Let The Evolution Begin – Part 1

The Opportunity We Didn’t Ask For

Our industry is suddenly confronted with a raft of new challenges and opportunities. One possible set of responses could be bundled into something we’re trying to coin a phrase for: The Work From Home Evolution. 

The game has now changed. The challenge of embracing tech generally, and recalibrating the office experience in particular, has dropped out of the sky without warning. How to prepare for and deal with the parallel challenges of technology, culture, security, productivity, employee mental health and a generally new business landscape?

According to Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress, organisations who are facing up to these challenges could fit into one of these categories below:

• Level 1 – Limited remote access for some workers in place, mainly in use for emergency situations.
• Level 2 – Organisations trying to recreate their office conditions for workers at home.
• Level 3 – Beginning to take advantage of the Evolution.
• Level 4 – Fully distributed. Expectations shift as asynchronous productivity sets in.
• Level 5 – Nirvana: We actually perform better as a distributed organisation.

We will discuss these categories in more detail in the next article. 

Practice Managers are suddenly confronted with transforming a busy, bustling office into a distributed (a better word than “remote”) workforce.  Have they had time to think about how to preserve and perhaps improve the culture of the office in these hard times? Beyond the obvious technical issues to be solved, possibly having to deal with the devastating task of letting staff go, there are several other matters to consider, such as:

1. No longer physically meeting clients to discuss sensitive legal issues and sometimes terrible life situations.
2. The manager’s “vibe” test is gone. No more wandering around the office and checking in with staff, finding out what help is needed, what’s happening at home, what they’re up to after work.
3. Training, upskilling and evaluations probably become harder to perform and anyway, less of a priority.
4. Organisation of WP pools, accounts staff no longer having access to printers and special stationery, in-and-out trays a distant memory.
5. Is the physical mail still to be collected every morning?
6. Adjusting to mainly text-based communications and the risks of these comms being taken the wrong way.
7. Managing the firm’s expectations of its ‘rainmakers’ and other sources of new business.
8. The possible breakdown of team/department dynamics. A healthy competition within and between teams can be a crucial piece of a firm’s culture.
9. Office-based charity drives/fundraising activities for schools etc are suddenly impossible.

There is not a one-to-one technological fix to all the questions above, nor the many others not mentioned. However, the best aspects of office life and culture don’t all need to be sacrificed while our industry evolves.

1. Has your firm considered a digital intake/interview form for its website? Companies like Settify have developed sophisticated front ends to help onboard your client.
2. Can your remote working environment provide video conferencing for the Manager’s check-in? Body language and facial expressions can be gauged to some extent this way. Just ensure to schedule them to avoid catching someone off guard and working in their underwear.
3. Many online courses, video resources and other digital training materials exist. Desktop sharing and video conferencing is generally ok for group training and very good for one-on-one sessions.
4. Microsoft Teams, Google’s G-Suite or even just plain old Outlook and many others provides the ability to create digital workspaces for WP teams to communicate with authors and stay organised. There could be ways to digitise the delivery of receipts. 
5. If not already being done, physical mail can be scanned and distributed digitally, either via email or directly into a Document Management System.
6. Adjusting to mainly text-based comms can be a starting point for discussing the firm’s culture and adjusting expectations. A simple place to start is to assume the best intent. It’s so easy to take text comms the wrong way. Assume the best intent and work it out from there.
7. Taking the cultural challenge further, it should be possible to set up an esports league for those in the office who like to play sports together socially. A million online games exist to suit all tastes. Digital versions of chess tournaments, card games, board games in general or practically anything are available free and in the browser to keep some of these connections between staff alive.

We’re being presented with the chance to rebuild something that’s been broken by forces beyond our control. A digital, distributed workforce will not be the same as a busy, bustling office. This doesn’t – it mustn’t – mean staff have to feel even more isolated. 

Despite the demands of health and hygiene, your carefully crafted workplace culture can continue to be protected and nurtured. There’s an opportunity – one we didn’t ask for but one we must take – for us all to stay feeling productive, useful and valued. Our workplaces could remain or even become our main point of virtual contact with the outside world.
(The above thoughts are inspired by Matt Mullenweg’s conversation with Sam Harris. To hear the complete conversation on these topics, go here and download the podcast.)