Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Strategy

The Keys to Imprinting Innovation Into Company Culture Are Agility And Flexibility

Over the past 10 years we’ve seen a lot of new innovation within the tech startup community. What prevents large organizations from innovating at the same rate as small tech companies?

Source: www.forbes.com

This article presents us with an interview of Gabe Cooper, a leading mind in the software field.  Mr. Cooper discusses the need for larger tech organizations to become more “agile and resilient”, especially in the face of so many successful startup tech companies sprouting up these days.  Mr. Cooper stresses the importance  of agility and flexibility when it comes to a business model as opposed to a rigid, straight-forward approach that lacks the innovation shown by startup competition.

We at Stegmeier Consulting Group believe that agility and flexibility is just as important in the physical work space as it is in a corporate strategy.  Larger companies hoping to develop, maintain, or improve an innovative culture may want to take time to study the landscape in which their employees work.  Does this environment allow for collaboration?  Can employees move freely about the workplace without losing their ability to be productive?  And what remote working capabilities exist so employees spend more time generating ideas rather than commuting?  At SCG, we possess the tools and experience that can answer these questions and guide your company through a successful change initiative.  

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Blog

Solving the Open-Office Paradox

Several recent articles such as “Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace.” and “Open-plan offices can be bad for your health” have suggested open-office environments are distracting, stressful, and even unsanitary. The claims conjure mental images of shared Read More

Workplace Flexibility

Flexible Working Myths

There are loads of myths about flexible working that may be putting you off, so we bust some of the most common ones.

Source: www.totaljobs.com

Op-ed pieces and interviews like this one can be a great source for new ideas, but they often do not have statistical sources listed. Never base your case for workplace flexibility on statistics from unknown sources! Be sure to fact-check before presenting to colleagues. Chances are, they will want to know the source as well.  

Workplace Flexibility

How Flex Work Is Impacting Business Collaboration

Contrary to predictions otherwise, many companies still marginalize flex work as a fleeting trend, oblivious to the direct impact it’s already made on businesses everywhere. The ability to work where you want and when you want is now a necessity for all types of workers—workers in the field, business travelers, employees catching up after office hours—pushing workplace technology to support new levels of mobility and flexibility.

Source: www.workflexibility.org

Envisioning what the future workplace will look like is always exciting for us here at SCG.  The survey results mentioned  in this article  predicting 73% of work will mostly take place from remote locations by 2050 reinforces our belief that companies will continue to seek out ways to offer mobility and flexibility to their employees in coming years.

But what will that look like?  Will almost everyone have a home office?  Perhaps.  Or perhaps we will see a continued surge in the popularity of Coworking spaces such as WeWork.  One thing is for certain: technology will play an enormous role, as it does already.  Websites and programs that allow for collaboration across great distances by distributed employees are almost sure to become more mainstream (for examples, see the 21 Tools That Will Help Your Remote Team Work Better Together).

And now the big question: where do you start?  If your organization is intrigued by the prospect of flexible and/or remote work for your employees and the associated benefits, contacting Stegmeier Consulting Group is a great first step.  Our initial services include a sharing of our research and experience in the field of Change Management, as well as our thoughts on how our consultants can assist in your initiative.  

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Strategy

Is Your Strategy A Compelling Story People Understand? – TalentCulture

Working alongside executive leadership teams at large companies, I find that one of the key opportunities for organizational growth and transformation is when leaders recognize the need to revisit, refresh or redefine the key building blocks that drive their business. When the CEO or CMO realizes it’s time to reinvigorate and reposition their brand it oftentimes highlights the need to refine or redefine their overall business strategy.

Source: www.talentculture.com

At Stegmeier Consulting Group we strongly agree that a company’s vision or mission statement and core values are important building blocks of a successful organization.  In fact, our research has identified the vision/mission statements and a company’s core values as two of the 15 Critical Influences that factor into human behavior in the workplace.  Corporations that want to re-energize their strategy and their employees could indeed benefit by taking a step back to review these factors in order to take larger steps forward.


Our company specializes in workplace change initiatives.  While many may associate that with simply the redesign of physical space, our holistic approach allows us consult on every one of our 15 Critical Influences.  To discover what all of those influences are, or to find out how Stegmeier Consulting can assist your business, please contact us.


Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change


Blog, News, Workplace Strategy

Distractions in the Open Office: What You Can Do – Diane Stegmeier’s WCPN Interview

The average American spends more time at work than on any other activity. But the work space doesn’t meet everyone’s needs. There was a time when the open office was all the rage, as advocates argued breaking down the walls builds up creativity. But employees say it just builds up the noise – making it impossible to get any work done.  SCG founder Diane Stegmeier was recently interviewed about the topic everyone seems to have an opinion about–open office plans.

How quickly do the words ‘open office environment’ prompt a strong debate? Give a listen to NPR’s The Sound of Ideas, where radio host Mike McIntyre facilitated a lively discussion on the topic, Where We Work. Thanks to those who called in with great questions & comments regarding the challenges of concentrating in the open workplace.

Telework

How Flex Work is Bad for Work-Life Balance

No more commute. No more awkward elevator rides. No more watching the clock tick slowly toward quitting time. And, best of all, flex work means better work-life balance.

 

Except only it’s not as easy as it sounds. Flexible work arrangements aren’t an automatic fix for work-life fit. 

Source: workplace.care.com

Often times we here at SCG come across articles that cover the benefits of working from home or that provide helpful tips for the remote worker (you may have seen Stegmeier Consulting Group post articles in the past such as 9 Things Successful People Do When Working From Home, for example).

The uniqueness of this piece lies in the fact that it plays devil’s advocate and cautions readers to think twice before simply waltzing into a work from home setup.  The risks and pitfalls that are inherent with a telework program do exist, and it is important to be aware of these issues whether you are a veteran of the remote working environment, or someone that is newly transitioning out of working 9-5 at the office.

Our company has significant experience working with organizations that are instituting new, or expanding current telework programs.  We recommend (and assist with) the development of remote work policies that set expectations for everyone involved with teleworkers, including their coworkers and superiors.  We caution organizations not to look at remote workers as employees that should labor around the clock simply because of their convenient access to their home office.  While seemingly an efficient solution to address problems  that arise at various times throughout the day (or night), over-dependence on teleworkers can contribute to their inability to separate work-time from personal time, which can lead to employee burnout.

Telework does offer the best of both worlds:  the potential for increased productivity and employee work-life balance. However, there is no magic switch to flip to make the strategy work. Like most successful ventures in the business world, a teleworking initiative must be thoroughly planned and properly implemented.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change


Telework

The Benefits of Remote Working

Raise your hand if you would love to wake up and walk 10 feet and arrive at work! Well this is exactly what I do every morning. My office is located 10ft from my bed. It’s a blessing and a curse. N…

Source: www.business2community.com

It is incredible (and refreshing) to see that 10% of the workforce is already working from home according to the Reuters statistic referenced in this article.  Incredible because the concept of punching the clock day in and day out at the office was the normal work environment for so long.  Refreshing because the statistic also shows employers are coming around to appropriately utilizing the technology they have  to allow employees the flexibility that has become so desired in the workforce today.

Corporations that have yet to embrace a telework policy for employees may be hesitant for a variety of reasons, including the cons that Dr. Thomas-Rodgers brings to light in her article.  Partnering with Stegmeier Consulting Group however can help alleviate those concerns.  Your organization does not have to be on its own when assessing which employees fit the new remote work approach, developing remote work policies, or devising and holding training sessions for employees and management alike.  Our company has over 18 years of experience assisting businesses with workplace change initiatives.  Contact us to see how we can put that experience to work for you.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

How Your Miserable Open Office Might Change This Year – Fast Company

2015 is the year of fine-tuning the open office design.

Source: www.fastcompany.com

So you have modernized your office design complete with open layouts, casual working spaces, and new strategies that encourage collaboration and mobility.  Great!  The problem?  The new approach just isn’t catching on in the office, and the investment your company has made in this change doesn’t look poised to yield a promising return.

If this situation has your organization perplexed, you’re not alone. There are several factors (or, Critical Influences as we here at Stegmeier Consulting Group refer to them) that our research shows could have caused this disconnect between the intended results of the workplace change and the actual results.  Rest assured, however, that there are a number of things that can still be done to get your workplace initiative back on track.

Whether it is through training, surveys, focus groups, or other forms of employee engagement, Stegmeier can help your organization pinpoint and overcome whatever hurdles may be in the way.  Don’t settle for the status quo and assume your endeavor is a lost cause.  Contact us to learn more about the 15 Critical Influences that contribute to the success of any workplace initiative, and to learn more about how SCG can assist in making your office a destination that employees can’t wait to visit.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change

Workplace Strategy

Office Hoteling: Flexible Workspace for Maximized Productivity

Office Hoteling helps companies maximize real estate cost savings while providing greater employee productivity and collaboration.

Source: www.rmgnetworks.com

Even if members of your workforce do not travel 80% of the time as the individual in this piece does, your organization still maybe able to take advantage of the concept of hoteling.

For instance, if your employees are simply using their desks as “touchdown” spaces where they recover from and prepare for their next conference room meeting, perhaps that dedicated workstation is simply wasting space.  The same goes for desks of employees that have the ability to work remotely from a home office.  Companies that have moved to a hoteling structure have realized that a 1:1 desk to employee ratio can be inefficient and even costly.

How ready is your organization for a shift to a new, more efficient and less expensive workplace strategy?  Contact Stegmeier Consulting Group and let us help you conduct a change-readiness assessment of your company.  From there, we can help guide and train your people to successfully adapt to your workplace change.

Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.


https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change