Australia’s ‘Return to the Office” – how to gain consensus on how we work
After a year of working remotely, a return to the office is in sight.
But it’s not as simple as ‘reset to March 2020’. We can’t pretend nothing has changed.
After the autonomy of ‘WfH’, your staff want their say in how – and even if – they go back to the office.
They’ve made it clear that they want their voices heard. They want to choose the way they work best.
Some have loved being able to kill the commute and work from home. Others miss the connection with colleagues and the ad-hoc learning that they just don’t get on Zoom or Teams.
Others are concerned about safety – on public transport, at a desk next to colleagues, sharing a bathroom. There may be anxiety and even jealousy or resentment.
And one thing’s certain – there’s a lot of uncertainty.
As a business leader or HR manager, you’ve got a juggling act on your hands – between the staff who want to stay home, and those who can’t wait to get back. How do you respect everyone’s views, whilst not being able to meet everyone’s preferences? How do you protect your company culture, or build a digital culture?
Above all else, how do continue to meet the needs of the business and your clients.
“Loved your facilitation style Ricky! Different to what I have experienced before… more dynamic and fast paced… great!”
Let’s talk about Gaining Consensus©
There are certainly some tricky questions to address, but what you also have is unique opportunity to give your staff a voice in determining the future. In short the opportunity to Gain Consensus.
In my Gaining Consensus© workshop, I’ll give you a framework for discussions that allow all voices to be heard, and the business to listen. I’ll help you to take opinions into account, but to never lose sight of the goals of the business and serving your clients.
Gaining Consensus is a half-day workshop, with HR, business and team leaders and team members. It’s ideally held face to face (but can be done on Zoom). It has an option for follow up individual coaching where required to help continue your drive to consensus and a productive workplace.
In guiding the discussion, I focus on creating an environment of respect, accommodating emotions and giving everyone their say.
Team members will:
- Have an opportunity to share their preferences, fears, and hopes.
- Feel listened to and valued, not coerced
- Be more open to accepting the future work environment
- Share what they need in order to feel happy, safe and productive
- Understand business expectations and requirements
HR managers and business leaders will
- Gain invaluable insights on the best future working environment
- Understand how to balance staff preferences with business needs
- Have a flexible framework for future discussion (because things will change!)
In 2021, you have a unique opportunity to plan the future of business. Let me help you take that opportunity and gain the consensus that leads to success.
My clients say:
“Your workshop was excellent, with high ratings of 9/10 from members who took away techniques to enable them to use these concepts in dealing with issues immediately.”
“Loved your facilitation style Ricky! Different to what I have experienced before… more dynamic and fast paced… great!
