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Return to Office: American AgCredit Case Study

Return to Office: American AgCredit Case Study

by | Nov 19, 2021 | Consulting

Focuswise has been consulting with several clients to help them strategize return-to-office plans as the pandemic slows down. American AgCredit (an agricultural insurance and loan company) was one of these clients, and afterward, AAC created a case study for their internal magazine from the implementation of the hybrid WorkFlex model, which grew out of our consulting efforts.

During the pandemic, AAC’s employees realized they could accomplish the majority of their work at home. While other financial services companies planned to return their full workforce back to an office setting, AAC consulted Focuswise to come up with a better strategy.

black and white Scrabble letters on a brown table spelling "work from home."

Return to the office or work from home? Hybrid work models provide the best of both worlds.

Why It’s Important to Have a Strategic Plan

So, I met with Rich Hollis, AAC’s Chief People Experience Officer, and several other executives to discuss the challenge of returning to the office from a remote work environment. The company was interested in strategizing a plan that would appeal to its current and future employees and make it a more competitive employer, which meant creating a different and more appealing solution than that offered by other financial institutions. There are key reasons such a plan is necessary:

  • With remote work becoming the new normal, as many as 46% of workers are planning to move because they now have the option to work remotely. This is seen by employees as a huge benefit and is a strong advantage when recruiting.
  • For stability, workers need clear communication from leadership on how, when, and if their company is returning to the office.
  • Going back to work with a pre-pandemic set of expectations, when burnout and turnover were rising rapidly, is not feasible. If worker satisfaction and productivity have been growing during the pandemic, then CEOs should avoid assuming that returning to the office is necessarily their best option. That said, even those jobs that do require a return to the office need different facilities and resources there, and not all of those jobs require 100% of a worker’s time in the office.

American AgCredit developed a flexible work program that permits generous work-from-home time and thus enables the company to attract and retain top talent while giving its existing employees appealing options for how they want to work. The program has received an overwhelmingly positive employee response.

Curious to see the full results of the case study? Download it here.

By the way, if you missed my last post, check out our comprehensive new white paper, Work Isn’t Working: New Solutions for Leadership and Productivity. It is a landmark thought piece to guide leaders in bringing their organizations out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

White Paper: Workplace Solutions for Increased Productivity

White Paper: Workplace Solutions for Increased Productivity

by | Nov 17, 2021 | Leadership, Workplace

My team and I have spent the past year researching the best new ways to work. Thanks to a series of conversations with Erica Volini, Senior Vice President of Global Alliances & Channel Ecosystem at Service Now, we began to consider, and ultimately put together, what I believe is a landmark white paper detailing workplace solutions for the post-pandemic corporate workforce. (Want to skip the blog post and download the white paper directly? Click here.) In my opinion, this is an important paper for any corporate leader to read because it addresses two very timely questions:
  • Why isn’t work working?
  • How do we fix the many problems facing the workforce today?

Key Questions for Leaders

  • What should businesses learn and do when recovering from the pandemic?

Companies should not return to their former working model. Working from home opened many eyes to the possibilities of accomplishing tasks without commuting to a brick-and-mortar office. It proved that much office work doesn’t require an office at all. Consequently, leaders should listen to their workers to learn what they need to be productive — not necessarily what they need to return to the office.

  • How will these dramatic shifts affect workers’ views of the workplace?

Workers have been experiencing serious levels of burnout for three or four years now, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. According to the 2021 Microsoft Work Trend Index Report, 54% of employees feel overworked, and 39% say they are exhausted. As a result, workers are looking for flexibility within the workplace. Leaders, this is your chance to improve your employees’ perspective of the office by implementing a hybrid workflow, converting office space to new and better uses, getting rid of artificial engagement activities, banning unproductive over-connectivity, and more.
laptop on a wooden desk in front of a cabin window with snow on the ground

A hybrid work model increases productivity levels and job satisfaction by giving workers maximum opportunity to focus in the comfort and quiet of their homes.

  • What framework can leaders use to shape productivity in the future?

At Focuswise, what we call (as shorthand) “the four C’s” (clarity, capacity, curiosity, and community) provide a framework for a healthy, focused, and productive way to work. Our white paper explains these concepts and offers manageable workplace solutions for each one.

  • How can businesses re-engage office workers without also reigniting their dissatisfaction with working in the company’s offices?

Job satisfaction is crucial to avoiding burnout. If workers aren’t satisfied with current working conditions, productivity will diminish. In the long run, corporate leaders need to find sustainable ways to re-engage office workers on their terms without sacrificing company culture. It can be a tricky line to walk, but engaging your workers as fellow human beings (and not merely as metrics) is the most effective way to move forward.

Download Our White Paper for Workplace Solutions

The questions (and answers) I’ve highlighted above only begin to scratch the surface of our comprehensive white paper. Additionally, you’ll find wonderful insights from Erica Volini, such as the concept of the “internal talent marketplace.” I thank her once again for the inspiring series of discussions we had. You can download the white paper here: Work Isn’t Working: New Solutions for Leadership and Productivity. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below! I encourage you to pass this link to other leaders who could benefit from the solutions we have identified.
Interview with Michael Thate: Social Media Engagement

Interview with Michael Thate: Social Media Engagement

by | Nov 5, 2021 | Miscellaneous

I interviewed Dr. Michael Thate from Princeton University a couple of weeks ago about the Facebook whistleblower situation and how it relates to social media engagement. Michael is a friend and colleague, and he shares my fascination with the subjects of attention and value. As an associate research scholar, he has experience working with clients on brand strategy, communication, and corporate trust. Additionally, he received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and Ethical Philosophy from Durham University in 2012. So, he’s someone who knows about ethics and business.

Our conversation morphed from talking about the Facebook whistleblower scandal to a commentary on the ethical dilemmas Big Tech and social media companies face today. Consequently, we identified social media engagement as a key instigator. I thought you’d enjoy these key points from our discussion.

The Problem of Social Media Engagement

According to Michael, these are the provocative issues resulting from the Facebook whistleblower stepping forward:

  • Everybody is playing the engagement game, but Facebook plays it the best.
  • Facebook’s willingness to “ignore real harm” is less concerning than their ultimate pursuit of engagement.
  • Critiques of individual big companies will not amount to broader systemic change.

If social media companies are making more profit from higher consumer engagement on their platforms, then it makes sense that they would prioritize engagement over other methods that slow profits down. The ethical dilemma comes into play when consumer well-being gets compromised by the pursuit of engagement.

social media engagement: hand holding phone with engagement graphs on the screen

Companies are prioritizing engagement in today’s society… but over what else, and at what expense?

Solutions for Companies’ Ethical Dilemmas

How do we hold the big social media companies accountable? Can we do so without federal regulation? Can we analyze the “real harm” of a company’s goods, services, and message manipulation? These problems will only increase as the younger generation continues to use social media for buying and selling, growing their networks, getting jobs, and connecting with others.

In our conversation on Forbes, Michael Thate answers these questions and goes into depth on three different kinds of audits he proposes for companies. If you’re interested in exploring this issue further, I hope you’ll read it and let me know what you think.

P.S. Looking for ways to enjoy your own work life? Check out my recent blog post about avoiding burnout and the TEDx Talk I recently gave on that subject.