Evolving Perspectives on Fostering Connection, Community & Culture in the Remote and Hybrid Workplace VIRTUAL Working Group

Evolving Perspectives on Fostering Connection, Community, and Culture in the Remote and Hybrid Workplace
Thursday, November 3, 2022 | 12:00-1:30pm (ET)

Download the Working Group Notes

With an increased prevalence of hybrid and remote work arrangements continuing into the foreseeable future, organizational leaders are considering how to make these arrangements work in a more intentional and sustainable way. Although a rapid shift to remote work at the onset of the pandemic forced managers to figure out how to virtually supervise, communicate with, and coordinate employees nearly overnight, leaders realize that while initially adaptive these emergency response strategies are not conducive to developing employee relationships, nurturing connection and community, and building and preserving organizational culture in remote and hybrid work contexts in the long term. Moreover, in this time, a variety of factors have instigated change in the organizational cultures of many companies, inviting a consideration of how such changes may intersect with new approaches for communication and coordination in the workplace.

In this working group, Rebecca Kehoe, Associate Professor, Human Resource Studies will facilitate a discussion on how CAHRS companies are addressing these interrelated issues. This session is particularly well suited for HR leaders responsible for organizational culture, remote/hybrid work, and/or future of work in their organizations, as well as HR business partners that regularly address these issues.

Some of the topics and questions that will guide our discussion follow:

1. One challenge of managing employees under different work arrangements is fostering connection, relationship building, and a sense of community among both employees and managers when traditional face time may be limited.
a. What challenges has your company encountered in developing both interpersonal relationships and a broader sense of work community among employees and managers in the context of remote and/or hybrid work arrangements?
b. What tools and practices have been most helpful in overcoming these obstacles? What approaches have been least helpful?
c. Have your approaches to addressing these challenges changed over time with an increased sense that remote and hybrid work are likely here to stay?

2. We can think of company culture as characterizing the shared values and expectations for behavior and interaction in an organization.
a. Has your companys culture changed since the onset of the pandemic? If so, how has it changed? To what extent have these changes been influenced by a shift to more remote and/or hybrid work? By other, broader trends in employment?
b. What lessons have you learned about building and sustaining culture in an environment with more managers and employees working hybrid or entirely remotely?
c. What are your key concerns or anticipated challenges related to your companys culture moving forward?

Our virtual working groups are kept small to allow for rich discussion and best practice sharing. Given the limited size of each session, we ask that you only register for a session if you will be able to attend for the duration. Prior to the session, attendees should give some thought to lessons learned so far from return to the office, so they are prepared to share with the group. We also strongly prefer that participants be on camera during the session to allow for more engaging interaction.