Marissa Mayer found herself at the center of a controversy when she issued a mandate that all Yahoo employees must work in one of the company’s offices.
Many people saw this as an indictment against the telework movement, which has become a mainstream option in recent years thanks to the explosive growth of mobile and cloud technologies that allows many professionals to work anyplace they have Internet access. As Yahoo played damage control about the decision, describing the decision as necessary for Yahoo’s situation and not a value statement about remote workers, a picture began to emerge of wide scale corporate dysfunction.
Yahoo is a great example of why you shouldn’t leave a telework program on auto-pilot. Here are some tips for setting up a program.
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.
Although every city is mired by challenges and no neighborhood truly represents an urban planner’s paradise, Brooklyn’s live-work lifestyle comes quite close. While recent pieces have chronicled the detrimental effects of large tech firms on cities, a new perspective is warranted.
Perhaps the grass is greener on the East Coast, but here in Brooklyn and throughout New York City, tech companies have been helping neighborhoods flourish because they are choosing to work in collaborative, creative environments.
The trend of startups using shared space and coworking locations can teach established corporations something about attracting and retaining Gen Y, which populates the tech sector.
The youngest generation in the workplace wants to work in a collaborative setting or close to where they live (generally gentrified, urban settings). Either provide a modern workplace or operate downtown.
Another possibility, which we’ve seen organizations whose HQ is not in a ‘hot market’ embrace, is the adoption of telework. By allowing employees to work remotely (and live where they want, not just where you are), they’ve found they can finally start recruiting the workforce of the future.
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.
“Gone are the days when you could come home from the office and unplug. We are now living in a 24/7, always connected business environment. Your company doesn’t stop running when you leave the office or when you go on vacation. For the past few decades, journalists, authors, speakers and executives have talked about the importance of work life flexibility but that discussion has shifted in this new environment.”
The lines have been blended, blurred, and all but erased between work and personal life. As we’re asking employees to do more, especially during ‘off business’ hours, how has our corporate culture evolved to afford employees the flexibility to tackle personal tasks on ‘company time’?
If you’re organization is all ‘take’, sooner or later your employees will stop ‘giving’. What have you done to ensure workplace flexibility is part of your corporate culture?
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.
It has been over a month since I started working remotely. After having to physically go to work for the past 10 years or so, it was something unthinkable.
I’ve set up a home office in a tiny room with no windows, and so far it beats any open plan office I could think of. It’s cozy, dead silent, full of my personal belongings, and it’s perfect for achieving high levels of concentration.
Remote workers often find out, like Tomas, that with a proper setup it’s easier to focus on the tasks at hand. Being able to perform a higher quality of work is one of the greatest benefits of teleworking.
The storyline here, though, echoes the sentiment we hear from many of our clients’ end users–it’s hard to make a clean break from work time to personal time. One of the things we make a point of focusing on during training sessions with a client organization is that it’s important to get in a routine and to take breaks.
While telework is usually exciting for employees at first, many easily grow to resent what feels like an increased, endless workload. It’s important that your corporate culture allows for work & life, especially for employees in a remote environment.
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.
If quitting your job and becoming an entrepreneur is one of your New Year’s resolutions — or if you’ve got cabin fever from working out of your home — a new “co-working space” in Wicker Park can help.
“Entrepreneurs are putting their noses to the ground, the weather does not faze them. People want to get busy, get productive,” said Liane Jackson, owner of Free Range Office at 2141 W. North Ave, 2nd Floor.
Located two blocks west of the Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection, Free Range Office opened in late November and offers daily and monthly office rentals in a second-floor loft.
We are seeing more & more organizations not only embrace telework, but also third place locations, such as co-working venues, as a way to alleviate a congested office or to enable their workforce to work more efficiently.
Working out of the office, especially in a public location, creates privacy risks, which companies often overlook. What policies do you have in place for employees working in a public location? Who will train your workforce on best practices in avoiding costly privacy violations? What’s your gameplan in the event of a breach?
What other concerns can you think of?
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.
Here are five examples of companies that have built the business with a remote workforce:
Automattic Inc. (160 employees) provides blogging services mainly through WordPress. All Automattic employees work from wherever they want — home or office locations any where in the world. Once a year, the entire Automattic team gets together to brainstorm company strategy and enjoy each other’s company for a while…..
One of the biggest challenges we see many of our clients face in decentralizing the workforce/embracing telecommuting, is the need for managers to lead in new ways. Shifting from a line of sight management style to managing by results is a huge adjustment for most people.
All 5 of these are smaller organizations, which gives underperformers fewers places to hide, unlike at a big company where the success of some can more easily mask organizational issues. If you’re responsible for the workplace of a more established company that is looking to change how work gets done, have you thought about what you’ll need to do to prepare your managers for this shift?
What other concerns do you have?
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.
On Tuesday morning, snow and ice covered the streets around Mika Cross’ home in southern Maryland. Commuter accidents clogged roadways. Her kids’ school closed because of the stormy weather. Many businesses, medical offices and shops were shuttered. And Cross’ employer, the federal government decided to shut down.
But for Cross and thousands of federal and private sector workers who can work remotely, or telework, Tuesday was just a typical work day. Except that her kids, at her ex-husband’s house, played in the snow all day and she, instead of getting in a workout at lunch, shoveled snow…
Telework isn’t a mere perk–it’s a risk mitigation tactic. If the thought of business interruption doesn’t cross your mind when developing or reassessing your company’s workplace strategy, you’re missing the boat.
Technology has finally advanced to the point where many people can work quite efficiently at home, or a third place. Why risk huge work stoppages by having an archaic workforce strategy that only enables or allows your team to work at one site?
We saw it after Superstorm Sandy–some of the organizations best equipped for staying afoot and avoiding an utter shut down were those that had a strong workforce mobility program already in place. If you’re still viewing telework as a perk for employees–it may be time to reconsider your stance!
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.
There’s a new paradigm for professionals battling to balance their working time and their personal time, according to John Trougakos, an associate professor of organizational behavior at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
“The ethos encouraging overworking is becoming more pronounced,” says Trougakos. Sales targets and bottom line figures are turning up the pressure on employees to perform, and perform more often. Its a conundrum for employees who want to get ahead without sacrificing time for family, friends, and recovery from mental fatigue, which is often overlooked.”
Setting boundries is so important for employees, but how does an organization’s culture inhibit or enable this from happening? What has your company done to establish a corporate culture that allows employees to be comfortable in saying “No.”?
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.
The Government Accountability Office reviewed five agencies that were either exploring “hoteling” programs or increasing their telework programs. Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agricultural Department, The General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, The Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase space efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agriculture Department, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase space efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agriculture Department, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase space efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agriculture Department, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase space efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agriculture Department, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
Under a hoteling system, employees no longer have a permanent work station, an effort intended to increase space efficiency.
GAO picked to review the Agriculture Department, the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All were selected because they either have adopted best practices that support a more mobile workforce or they have high levels of real property holdings.
The GSA is saving $24M in rent by real estate consolidation, aided by hoteling of workers. How is your organization taking advantage of workplace efficiencies, and how prepared is your workforce for new ways of working?
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.
“If it seems like I’m always using this space to beat the drum for improved work flexibility — well, I am.
But I’m not alone in pushing this agenda.
I receive emails every week supporting my belief that, when appropriate, flexible work options help both employees and companies improve productivity and morale.
This week’s installment comes courtesy of a recent survey of 1,300 people by FlexJobs, a website designed to help people find telecommuting and other flexible work options.”
Smart organizations are beginning to realize that workplace flexibility is more than a perk for employees, but a great tool for attracting and retaining talent–as evidenced by the cited statistic of 46% of respondents who left because it didn’t offer them a good blend of work and personal life.
What is your organization doing to ensure that your workforce isn’t leaving for greener, more flexible pastures?
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.
Changing the way organizations manage workplace change
About SCG
Stegmeier Consulting Group is a 100% woman-owned small business. We’re a team of behavioral change agents & data specialists, with expertise in people & place.
We work with corporations, civic partners, & higher learning institutions to lead data gathering, strategic planning, and change implementation efforts.
SCG feels strongly that every employer should strive to create a respectful workplace for each employee. It’s why we started Project WHEN, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to eliminating all forms of workplace harassment.
Our financial support has allowed the organization to grow and begin impacting work communities everywhere. We encourage clients to consider donating or getting involved in the movement with us.
