Designing and implementing a successful workplace strategy is much like creating (and sticking to) a diet or fitness program. The underlying common theme is that you are committing to some degree of change in order to better yourself (or your organization) and reach a specific goal. For instance, imagine someone deciding to run a marathon. One can assume some of the underlying goals with this decision. Perhaps the runner is driven by a personal challenge, or a means to get into better shape, or a step in a larger, ongoing training regimen. This initial decision is often the result of both an awareness and desire for change. Workplace strategy follows a similar pattern. An organization’s decision to implement a new strategy is often the result of some initial awareness that change needs to occur and realizing there is also a strong desire to see the change happen. Sometimes this comes in the form of a desire to streamline a real estate portfolio, save money, adopt the latest technology, or change behaviors to align with an evolving way of conducting business. Whatever the drivers may be, in order to whip your workplace into shape you can follow a similar approach to a training routine our marathon runner may adopt.
Step 1: Invest the Time
Much like setting the alarm clock an hour early to run a few miles, changing workplace behaviors involves thinking differently about how we spend our time. In the older/traditional workplace model we worked 9-5 in an assigned desk where we did the majority of our work. The new, healthier workplace model enables more flexibility and personal choice. However, this freedom requires discipline and structure. For our runner, it’s not enough to set the alarm an hour early, he actually needs to get out of bed and run. Changing workplace behavior is no different. The planning is worthless if you don’t maintain the discipline. For example, if your strategy involves saving space by implementing desk sharing ratios and more choices for where people can work, you need to build in some discipline and accountability to ensure people are adopting the new approach. This leads us to Step 2.
Step 2: Outsource Your Accountability
If your organization has been through multiple workplace transformations, the next one may not seem so daunting. And if our runner has already run several marathons, he pretty much understands what it takes to train for the next one. But if these experiences are new, it’s often a good idea to enlist outside help. A running coach can help approach marathon training from a different point of view, mapping out a structured regimen with appropriate milestones. Similarly, partnering with an outside workplace strategy team can bring a fresh, structured perspective to a workplace transformation. This outsourcing will help you stay out of the weeds and stay on track to reach your goals, which brings us to Step 3.
Step 3: Set Specific, Reasonable Goals
Whenever we set out to change our behaviors, we need to be specific and realistic with ourselves. If our runner hasn’t been running too much the past few years, he shouldn’t sign up for that marathon next week. The reality for many organizations is that they get very comfortable in their current work environments and need to ease into the change. When you consider how much time and money went into their current workplace, it makes sense that people would get comfortable. A lot of businesses sign long-term leases and want to squeeze as much value out of their assets as possible (e.g. furniture, IT, equipment.). This means that change is hard and often slow-moving. I often encounter clients who are on the tail end of a long-term lease, wake up one day to see what the competition is doing, and realize they need to catch up. The struggle is that they often want to make drastic progress in short periods of time. These quick shifts can be a shock to their system and can hurt them in both the short and long-term, much like our runners knees will hurt if he tries running too far, too fast, too soon. Therefore it is crucial to fully assess how ready your business is for change in the workplace and create a strategy that is specific, yet reasonable. Reaching your end goal most often results from a series of smaller, reasonable steps that allow people to experience the change in an appropriate timeframe.
Step 4: Track Your Progress
How does our runner know if he is on track for race day? Well, by now, he has been investing the time, has set specific goals that his trainer mapped out, so appropriately timed checkpoints along the way will easily identify his progress. Similar for your workplace strategy, by setting clear goals and a clear roadmap as early as possible with appropriately timed checkpoints at key milestones, you can much more easily track progress to gauge if you are on schedule and maintaining the right course. However, we would be naive to think our strategy will coast along smoothly with no roadblocks, leading us to Step 5.
Step 5: Test, Learn, and Adapt
Tracking your progress enables you to test the validity of the strategy. By routinely testing the strategy over time it will become clear what is working and what’s not working. If our runner’s goal is to run an eight minute mile and he’s been stuck at nine minutes for a few months, he and his trainer need to reassess certain elements of the training and tweak the approach. Maybe our runner underestimated how disciplined he would be, or he’s only focusing on running when he should mix in some weight training. The workplace strategy will encounter similar obstacles. People may lose motivation and excitement along the way, or maybe you realize you’ve been too focused on technology solutions and ignoring concerns about noise and privacy. The important thing is to recognize that no approach will be perfect; setbacks will occur and new discoveries will be made. Those who accept this and are willing to pivot their approach when necessary will see greater success.
Step 6: Stay Motivated
So our runner has trained for months, tracked progress, adjusted accordingly, and finally ran the marathon. Great. So how does he now stay motivated to keep running after the event? Maybe he should register for another marathon, or challenge himself to train for a triathlon. If our runner has no plan after the race, he risks becoming lazy. The same goes for your workplace strategy. Once you go through the process and implement your strategy, it’s easy to get lazy in the glow of accomplishment. My recommendation would be to continue to challenge the new workplace program. Consider it a beta test or version 1.0. A year or two down the road it’s likely your business will evolve again slightly. Therefore it only makes sense to stay motivated by planning for these evolutions ahead of time. This way you are being proactive instead of reactive, and you can leverage the experience you’ve gained from the first process. Similarly, if our runner signs up for another marathon next year, he should now be smart enough to know that maintaining a running routine throughout the year is a more efficient approach than being lazy for nine months and starting a new training routine from scratch. Being proactive enables you to not miss a beat, making for smoother transitions and more efficient use of resources over time. The marathon runner saves his body from wear and tear and your business saves itself from unnecessary downtime, lost money, and an unengaged workforce.
