• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, August 16, 2023

Many companies are struggling with the balance of work-from-home and back-to-office. The challenge is, employees don’t want to be forced back, and even though everyone completely understands the benefits of being in the office, employees have realized the flexibility that comes from not having to force a daily, sometimes-long, commute.  While some ompanies are trying to enact draconian ways of getting people back, there are other kinder, gentler, and very effective ways to get people engaged again.

First off, getting people to the office should be a pull, rather than a push, strategy.  You should create reasons for them to want to come in, rather than forcing them to come in.  Some ideas I’ve heard recently were rather lame, like team Happy Hour days.

Rather, find a cultural way to get people back that doesn’t revolve around booze.  Why not institute a day of the week where Zoom and Teams will be turned off, encouraging people to meet in person?  Many people say that when they go into the office, they simply hole up and spend their time on video calls, so why not make a day with no video calls?  People can use those days for strategic work-in-person meetings or writing.  There used to be “no-meeting Fridays,"  but what about “no-video Wednesdays”?

Why not create a monthly “give back day” where your company brings people into the office and gets them to do a community volunteering event?  They can engage and talk about business outside of the office while they do something good for the local community.

I was recently introduced to B Goodly, a company that offers team volunteering events in Los Angeles.  They help you organize these outings, and you simply show up and engage.  Make it a half-day event in the community, preceded by a half-day of face-to-face meetings.  We all want to do good, so use that to pull people back into the office.

Sometimes, being in the office is not the solution.  It’s simply a scapegoat for something you need, which is the feeling of dropping into an office and asking off-the-cuff questions.  One way of doing that in the new world is video office hours.  I’ve used these in the past and they are rather effective.

The policy is simple.  You simply tell the team around you that between the hours of 9 a.m. to noon, you will leave your video camera on while you are in your office, and people are encouraged to just pop in and catch up, ask questions, or whatever.  If multiple people pop in, that’s great!

This replicates as closely as you can the virtual water-cooler.  You can even set up a literal virtual water-cooler and simply leave that on during certain times of the day, allowing anyone to pop in and catch up.  

The problem with video is not so much the accessibility as the formality.  You have to schedule a call, or IM someone to see if they’re around.  It’s more formal than simply popping your head into the office and asking “got a minute?”  Not every question requires a formal meeting, and virtual office hours are a way to recreate that tried-and-true method of engagement.

Also, you can, and should, schedule a once-a-month in-person meeting.  Getting people together for a few days each month can be energizing, as well as productive.  Make a portion of that time formal and a portion unscheduled for random, opportunistic meeting time.   You may be great at what you do, and you may not need much direction, but the people around you do and they benefit from your tutelage.  Being available to them is as important as you needing to engage with other people for your job.

This debate is not going away, and over the next few years we will likely settle into some form of hybrid work.   It may even lead to the four-day work week (wishful thinking, but still a possibility based on the data that suggests it is more productive).  In the meantime, find ways to pull your teams together -- and let’s see what comes of it!