The Future of Work:

How to Build Inclusive and Agile Talent Strategies

WE HELP OUR CLIENTS CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE LEADERSHIP TEAM AT A TIME TM

JUNE 22, 2021

Your Facilitators

STEVE KRUPP, PHD CHERYL STOKES

PARTNER, PHILADELPHIA PARTNER, NEW YORK CITY

• Thought leader on building Agility and future • Thought leader on inclusion, culture and
facing leadership / talent strategies innovative learning design

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Agenda

1 How work and workers are changing

What it takes to deliver future facing culture

2 and talent strategies

Practical tips to promote inclusive, agile,

3 leadership as we design new ways of working

4 Ongoing dialogue: Q&A and exploration

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New Ways of Working

FASTER
FLATTER
FEEDBACK
HIERARCHIES
LOOPS
FASTER
BREAKING
DECISION
SILOS
MAKING

WORK-LIFE
BLEND

VIRTUALIZED INCREASED
INTERACTIONS TRANSPARENCY

UNEQUAL DISCONNECTED
ACCESS WORKFORCE

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New Ways of Working have created new opportunities

73% 54%
Compared to one year ago,

of workers want the option to stay 39% of employees said productivity had
remote and of people say they’re more likely to improved since the transition to

39%
be their full, authentic selves at remote work, while

64%
work.

of workers are open to quitting

their current role if their employer is said the quality of their work
unwilling to permit to work improved.
remotely.

90% 36% 77%

of US workers participate in the gig
of business leaders expect some economy, of employers say their talent
remote work to continue forward. strategies are more focused on

52% workforce Agility than ever before.

projected by 2023.
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COVID has also created hardships for many, especially
women and diverse talent
70% 62% 42%
of women who have experienced of working moms have lied about of working women have considered
disruptions worry their career or downplayed their stress around quitting their jobs prior to, or as a
growth may be limited as a result. balancing kids and work during the result, of the pandemic.
Additionally, POC are pandemic.

2.2x
As likely to cite concerns related to
career progression than white While more than
Americans.
60% 90%
of jobs eliminated in the first wave

52%
of both Gen Z and millennial
of pandemic layoffs were held by
employees reported difficulty
women, and the unemployment
working from home, while more
rates of workers of color are at
than
of employees said background least

50% 80%
noise and/or poor audio quality
disrupted their focus while working
remotely.
of both groups said they feel less
higher than those of Whites.
connected.
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What have you observed? Discuss in chat

What upsides have you seen?

What has been the most difficult?

What have been the main lessons learned?

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We are seeing contradictory RTO reactions

Sources Forbes, The Guardian, Microsoft.com, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail
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The DNA of work has changed

Prefer Work in Office Full-Time 25%

40% Prefer Work from Home Full-Time

Prefer Home-Office Hybrid 35%

• 90% of workers answered ‘No’ when asked if they wanted to go back full time, yet 83% of CEOs
want to see staff in office full time
Sources USA Today, Daily Mail
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The 4 Work Personas that have come out of the Pandemic
THE TRADITIONAL OFFICE WORKER THE EXPERIENCE LOVER

• Ready to get back into the office • Aspirations for flexibility prior to pandemic;
• Not as attracted to flexibility and will time away from office enhances
take extra effort to bond with team engagement
members • Likely wants to spend two to three days in
office with flexibility to work home

THE WELLNESS ADDICT THE FREE SPIRIT

• Value work-life balance and health; pre- • Wants to work remotely full time; time with
pandemic embraced remote work and family is priority
shorter commutes • Likely will not want regular schedule;
• Likely to come back one to two days a managers must make sure they feel
week and seek good balance connected and included

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Which of the 4 Personas is most prevalent in your
organization?

The
The The
Traditional The Free
A B Wellness C Experience D
Office Spirit
Addict Lover
Worker

Please share in chat which of these or other Personas

you’re seeing in your organization.

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Anxiety surrounding returning to the office

1 Losing the flexibility remote work provides (36%)

2 Worried about getting back into pre-Covid routines (32%)

3 Being around people again (31%)

4 Being around unvaccinated people (30%)

5 The commute to work (27%)

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Enthusiasm surrounding returning to the office

1 In-person collaboration (63%)

2 Socializing with colleagues and clients (62%)

3 Enjoying workplace perks (47%)

4 Advancing faster in one's career (47%)

5 Reviving in-person meetings (44%)

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Navigating the Return to Work paradox

We need to design talent strategies that are inclusive and

agile to balance the competing interests at this moment.

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Organizational challenges
Which is the biggest challenge your company faces with the changing future of work?

Rallying around purpose to promote resilience and loyalty

1 Lead with Purpose
going forward

Fostering openness and psychological safety so people feel

2 Create Belonging
heard and valued

3 Creating flexibility and choice to meet diverse needs Valuing Difference

Challenging old models, experimenting with new ones and Stay Agile
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pivoting to a culture of learning

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What mindsets do we need to shift to navigate future of work talent strategies
with inclusion and Agility?

Please share in chat.

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Lead with Purpose in action

• “Choice with Responsibility” model to give • Tied to company values and purpose of • Aligned plan and messages for “return to
employees power to decide where/when innovation and collaboration work” with purpose: We elevate lives. We
they best function in their roles • Attract best talent based on purpose soar together. We are Helen of Troy.
• Exemplifies company values of integrity regardless of location • Benefits to employees to engage in hybrid
and quality: trusting employees to choose • Choice of working remotely, in office, or model, related to values and healthy work/life
where they’ll deliver their best work in shared working space balance
• Emphasis on testing/adjusting as needed with
frequent pulses and check-ins

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Inclusive & agile leadership tips: Lead with Purpose
Lead with Purpose

1 Purpose-driven leaders rally around “North Star”

2 Communicate purpose to promote resilience and loyalty which is more critical now than ever

The more you connect actions to purpose and values, the more cushion you have to navigate moments
3 of truth and post-pandemic sensitives

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Create Belonging in action

• Team leaders determine work schedule • Setting up DropBox Studios in place of 3 • “Recognizing burnout” sessions: staff
with team members – combo of in offices for meetings and collaboration voiced feelings and heard advice from
person and remote • Space meant to foster openness and idea professionals on how to cope with
• Neighborhood model instead of sharing among employees burnout
assigned desks to increase engagement • Gives employees who are interested a • Leadership training focused on how to
• Online training for factory workers place to feel a part of a larger team manage with empathy and elicit genuine
emotions in meetings

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Inclusive & agile leadership tips: Create Belonging
Create Belonging

Seek wide input and engagement vis one on one engagement, pulse surveys and virtual interactions.
1 Feeling heard, valued, cared for as important now as when pandemic started

Communicate early and often through a variety of medium to be human centered, transparent and
2 inclusive

Foster openness and psychological safety via ongoing engagement and sincere, authentic
3 responsiveness to concerns

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Value Differences in action

• Sensitive to different employees’ needs • No hard and fast rules pertaining to • Adapts and evolves to flexibility and
and personas coming to office choice
• Flexibility around physical workspace as • Will come down to personal choice and • Employees choose between coming into
part of employee value proposition managers will work with employees office, working out of office in a different
• Office environments more conducive to • Believe if employees feel good, they will city, or permanently working from
collaboration for hybrid workforce deliver good results anywhere

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Inclusive & agile leadership tips: Value Differences
Value Differences

1 Create flexibility & choice to meet diverse needs: One size does not fit all

Encourage diversity of thought, talent, teams. Create ways for people to connect and share different
2 perspectives on business, customer and team needs

Crowdsource ideas; innovate via Hackathons, commission teams to design options or experiments to
3 meet different needs

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Stay Agile in Practice

• “If there’s one thing we’ve learned over • Opportunity to try new things and • New Era of Agility: four-to-six-week pilot
the last 12 months, it is that a lot of our question long-held assumptions project where some return to HQ;
assumptions around work and what • Experimenting, learning, and rethinking depending on pilot group, will inform
employees need has shifted.” what it means to deliver a culture of process for others
• Office workers can work from home belonging and inclusion • Envision a split of 70% remote work to
indefinitely as long as managers approve 30% on-site time

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Inclusive & agile leadership tips: Stay Agile
Stay Agile

1 Adapt and shift quickly to create new, flexible and responsive Ways of Working

2 Challenge old models, re-invent talent strategies and pivot for success in a post-pandemic workplace

3 Test, experiment, and iterate to create a culture of learning and a growth mindset

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Inclusive & agile leadership: What is your priority?
Write in chat

LEAD WITH PURPOSE VALUE DIFFERENCES

• Purpose-driven leaders rally around “North Star” • Create flexibility & choice to meet diverse needs: One size
• Communicate purpose to promote resilience and loyalty does not fit all
which is more critical now than ever • Encourage diversity of thought, talent, teams. Create ways
• The more you connect actions to purpose, the more cushion for people to connect and share different perspectives on
you have to navigate moments of truth and post-pandemic business, customer and team needs
sensitives • Crowdsource ideas (Hackathons, commission teams to
design options or experiments to meet different needs, etc.)

CREATE BELONGING STAY AGILE

• Seek input and engagement vis one on one engagement, • Adapt and shift quickly to create new, flexible and responsive
pulse surveys and virtual interactions Ways of Working
• Communicate early and often through a variety of medium • Challenge old models, re-invent talent strategies and pivot
to be human centered, transparent and inclusive. for success in a post-pandemic workplace
• Foster openness and psychological safety via ongoing • Test, experiment, and iterate to create a culture of learning
engagement and sincere responsiveness to concerns and a growth mindset

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Inclusion, Agility, and the Future of Work wrap-up

• Leaders who • Fostering an • By creating • In order to Stay

Lead with environment with flexibility and Agile, leaders
Purpose connect openness and choices to meet must adapt and
actions to psychological diverse needs, shift quickly to
purpose and safety through leaders can Value create new Ways
rally employees engagement and Differences and of Working and
around a “North responsiveness encourage remain flexible
Star” to promote can help to diversity of by iterating to
resilience and Create Belonging. thought, talent, create a culture
loyalty. and teams. of learning and
growth.

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Thank You
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