks a leap in the right direction for organisational success.
It’s what everyone wants. In fact, studies have shown that 50% of Australians feel that they are less likely to leave their jobs if their place of employment offers flexible working options.
Flexible working environments can support a more collaborative, team-centric working experience that’s equal parts functional and innovative. Many studies have found that flexible work arrangements can also accelerate organisational productivity.
Effective workplace strategies considering the future of work can connect employees in the physical office to their remote colleagues with the right tech in place – like video conferencing, communication software, and space booking software that’s all reliable and easy to operate.
In this way, organisations can inspire autonomy and trust which is especially attractive to younger generations who value the freedom and flexibility that technology affords.
Young, skilled-up talent are looking for a modern and inspiring environment that’s built for speed and agility. F&L organisations must cater to this to ensure that they’re future-proofing their company and are equipped to retain talent. Be a proactive player in the growth and demand of the F&L industry with the right tools in your kit. For effective workplace design for your organisation, find a strategy-focused workplace design partner to help.
“Hybrid work is happening. Your culture will need to catch up — fast.” (McKinsey)
A hybrid workplace includes a mix of on-site and remote work, whether on specific days of the week or by specific teams. Given that basic framework, building and maintaining a positive company culture is more complex than in traditional office set-up, as it needs to encompass the different dynamics of the hybrid work model.
Workplace culture and employer brand are intrinsically linked. Culture creates your brand’s purpose and values. These values are reflected in the way your employees treat each other and interact with customers. How your staff feel about the company and brand not only influences their day-to-day working decisions but also comes across in every customer touchpoint.
A strong, positive and inclusive culture keeps employees engaged and connected, whether they are working onsite or remotely. And this will help them make decisions and interact with customers in a way that ultimately delivers your brand values and promise.
Here are some things to consider when creating a strong company culture and employer brand within a hybrid workplace.
Creating a digitally inclusive workplace is critical in a hybrid model. You need to provide the same conditions and opportunities for all employees, whether they are working in the office, at home or at a different location. This means being able to level the playing field for everyone, and delivering consistent tools, services and experiences.
In a hybrid environment, it’s important to provide staff with technology that works anywhere and enables them to access files and applications as if they were working at their physical desk in the office. Make sure they also have equal access to the right tools and services to plan their work, collaborate with colleagues, and conduct or join virtual meetings.
Finally, there needs to be established and consistent work patterns or processes in place that guide employees to get things done efficiently and effectively. This helps create a unified work culture across individuals and teams, no matter where they are working from.
Communication is key in building company culture in a hybrid environment. It’s important to communicate better and more frequently with employees, whether they are working at the office or remotely. Based on Gallup research, employees are more engaged and are likely to stay with an organisation if communication is open, timely and accurate.
Having open communication with both onsite and remote employees helps to build strong connections and create a culture of trust. So make sure you enable staff to have a voice and share their thoughts and ideas.
Remember to stay connected with the team through regular communication and across different channels – email, text or instant messaging. This way, everyone can have equal access to all important company announcements. It’s also essential to check-in and communicate directly with every staff member, through actual phone calls or 1:1 video meetings.
A company’s values and purpose become critical in creating a unified, positive and meaningful culture. Especially with a diverse and dispersed workforce, employers need to not only build a supportive and inclusive culture, but one that inspires people with common values, mission and purpose.
According to Annelie Xenofontos, Senior Associate Strategy at Axiom Workplaces, “The role of the office is more important because of the shift of understanding – you’re going in with a purpose. And it all starts with leadership.” Yes, it starts from the top. So, make sure your leaders and managers set the example and live by your company values and purpose. They need to communicate these values as well as practice them at every opportunity.
Lastly, having a common purpose not only helps employees stay motivated and unified but also keeps everyone engaged and productive – wherever they are. Purpose can be the key to organisational performance. When employees understand their value and role in the company’s vision and mission, they become inspired to do their best work and contribute to the success of the business. Based on a recent McKinsey survey, employees expect their jobs to bring some sense of purpose to their lives – with 70% saying purpose is defined by their work.
Isolation is one of the biggest challenges when working from home or remotely. People want to stay connected and build social interactions with their friends and colleagues in the workplace. Although some employees do get a chance to see each other face-to-face when they are working at the office, it’s still important to have regular informal interactions across onsite and remote teams.
You can start by scheduling fortnightly or monthly events that’s open for all employees to attend, like trivia nights, games, and other social gatherings. Also encourage teams to have their own informal meetings and catch-ups. These social interactions not only improve employee wellbeing, but also keep everyone happy, connected, and engaged.
With employees working from different locations and often interacting through virtual platforms, any conflict that arises is often set aside or swept under the rug, without the chance of any resolution.
The key to managing conflict in a hybrid workplace is to build trust with employees and within teams, no matter where people are working from. Everyone should be able to speak out and talk about any conflict, disagreement or misunderstanding.
Opening the lines of communication is also essential in managing conflict. Leaders and managers need to be ready to listen and give sound and unbiased advice. A direct call, either through phone or video, is always better than sending an email or instant message. This way, team members feel that personal touch, even if they are working from a distant location.
People can sometimes feel confused and overwhelmed when working in a hybrid environment. So, it’s essential for leaders and managers to set clear expectations for teams and employees. Make sure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities, whether they are working remotely or at the office.
Annelie added that once expectations have been set, it’s important for leaders to step back, trust and let employees do the work. “It doesn’t matter if they’re remote or in the office. Give them the power to do their best. It’s a whole different relationship – you don’t need them to be in front of you to see they are doing work.”
Trust is definitely critical when building a positive culture – but so is openness and transparency. Keep everyone in the loop, share regularly, and ensure every staff member is informed about what’s happening in the company, industry, and even in the wider community.
If you’d like to learn more about how to prepare for the workplace of the future, read our Progressive Leader’s Guide to the Future of Work in Australia.
At Axiom, company culture is central to what we do. Why? Because it is an essential component of business success, differentiating your values from that of your competitors, uniting your employees under a singular purpose, driving team performance, and promoting resilience.
Over the past two years, it’s fair to say company culture has had a huge shake-up, with employees forced to rapidly adapt to remote working due to the pandemic. This is something Australian businesses have done remarkably well, with many companies finding that productivity has actually increased over that time. As University of Michigan economics professor, Justin Wolfers, who is currently working from home in Australia, said to The Sydney Morning Herald: “Everyone is better off – no question. Total output has gone up.”
It’s no surprise, then, that as lockdown restrictions ease across the country, many companies are looking to continue the advantages of remote working with hybrid working environments. According to a survey by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, of the 50 companies they surveyed, 42 confirmed they will be permanently adopting hybrid working policies for office-based employees. This includes companies like the four major banks, Woolworths, Telstra and Afterpay.
So what does a remote company culture look like in a hybrid workplace model as we enter 2022 and beyond? To gain more insight into how company culture has changed, and how we can get the best of both worlds moving forward, we spoke to company culture expert and CEO of Culture Incorporated, Julie Alexander. Julie founded Culture Incorporated after her own demoralising experiences with company culture in the corporate world and is passionate about creating authentic company cultures where employees can bring their best selves to work and teams can thrive.
Looking back at this time of flux, it’s interesting to see how some companies have coped with this better than others. “Over time,” says Julie, “some of us have built life rafts, and some of us have built more permanent structures, but some of us are flapping around on the surface, not really sure what’s happening, and at the mercy of changing tides.”
One significant impact on company culture has been the loss of informal interactions. Managers have fewer opportunities to casually check in with employees, and those “watercooler” moments, where employees chat while making tea in the breakroom or on their way to a meeting, have been all but lost. “We’re getting less innovation, less spreading of ideas, less sourcing of ideas from other people, because we’re having less of those accidental incidental meetings and serendipitous chats.”
Remote working has also been particularly difficult for new starters, some of whom have never stepped foot in the office or physically met their co-workers, says Julie. Without the cues available in a physical environment – Is this an office where there’s lots of banter and laughter? Or do people prefer to sit quietly at their desks and get on with it? – it is difficult for new employees to get a handle on what the company culture is like. “There are also fewer opportunities to watch other people in action, to shadow them, and to be mentored on the job, in real-time,” she says. “Some of those opportunities haven’t necessarily translated well into the virtual environment – but there are other ways that you can do it.”
The companies that have managed the transition well are those that have been able to replicate those aspects of company culture in the virtual environment. PwC Australia, for example, use virtual reality (VR) headsets to train new employees, which they found was even more effective than training them in a classroom setting.
Canva was also able to take their social groups into the virtual. “These social groups were created by the Canva team, rather than being mandated from the top. Some people said, ‘I’ve got a love of wine’, and a social group was created around that. People would get together to have wine tastings, give each other recommendations and talk all things wine. When they moved to remote working, they carried the group on over Zoom, with bottles of wine being delivered to people’s homes.”
Similarly, “Zappos had a healthy eating club. And they translated that to remote working by sending people a kit that enabled them to grow their own produce at home. And they would all sit down and eat healthy meals together over Zoom.”
These examples show that there are ways to replicate even the most unique aspects of your company culture in a virtual environment – and retaining at least some of these moving forward to a hybrid work environment will be key to keeping remote workers engaged.
According to Julie, there are three things that are key to building a successful company culture in a hybrid work environment: a willingness to experiment, allowing for autonomy and flexibility, and providing an experience.
Experimentation
Julie says it’s important to approach building hybrid company culture with the right mindset, and that is “the mindset of ‘Let’s experiment.’ Nobody’s got the right answer. All we can do is try it.”
In this brave new world of hybrid working, it’s difficult to work out what will take, so employers need to think outside the box, be open to giving things a go, and be able to be agile when things perhaps don’t work out as planned.
“I think we need to have a sort of a broad vision for the future of how we think it might be, but then let people settle into that rhythm.”
Autonomy and flexibility
In the ‘old days’, it was more about ‘bums on seats’ – if people came in early, and left late, and spent the entire day at their desks, they were seen as doing a good job, whether their output reflected it or not.
But, as Julie puts it, “I don’t get paid to sit in a seat. You pay me to get a result, and to deliver on what it is that we’re trying to achieve overall – our vision, our goals.”
“I think we need to really push decisions out to the teams and start focusing on outputs,” she says. Workers should be able to decide what hours work best for them, and to work flexibly when they need to (e.g. to take half an hour off in the afternoon to pick up the kids from school), with the understanding that they have certain objectives they need to achieve in a given week.
She also strongly advises against using surveillance software that monitors remote workers. “When we start talking about how we can track the amount of time people are working and what they’re spending their time on, that for me is a massive red flag in terms of culture.”
Providing an experience
As shown by the examples of PwC, Canva and Zappo, there are ways in which companies can translate the employee experience to a virtual environment. The challenge for companies moving to remote company culture is how to create experiences for both in-office and remote workers while ensuring no one is getting left out.
Julie offers her own experience as an example: “I run these monthly sessions where I get people together to talk about company culture. We used to do them in physical office spaces all over Sydney CBD, so that people had a visceral experience of the culture in that location. When we went virtual, we asked ourselves, ‘How do we recreate that experience?’ Now, for some things, you just can’t. But we used to, for instance, provide a really healthy lunch. So we reached out to our caterer and said, ‘Can you create us a menu and then bring it to the virtual table, so to speak?’”
Of course, it’s not one-size-fits-all. What works for one organisation may not work for another. The key to providing good experiences for your employees, says Julie, is to involve the employees themselves. “This is an opportunity to get everybody to brainstorm and to think about what would make coming into an organisation better, what would improve the day-to-day and so on. This is also the opportunity to lead with questions, rather than try to provide all the answers.”
When it comes to a supportive hybrid working environment, it’s about enhancing those aspects that remote workers have been missing, but also providing those experiences they have grown to love about working from home. For example, you may think about increasing the areas where workers can socialise and collaborate, such as break areas, informal breakout rooms and collaborative workspaces.
Some workers have also been enjoying the peace and quiet of working from home, as well as the ability to mix things up by working in different areas of the house, such as at the dining table or in the backyard, so you may want to introduce quiet areas for deep concentration or provide places to work outside if you’re lucky enough to have an outdoor balcony or courtyard.
One of the challenges for many businesses will be dealing with the fluctuating numbers of employees in the office. You may, for example, have certain days of the week, month or year when all employees are expected to come into the office, and during busy periods more employees may opt to come in too. One way to manage this would be by creating flexibility in the physical office space – for example, moveable walls that allow you to accommodate large town hall meetings, and readjust to create more intimate meeting rooms. It’s also important that your tech is able to deal with this flux of employees, in order to promote digital inclusion.
Our recommendations for flexibility to be embedded in the office design and support the culture for whatever companies need, malleable & personalised workstations to suit an evolving work environment, walls that could be moved to create different-sized rooms, and agile meeting rooms with a user-friendly booking system to accommodate all types of meetings, from one-on-ones to 20-person meetings. “I think that’s the space of the future,” says Julie. “To support the culture, the space has to have that flexibility to morph itself into whatever people need.”
As businesses prepare to get workers back in the office, the hybrid company culture is right around the corner. Is your business ready? To learn more about the new norm of hybrid working, check out our comprehensive article, ‘Leading the Future of Work in Australia’.
