Now that so many organizations have adapted through necessity and worked out that remote working is viable, what steps are they taking to accelerate and amplify the benefits of their virtual or hybrid environment? How do they ensure their people are fully engaged, supported & challenged? How do they reduce employee anxiety, burnout and the risk of talent depletion? In short, what can they do to demonstrate a caring and high performing culture, that values basic human needs while inspiring and sustaining optimal performance?

Given our company name PurposeFused- our approach may not surprise you. It involves a consistent adaption and application of a model grounded in purpose to support leadership groups and teams to perform at their best. Yet, it is different and we believe, in combination with a ‘test and refine’ approach to hybrid tactics, not only more effective but actually fundamental to organizations building and sustaining an effective organizational culture.

So, as you review, refine and refresh your virtual / hybrid office tactics, which are critical to ensuring your employees are engaged, supported and connected, step back and ask these three questions:

• Why [insert organization name]?

• Why Me?

• Why Us?

The 3 Whys approach can be replicated with teams company wide. 

For those of you familiar with Maslow, you’ll appreciate that sustaining high performance (continuously bettering your best) is about both surviving AND thriving. Your basic safety, security and connectivity needs must be taken care of – adequate pay, sensible hours, clear and aligned expectations, social cohesion, coordinated contribution and meaningful relationships (grounded in trust); AND, your growth needs – explorative experiences, opportunities for learning, a clear connection to a shared purpose, exciting opportunities to aspire towards while embracing being you- focusing on your strengths, passions, and things you enjoy. While survival requires more focus on basic needs as it would in the wild, it is a moment in time, a must do to get to a better place. However, to rebuild and sustain high performance, these basic needs AND growth needs BOTH need to be in place and nurtured simultaneously.

Every individual in your organization has these needs and it is the erosion of the basic needs in recent times as a result of the pandemic, combined with the lack of opportunity to experience growth needs that has contributed to immense levels of anxiety, stress, overwhelm and burnout. This has been further amplified by the increased uncertainty about the future. All of these strains have a material negative impact upon performance and, let’s face it, our people’s underlying health and happiness. Unchecked, these factors result in increased absenteeism, lower engagement and satisfaction, and ultimately more attrition. Not proactively refueling these needs is unsustainable (i.e. you’ll run out of gas). Moreover, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and improve these circumstances, not just to achieve our organizational objectives but most importantly as a commitment to our people.

By digging into the three questions above (each of which contain their own set of exploratory questions) in a collaborative setting, you offer a perspective that clearly defines foundational requirements, unearths what people truly care about, and aligns team contributions and focus around individual strengths. It balances acknowledgement of the current reality with future focused aspirations, reducing uncertainty providing hope. It is an inclusive and engaging opportunity for people to share, learn and connect while simultaneously prioritizing how they can be at the best and support each other. It can also of course weave in and be designed to identify contributions to, and feedback on, hybrid working tactics. So whether in addition to, or used as a framework within which to consider well thought through virtual working practices – you have taken your opportunity to revive your culture by demonstrating it as one that cares about its people and their performance. 

Opportunities to restart, revise or refresh a culture, don’t come around very often. This may be the biggest opportunity of our lives to hit reset and emerge as our best selves. Let’s embrace it! By taking the extra step to enrich some of the what (priority areas of focus) with the why (the reason we want to succeed in the first place) we make the entire process more engaging and meaningful, and thus the outcomes more effective.

The 3 Why’s provides BOTH depth and meaning to the foundational needs that so often go missing and gets lost in a list of immediate tactics (and last year, what didn’t) AND provides the framework to emerge stronger: a broader context for inspiring commitment, contribution and engagement, around a shared purpose and long term aspirations.

We recommend putting this in place as part of your ongoing review, refinement and testing of your hybrid working practices. Either way, you need to create a process that is open, transparent and inclusive, so: listen, hear, acknowledge, clarify, act…review, refine and repeat.

This open approach will minimize further anxiety and burnout while garnering increased buy-in to change, improving agility, facilitating cohesion, and building a culture that is continuously committed to its fitness and bettering its best. 

So the 4th and final why being- why wouldn’t you want to achieve this?

To learn more about our PurposeFused 3Whys program, please get in touch!