When dystopia arrived some 16 months ago, Social (and indeed legacy) Media was awash with commentary about the workplace post pandemic. Zoom and Teams calls from the sofa, spare room, kitchen and (mostly) from in front of the bookcase became the rudimentary way of working in this brave new world.
We all love commuting!
How wonderful that the 2-hour commute on a sweaty, crowded underground had been banished to the past. No more time spent parked on the M4, A329M or M25 when throwing a lucky 6 was a pre-requisite to experiencing a tolerable commute. Airport terminals closed as Business Travellers preferred Northampton to New York or Derby to Dubai. Everything could be done via a laptop screen you see. The “commute” became a slider shuffle into the place of the video call. For some, sportswear became de-rigour with trousers optional.
We were never going back to the office, cried the self-proclaimed futurists of the work place. “Hurrah!” We all exclaimed. We could live where we wanted. Global Account Executive with a major analytics unicorn? “I’m moving to Cornwall!”. HR Director for a (now) household Pharmaceutical Conglomerate? “We’ve moved to the Yorkshire Dales! We’re only an hour from York, there’s a Morrison’s in Pickering half an hour’s drive away. What’s not to like?”
“We’ve bought a dog!” Boasted the Business Development Rep. “We’ve sold our cars” said the Executive Personal Assistant.
A (sizeable) number of us in the weekly commuter cohort looked on bemused. 1-2 days a week WFH, 3-4 days a week away, travelling. Tried and tested way of working, 15 years in my case, thanks originally to my enlightened boss in Oracle back in the day. Like most of us doing this, there have been some horrific moments of travel; a 7-hour drive from Reading to Manchester has been endured on more than one occasion and who knew that overhead power wires on trains out of Euston could be so flimsy and temperamental?
Do it all from a desk in front of a bookcase 10 hours a day, 5 days a week? Not a chance. I ran a global sales team for a month during the initial lockdown last year. Apart from the fatigue caused by staring at a screen all day, it was extremely difficult to “read the room”. Body language is difficult to assess remotely and for those of us with a commercial vocation, it is a key attribute that once removed, significantly reduces our effectiveness.
Of course, our colleagues, customers and prospects are omnipresent aren’t they?
Well no, is the reality. They are still imprisoned in a “schedule of hell” with back-to-back meetings all day only this time you can’t pop by their desks for an impromptu catch up or build the relationships over coffee, lunch or dinner.
The behemoths announce the end of office working for the masses
Last October, Microsoft announced it was enabling all of its employees to work from home permanently. Deloitte followed suit last month and announced its employees are no longer obligated to work from the office, forever! Wow. Serious shifts in working practices with potential huge impacts on those in the hospitality and transportation sectors.
Out pop the futurists again: “the office is dead! To be competitive, [in an era of labour shortage] you need to be flexible to attract the right employees.”
Customer Service of course has dropped to a new low during the last 16 months. Speaking to an operative in a contact centre is not for the faint hearted. The CEO of First Direct, the original purveyors of contact centre banking, wrote to all of their customers last week apologising for the extended and excessive wait times for those wishing to speak to another human being. (Not everything can be achieved online or via chat).
WFH becomes WFA
Progressive organisations are quickly realising that a “work from anywhere” policy isn’t necessarily conducive to effective performance. Sure, there needs to be some flexibility about the WFH/Office mix, but not everything can be done well remotely.
However, this is where its starts to be a minefield for employer and employee. No great surprise that broadband connectivity in Cornwall and The Yorkshire Dales isn’t as good as the migrants from London, Reading and Winchester had previously experienced. Even three days a week in the office is difficult when “Rex” the faithful Labrador can’t be trusted to be on his own all day with those beautiful Designers Guild scatter cushions. Similarly, selling one of the family cars appears to be foolhardy in retrospect when you live in Crowthorne and you need to be in Uxbridge 3 days a week.
As I write this I am returning from London after a couple of days of Business Development meetings building a pipeline of opportunities for DWSL. I’m doing this 1-2x per month. Meeting people face to face rather than zoom or teams.
“There are lots of people doing what you do” I am frequently reminded.
Not with over 20 years of operational Sales Leadership experience in large Tech organisations there aren’t. Perhaps more importantly, they don’t appear to be out and about meeting people according to one Senior Interim Executive I met yesterday. “I’m rubbish with names (aren’t we all?!) but I can always remember a face”. He advised me.
The future ain’t as you thought?
Fear not, I’m not about to join the legions of soothsayers decrying the end of the office. I’ve written in the past that the only “futurists” I respect are those that frequented the Blitz Club 40 years ago.
I think a pragmatic and flexible approach should the way forward, as it has been for me for the past 15 years. I ran a sales organisation of over 100 people delivering $250m and I wasn’t in HQ every day. I have been the preferred candidate for 2 Senior Roles in recent years only to exit the process when it was suggested I move the family home back to the South East. (My wife a Consultant Physician was “delighted” by the organisations concerned lack of empathy to family life and complete lack of understanding as to what can be done remotely, as you can imagine).
Designated days in the office have usually worked. WFH can be productive if it isn’t every day. Living in Cornwall or North Yorkshire or even the Moon is doable providing you can get to the office when required, no matter how inconvenient to you it is to get there. Your personal choice, but also your own personal challenge to be absorbed without complaint.
The “Doogler” joins the lexicon of the workplace
If you did buy a dog in lockdown, take them in with you if allowed. A well-known US Tech Company now has “Dooglers” apparently.
One thing to bear in mind, and it isn’t readily understood, is that if you can do your job genuinely from anywhere, then so can somebody else. The other individual might be in a part of the world where labour costs are lower than yours at which point you cease to be competitive. Right shoring works where there is any form of location flexibility. If it can be done from Bude, it can probably be done from Bucharest.
As a final point, one of the people I met yesterday reminded me that “competitive advantage” in the current (largely) remote world is gained by those that make the effort. For that reason, face to face meetings haven’t gone away. They have just gone into suspended animation for a while. Worth remembering as you reach for that favourite T shirt and leggings before you shuffle downstairs to start the day!
These are genuine “excuses” for not returning to the office from recent engagements. I didn’t buy a dog in lockdown of course. Although I love dogs, I prefer cats and Henry a 15 year old tabby/bengal cross usually pops over from his owners to share the day with me. DWSL provide Sales Transformation consulting to organisations looking to optimise their commercial organisation. Case Studies are available elsewhere on this website.
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