What’s the Next ‘Normal’?
The questions leaders should be asking now about the future

Not since 911 has one event triggered such global impact and uncertainty across all businesses and industries. The unprecedented speed and scale of organisational change has challenged even the prepared leadership team.

The past month has seen leaders scrambling to adjust to the first phase of pandemic, supporting their teams to adjust to the new ways of working and finding fast fixes for their business model to keep the business operational.

Most organisations are now in the second phase, preparing and adjusting for an uncertain period of remote working or strict protocols for a phased return to work to support essential workers in industries such as manufacturing. One of the biggest challenges for leaders will be to keep their teams engaged and productive as the impact of isolated living takes its emotional toll. HR and internal communications teams around the world are in critical demand to support leaders and employees.

However, the real challenge and priority for leaders is the longer-term impact of the pandemic on their business and teams. This pandemic is not simply a case of ‘weathering the storm’ and then returning to normal; the broader implications of this situation will force a different type of change and organisational behaviour required by businesses and leaders.

What leaders do now to support their employees and plan for a changing business model will define the future success of their business.

An imbalanced Employer Value Proposition (EVP) highlighting differences between manufacturing and retail employees and office-based employees

Perhaps the biggest challenge that businesses are facing is the reality that COVID-19 has exposed a significant imbalance between manufacturing and retail employees and office-based workers. Leaders and HR teams will have to address the issues/inequalities that have been revealed. Working processes need to be addressed to provide greater support to an organisation’s essential workers and for this to be recognised across the whole business.

The hierarchy of employee needs has been upended, not just to essential workers but all employee groups. What they expect and will demand in the future in both benefits and behaviours means a new approach is essential if businesses want to retain and attract top talent.

New employee expectations of organisational ways of working

A lot has been said about changing employee expectations on future ways of working; its correct that COVID-19 has shown us that things can be different, the impossible is possible when needed. But, the challenge for leaders is understanding what these expectations are, and if these expectations are sustainable for the business long-term.

Early data reveals that leaders will likely face are requests for:

• • Increased flexibility in remote working
• • More flexible working hours
• • Changes to employee benefits

There is no one size fits all, quick solution. The key to leaders getting this right is listen to what employees are saying and understand what the impact of these different requests will be on the operations and ways of working of the business. Leaders need to evaluate what is practical and right for the longer-term success of the business.

How they develop and implement these organisational changes is critical. Traditionally, most organisations tend to design and implement change in silos – by function, business unit, special project. If anything, this crisis has shown us that organisations need to develop and execute integrated change more to support organisation agility and productivity.

What leaders need to be thinking of now is the employee user experience (EUX). Creating integrated change plans, built and executed to enable employees to more easily do their jobs, will not only create more agile change and support increased productivity but it will also increase the employer value proposition (EVP) which will be increasingly important for brands longer term.


Conflict between employee well-being and organisational need for productivity

The speed and scale of change has challenged even the most prepared leadership. But in the large majority of cases, organisations have been able to adapt to support their teams as needed. Their focus has been on supporting the wellness and engagement of employees, which in turn supports customers and productivity.

One issue leaders should be planning for is the how they will prepare their teams for future working and bringing teams physically together – when they are allowed. There will be a conflict between the organisational needs to retain and increase productivity, and the employees’ needs to recover and recalibrate after the lockdown.

Don’t wait for the conflict – think ahead on how you can support your teams to remain productive whilst protecting their well-being. Think of this as a relay race, not a marathon.

What now, what next?

In this unprecedented moment, we all face growing uncertainty of what happens next, and not having all the answers we want or expect at this point is frustrating and difficult.

As we see in our business transformation work with clients all the time, this frustration is perfectly natural – but it’s not where we do our best work, and we need to make sure we don’t get stuck there.

What now?

It is challenging on a personal and professional level to keep focused, productive, and positive. But there have been so many great ideas and suggestions in the past few days for how to adjust to the new routine of working at home.

Some of best tips and suggestions I have seen are:

• • Keep your daily routine – wake up at the usual time, get dressed, take a lunch break, and make sure you close your laptop to keep normal working hours and avoid burnout.
• • Be Brave - Use technology to stay connected with colleagues: Teams – there are lots of ways to make video calls. Turn your webcam on – it makes such a difference to your well-being.
• • Be Social – Video calls aren’t just for work: Just because you can’t actually meet your friend or colleague at your favourite cafe doesn’t mean you can’t chat. Have a virtual lunch together … just make sure you connect.
• • Crowded house – work separately: Give yourself space and respect others who need it to work too.
• • Move: If you can (and are allowed to go outside) … go for a walk. Exercise is really important for mental health as well as for boosting immunity. If you cannot leave your home – use some of the brilliant health and wellness apps out there or take up yoga
• • Take a break: Make sure you are taking regular breaks from your computer – schedule them in fact.
• • Home/office: It is really important to have a practical space to work – table/desk to put your computer on, chair that you can comfortably sit on at the right height.
• • Kids at home?: I don’t have kids and can only imagine how challenging it must be for parents at the moment. There are some great activities to help keep them entertained. @themothershipdxb is a well-known mum blogger and journalist; she is live-streaming reading children’s books on Instagram.

What next? A Smart Working Evolution

With any type of change, we all experience it in different ways and at different stages – it’s never easy, and it’s completely normal to follow the standard change curve.



We are all thinking ahead to help our teams and friends stay positive and keep focused. As the situation evolves we may move back and forth along this curve.

Right now, the priority should be to help each other adjust to these shifting conditions. To have patience with ourselves and one another, and create space for the different ways we’re processing what’s happening.

Over time, we will adapt and create new routines and ways of doing things. I’m confident we will even find creative solutions and better ways of working. After all, we’ve been practicing cultivating an above-the-line, growth mindset: agile, creative and resilient. This moment is what our work with “the line” is all about. Our new behaviours will feel strange at first but we’ll soon adapt and evolve as professionals and as a team, as a result.

#transformation

#productivitytips

#wellbeingatwork

#employeeengagement