It can be difficult to maintain, grow, and develop company culture when most of us are working from home - and will probably be doing so for months to come. Your remote team culture will flourish or fail, purely on communication. Get communication wrong, and you’ll find that your culture just won’t stick.

When we can’t bump into colleagues in the lift, put the world to rights by the water cooler or have an impromptu lunch to chat about life, the universe and everything, teams can become disparate and misaligned. I have been chatting with our clients recently and here are some of their best ideas to keep remote workers feeling part of the wider team:

• Most communication tools can be left open during working hours either as a desktop app or browser tab, with notifications keeping you updated. Something as simple as keeping that tab open will keep the door open for communication, creating a more cohesive and collaborative workplace.
• Host virtual lunchrooms where colleagues can meet, chat, or simply listen to background ambient conversations while enjoying lunch.
• Encourage any new employees to arrange ‘face to face’ virtual meetings with as many of the team as they feel comfortable with; particularly those who are in different departments.
• Create a central hub with company activities so that people can organise and participate in anything from book clubs to happy hours.
• Promote a (virtual) safe space to encourage everyone to contribute, not just the extroverts. Don’t just focus on work-related topics either; asking about general happiness and mood encourages openness - perhaps even pose problems to the wider community which can be tackled together. e.g. how to manage back to back video calls with two toddlers running around?
• Having a distributed team means that your culture is going to be more difficult to grasp for new team members, so involve the entire team to make sure that everyone is on the same page and you are all heading in the same direction and not just putting out fires or dealing with the latest emergency. The resulting document should clearly articulate the company culture to everyone in your organisation, new and old, right from day one. It should be clear about expectations, how performance is measured, how you assess employees for cultural fit, and the like.
• Set a time for a formal quarterly survey to get an update from every team member to gauge the sentiment amongst your team at any time. There are some excellent people analytics tools out there to help with this including our Friisberg Network Advisory software.

Andrea Falleni

CEO of Capgemini Italy

Talks with: Guglielmo Sallustio, Partner, Friisberg & Partners Italy

"Imagination is the Key"

The risks and opportunities during this phase of radical change have been the subject of much analysis, but making forecasts on the future structure of the business is not always easy and trying to draw conclusions about what has changed is potentially premature.

Nevertheless, a key concept is that organizations must question themselves. It is time for creation: big and especially small companies need to use their imagination to think about new models of work. Also, we must be conscious that many of the challenges we are dealing with may not be only transitory.

Technology remains the engine of this business transformation, and it is necessary for enterprise resilience.

The use of collaboration tools is a trend that enables new models of interaction within companies. IT and Intelligent Automation, AI and data analytics are for sure the most influential technologies for helping organisations increase operational efficiency and transform existing business processes while cloud technologies enable and power the other emerging technologies.

Organizations in all sectors should really put themselves in the customers’ shoes, in other words they should reinforce a customer centric approach as their first challenge. They should then develop solutions to improve customer experience, offering digital services primarily but without losing the human connection on their virtual channels and therefore their connection with the client.

This is the best time to rethink our leadership model too. Remote working necessitates being authentic and having the courage to experiment in order to create a real “digital world”, in which it is possible to develop the sense of belonging and share team values and goals. In this context, the harder challenge for organizations is probably succeeding at switching to a model in which everyone can be evaluated only by their achievement of goals that have to be clearly identified and shared.

Until a few months ago ideas came mainly from a direct exchange of ideas, but now we need a cultural revolution. To enable this soft skills, flexible reasoning and empathy are crucial to define a right balance in both customer relations and team coordination.

Finally, organizations need to invest in green transition: I believe that sustainability must be the focus of corporate strategies to create greater value in the long term, radically changing the relationship between companies and customers.

Gartner has identified 5 actions for CHROs in its recent publication "How to Build a Resilient and Responsive Organization":

1. Take a dynamic approach to reskilling
2. Find talent that generates business impact
3. Redesign work to enable employees to be more responsive
4. Leverage hybrid workforce models
5. Adopt agile principles into HR projects and operating models

"Quality of hires directly impacts the business — for better or worse".

"Every hire matters more now".

[ Go to full source report on Gartner.com ]

REPORT

"Women in the Workplace 2020" is a must-read report from McKinsey & Company.

In summary:

• More than one in four women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely.
• Mothers are more than three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving during the pandemic. In fact, they’re 1.5 times more likely than fathers to be spending an additional three or more hours per day on housework and childcare. Many mothers are considering downshifting their career or leaving the workforce, and mothers are significantly more likely to be thinking about taking these steps than fathers.
• Senior-level women are significantly more likely than men at the same level to feel burned out, under pressure to work more, and “as though they have to be ‘always on.’” And they are 1.5 times more likely than senior-level men to think about downshifting their role or leaving the workforce because of COVID-19. Almost three in four cite burnout as a main reason.
• Before this year, Women in the Workplace research had consistently found that women and men leave their companies at comparable rates. However, due to the challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis, as many as two million women are considering leaving the workforce. If these women feel forced to leave the workplace, we’ll end up with far fewer women in leadership—and far fewer women on track to be future leaders. All the progress we’ve seen over the past six years could be erased.
• The choices companies make could shape the workplace for women for decades to come—for better or for worse.
• There are two paths ahead. If companies recognize the scale of these problems and do all they can to address them, they can help their employees get through this difficult time and even reinvent the way they work so it’s more flexible and sustainable for everyone. If not, the consequences could badly hurt women, business, and the economy as a whole.

[ Go to full source report on McKinsey.com ]

REPORT

Burcin Ressamoglu

CEO of Sodexo Employee & Consumer Engagement

Talks with: Lorri Lowe, Partner, Friisberg & Partners UK

Employee Engagement is now more important than ever. What changes have you seen over the past year and what are your expectations for the future?

The change to remote working has for many companies meant a dynamic acceleration and a rapid embedding of digital ways of working. Without physical interaction and positive reinforcement of an office culture, it is too easy for people to feel isolated and undervalued – this is the challenge for many employers. There is a tendency for some people to work too hard, to burn out - perhaps to over compensate for not being visible on a daily basis and maybe some, who have been hiding behind others, are suddenly exposed.

Employers want different and instant ways of connecting with and rewarding their remote teams to keep productivity and engagement high and not lose the value of a shared work ethic. Increasingly digitised ways of working are undoubtedly the future and similarly access to ways of incentivising teams will be through readily accessible and easily usable digital platforms.

I believe leaders need to find ways to show they care in order to maintain productivity, focus and engagement of their team. Digital Benefit platforms are increasingly important and we have seen more employers turn to these to better take care of employees to ensure their wellbeing.

Leadership teams are focusing less on the long-term strategy of the company, perhaps less overtly on the financials, instead spending more time connecting with their people to ensure they know and understand what is expected of them. If someone feels isolated, knowing what steps can quickly be taken to re-focus them is vital.

What would you encourage CEOs and Boards to do to maximise engagement from remote workers?

This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge - not just in terms of maintaining employee engagement, but also their overall efficiency. I believe that at this time the leadership team must be more visible and accessible than ever.

It is important to celebrate and encourage a better work/life balance. In the past leaders were understandably focused on the best ways of transacting the company strategy, but now it is more about having the right mindset and the right tools to effectively manage their teams remotely. Being mindful of your people’s needs, not expecting everyone to always be available 24/7, ensuring the team has regular breaks, communicating a shared understanding of the KPIs and ensuring everyone feels supported – in summary, looking after your employees’ wellbeing has never been so important.

As leaders we must take care of ourselves too. It is all too easy to be so concerned about the team that it is easy to forget about yourself. Being a role model to promote wellbeing for the Board and leadership team is essential.

Transparency of feelings and open communication are also vital. At Sodexo, we meet formally and informally, virtually of course, to check in and discuss where we are, how we are feeling about home, about the office, and what might we need. This means any action can be taken promptly and everyone feels they have a voice and are heard. Informal communication is very important – e.g. quizzes, late afternoon drinks in smaller teams promote easier conversations, so if there is a problem we can immediately help.

As a CEO, how have you changed how you run your business over the past 6-9 months?

Socially and economically the world has changed. Previously we worked collaboratively in our office and I knew working remotely would not replace the daily physical interactions. Of course, the general principles stay the same in terms of how employees bring potential to the business, how they can best contribute and how we can all engender trust. But I took the time to do lots of research on remote working and I reviewed our communication strategy straight away adjusting my daily focus from addressing the long term goals to being more agile and nimble – we had to evolve and quickly. We introduced a temporary program , we identified targets over 6 months rather than a year, and with shorter term objectives we can be more agile, reactive and proactive in response to change from the impacts of COVID19.

What changes have you seen in consumer behaviours and their relationship with brands and business?

One million business consumers interact and use our products daily, so we genuinely understand consumer behaviours. It was vital that our platform was totally digital and incredibly user friendly. Consumers now demand short lead times – not 3 days anymore, but immediate. They also want more for their money and want to shop with trusted brands. Demands for our discount platform (engagement of consumers is positive where there are good discounts) is high – people are more focused on their earnings and household budgets.

What advice would you give to other CEOs now that would never have crossed your mind a year ago?

Never underestimate what you and your team can achieve. In 120 hours we moved from being office based to 100% remote working. We embraced the technical, adjusted the infrastructure, aligned our collective mindset, and ensured all our processes were in line. I might never have thought that possible - after years of discussions, in just two months we were 100% digital – this as a result of external pressures to adapt to unforeseen change. We achieved this together and now we know we can achieve anything. It is important to share ambition and to look for the potential in people - the real potential. Taking the time to reflect on what you have achieved is paramount and, of course, never underestimating anyone.

Leadership is a combination of example and inspiration. Has recent experience changed your views on what makes a good manager and if so, what do you need from your senior leadership team now?

Being a positive leader means caring for your team, engaging with them openly, finding different ways of communicating and listening to what they need.  This can mean you have to stretch yourself to demonstrate effective leadership skills - and that isn’t always easy. It is vital that those on the leadership team adapt quickly to new technologies and lead on this efficiently to best communicate with teams in the right way. Building and maintaining trust is essential. Finally, never underestimate the importance of a ‘thank you’ - and meaning it. Many people are understandably concerned about their observable performance; they are worried about their perceived contribution to the success of the business. Employee recognition has never been so vital and recognition platforms drive positive culture and best practice.

Friisberg & Partners International is proud to be a preferred supplier of executive search to Sodexo in the UK.

Yellow Eve, a newly-launched magazine for equality-driven career women, featured an article by Friisberg Partner, Lorri Lowe.

ARTICLE

"Diversity is the result, but inclusion is the action."

Over the past 14 years, the Global Gender Gap Index included in The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2020 has served as a compass to track progress on relative gaps between women and men on health, education, economy, and politics. Through this annual yardstick, stakeholders within each country are able to set priorities relevant in each specific economic, political and cultural context.

This year’s report highlights the growing urgency for action. Without the equal inclusion of half of the world’s talent, we will not be able to deliver on the promise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for all of society, grow our economies for greater shared prosperity or achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At the present rate of change, it will take nearly a century to achieve parity, a timeline we simply cannot accept in today’s globalized world, especially among younger generations who hold increasingly progressive views of gender equality.

Lorri Lowe, Chair of Friisberg's Diversity Group, who writes and speaks regularly on employee engagement and corporate cultures, highlights the slow rate of progress being made towards parity between the sexes, particularly in boardrooms:

"Without some widespread recognition that there is a problem to be addressed, these statistics will continue to be disheartening. The acknowledgement needs to made, by employers, that  - as Jesse Jackson famously said - when everyone is included, everyone wins."

I am very proud to announce that Friisberg & Partners International has upgraded its website.

We have made friisberg.com much faster, easier to navigate, more welcoming and visually vibrant. It is important that we make information easily accessible to our current and prospective clients, and candidates too, regarding market trends and to offer our insights and services in a compelling format.

Jörgen Friisberg founded Friisberg & Partners in Switzerland in 1977 and since then we have assisted, advised and supported clients all over the world – in fact we all have clients who have remained loyal to us for all that time - because we always put our clients’ interests first.

Our client-centric ethos was a founding principle of Jörgen's and this value remains core to our firm.

In 2013, I was elected Chairman & President of Friisberg & Partners International. During that time I am proud to say that I have overseen a period of considerable development and growth and realised our maxim moto of ‘Global Reach + Local Knowledge’. Our firm now has over 250 professionals in more than 40 locations across the world.

• Through our highly experienced consultants and researchers we offer our clients a results-orientated and professional approach to finding the exceptional talent who will add value to their businesses.
• We work with companies and organisations to increase efficiency by matching personal competence with the demands of the job using fair, relevant and objective methods. An organization that has the right mix of competencies and motivation will optimize profitability.
• By helping clients to build an organization that creates the best conditions to achieve their goals, the outcome will ensure solid long-term development of positive results.

However, development never stops and this is even more true today when the world struggles with the pandemic. It is still to soon to really see what the overall outcome will be, but one clear consequence is the evolution and acceleration of different ways of working that the market has been talking about for at least a decade - which will not disappear when this is over.

Actually, perhaps it will never be over, so we all have to adapt to the new normal: working from home, not travelling so much, virtual setups and increasing digitalization. This will result in new demands on us all:

• Working from different locations means of course that the logistics must be in place, but the way organizations are structured and managed might need to change too.
• In terms of the efficacy of the leaders and the way their performance is measured means that some managers will adapt but some will not and may need to be replaced.
• Those aspects of business we took for granted before the pandemic, such as face to face meetings, will be replaced mostly with virtual calls.
• Companies have changed the way they go to market using all sorts of new technology.
• People are learning quickly because they have to - they are learning by ‘doing’ and not from ‘education’ this will inevitably elicit a much better uptake and sustain these behaviours better than any training that might have been forced upon them!

Indeed, we have discovered that looking again at the way we conduct our own business within Friisberg might just make our own impact and contributions even better.

For example, one of our services, Management Audit, has become increasingly important to our corporate clients. An audit highlights areas for improving management and provides an objective view as to the likelihood of the management team's abilities to deliver planned results.

We review and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of directors, executives and key managers against the company strategy and business objectives. We can then make recommendations as to how to restructure the organisation and improve the performance of its key people.

Friisberg’ s Management Audit experience helps global multinationals, mid-sized businesses and owner-manged firms.  Our breadth allows us to offer other follow-on services including Coaching & Mentoring and Executive Search as necessary.

Development puts new demands on organizations as well as managers. In this new reality Friisberg stands strong in our conviction that we have the experience, knowledge and methodology to assist, help and support our Clients into this new reality - not only to maintain excellent performance but, in fact, to improve it!

Peter Strandberg
President

Well, we had an interesting summer from a business perspective in Hungary.

Many of our assignments were stopped, or put on hold and obviously not much new business landed on our desks. We had lost half of our expected business by May - comparing it to the volume we had in H1 2019.

Over the past 6 months we had many Teams meetings with our Friisberg colleagues, globally. I spoke many times with my friend and colleague, Alexander Matthies (Friisberg Germany) about the trends impacting us in Hungary, the similar trends affecting his business in Germany and yet how he continued to be so successful – seemingly Covid proof.

He shared Friisberg Germany’s strategy designed to keep their 2020 revenue plans alive - or even exceed them.  In all honesty his advice sounded a little at odds with my own instincts:

• continuous and systematic business development;
• active discovery of new business segments;
• accurate analysis of sales activities;
• actively recruiting the best consultants on the market during the downturn;
• being in contact with clients who see you as a trusted advisor.

I was astonished!

Could it be that simple?

Then I thought about how much it would cost if we simply waited passively for the pandemic to be over. The answer was indeed simple: if we waited, it would cost us a lot.

So, we actively adopted Alexander’s advice and it resulted in several new mandates. Then he called us with two cross-border Searches which we quickly and successfully delivered. Now, we are currently meeting prospective consultants in Budapest to further enhance our team.

Our existing clients have increasingly turned to us during this crisis. We are objectively able to highlight the weaknesses within their organisations by suggesting they talk openly with us as a trusted partner. By sharing ideas and openly discussing future decisions with trusted friends and colleagues, we can all adopt new and successful strategies.

We decided to shape our future instead of simply reacting to it.

We can all shape our futures.

Over the past six months Friisberg & Partners International has interviewed many candidates remotely.

With coronavirus infections rising again, working from home looks likely to continue for a while longer - and so will online interviews.

Recently Mary Keane and Lorri Lowe, both Partners in Friisberg, spoke about this shift.

They discussed the advice we now offer to candidates:

Mary Keane, Partner Friisberg Czech Republic:

• Even if we are by now used to virtual meetings, interviewing is very different from any other professional conversation, so make sure you prepare. By mitigating technical, camera and body-language-related factors, you improve the odds that the interviewers will focus on the substance of your answers and what you could do for the company.
• Body language and eye contact is very important during a in-person interview and to convey similar connection during a video, it is important to avoid the instinct to look directly at the image on the screen, instead you should look directly to the webcam when speaking.
• With prompt start and end times to online meetings, there is less opportunity for small-talk, so make every question and answer insightful and relevant, be clear and concise but friendly and optimistic. Smiling is contagious and can relax the mood of the interview.
• In addition to the usual research you’d do about the company investigate what the firm has done / is doing in response to Covid-19 and ask about the onboarding and induction processes in a WFH world – it really matters now.

Lorri Lowe, Partner Friisberg UK:

• I am often asked about the dress code for video interviews. Dress as you would for an in-person interview – most people feel most authoritative, credible, and competent when wearing formal business attire. However, I would suggest choosing a neutral background for your interview – amusing virtual backgrounds are rarely appropriate!
• It is worth remembering that during the interview, you won’t be getting the same level of non-verbal information from the interviewer and there’s lots of research that shows when we don’t have feedback, we tend toward a more negative bias. So for the same reason, you want to practice being relaxed during the interview. Your goal is to appear natural and entirely at ease with the circumstances.
• The crisis has made people more eager to connect with colleagues on an emotional level and your interviewer may have a higher expectation about how much warmth you convey during the interview. It’s more difficult for the interviewer to understand your enthusiasm through the screen, so make sure you’re expressive when answering questions.
• Ultimately, preparation is vital - from ensuring the technology works, to conducting adequate research before the meeting, sitting down at your computer poised and ready for any and all questions  - these are the basics to help set you apart from others.