The HealthCare Initiative

Specialists in Healthcare Recruitment

Specialists in Healthcare Recruitment

How to Build a Hybrid Workplace

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How to Build a Hybrid Workplace

By now you’ve seen and heard a lot about the hybrid workforce that is destined to be part of the new World of Work for the foreseeable future. As we get closer to a vaccine and the end of the pandemic, it’s unlikely that you will go back entirely to the old way of doing things altogether. So what should you be doing to facilitate the safe transition to a hybrid workforce in your organization? Although the prospect offers many advantages, it also comes with complications and difficulties that you should be preparing for now.

“The first thing to remember is that while some of your people love working remotely and want to continue with it, there are many others who truly miss the social aspects of working in a shared office space alongside their team members,” says Nancy Halverson, SVP Global Operations at MRI. “Shifting to a hybrid structure can help you to accommodate both groups.”

Halverson offers advice on navigating the transition with the least amount of disruption:

Start With Your Leadership Team
Will they work from the office, remotely, or both? “I believe that most organizations will find it most beneficial to have their leaders work in the office at least part of the time,” says Halverson. “Before you announce the decision to move to a hybrid solution, work out the plan for your management team, and communicate it to the people who work for them to avoid confusion.”

Reevaluate Your Team Structure
“In many cases, it’s obvious that certain departments and positions have to be on-site, but you’ve probably already figured out ways to handle those safely,” observes Halverson. “For the rest, you need to determine which employees will continue working remotely full-time and which employees will work partly remotely and partly from the office.”

While these decisions are also driven by the nature of the individual role, it is also advisable to factor in personal preferences whenever possible. “Another possibility to consider is that people will change their minds,” says Halverson. “Some members of your team may ask to continue to work remotely and then find that they want to come back into the office part of the time. Determine how strictly you need employees to follow a specific working style, and communicate this in advance. For instance, will your physical space allow for flexibility, or have you downsized recently and do you need employees to commit to a specific schedule?”

Confirm Your Communication Platforms
The pandemic has already forced most companies to beef up digital communication and enhance their collaboration tools. Going to a hybrid workforce means that technology will continue to evolve to meet employee and employer needs. Determine how your communication frameworks need to change to reflect your new team structures and to ensure employees don’t fall out of the loop or burn out from the pressure of being “always on.”

Your IT folks will also need an infrastructure that enables them to manage a remote workforce. This can include increasing cloud storage for more remote storage, enhancing security solutions to manage cyber threats, and implementing remote IT solutions to troubleshoot employee tech issues remotely.

Monitor Your Allocation of Tasks
If your hybrid workforce is going to remain productive long-term, you have to ensure that tasks are spread evenly and fairly across both in-office and remote teams. “Particularly if managers are working from the office, there’s a tendency to assign new projects to people working in the same space,” warns Halverson. “So be conscious of this potential pitfall and be aware of who is doing what at any given time. The boundaries between personal and professional life are fuzzy now and you need to consistently conduct regular employee-manager check-ins, recognize employees for their hard work, and promote paid time off.”

Be Wary of Favoritism
Not only can a hybrid workforce lead to imbalance workloads, but it can also lend itself to favoritism. “As a manager, it’s your responsibility to proactively include your remote team members in the fun times as well,” says Halverson. “Set up a video conference for your team lunches or happy hours to ensure you have the same opportunity to bond with everyone and that remote workers still feel like part of the culture.”

The pandemic has abruptly thrust many companies into this hybrid situation, and while some have seen this time as a growth opportunity, others floundering. Those companies that can adapt to the current circumstances with resiliency and flexibility are most like to outstrip their competition in our new World of Work.

 

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Why You Should Consider Interim Employment

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Why You Should Consider Interim Employment

In today’s New World of Work, many companies are navigating different ways of approaching how they structure their workforce. Key to this challenge is the contingent workforce, which has pivoted into the limelight during the pandemic as these workers take on a growing number of important jobs. For people who have been displaced from their jobs, it also has decided benefits, not only to fill the gap until they secure their next permanent position, but also in many cases, to put them on a new career path.

Many companies have discovered that they need to bring different strengths to their leadership teams as factors like remote working and economic/labor market changes shift their priorities. “Often, the right interim employees can help forge solutions to these unprecedented challenges,” say Tim Ozier, Sr. Director at MRI. “This presents opportunities for interim employees to bring fresh ideas to the table while helping existing teams to become more adaptable and innovative.”

Whether you’ve worked as an interim employee before or if you’re new to the idea, this is a great time to explore new environments. “You can showcase your problem-solving skills by assessing what needs to be done and coming up with a plan for accomplishing it,” observes Ozier. “Companies are looking for answers, and you can take this chance to leap-frog your career to a new level.”

Particularly, if you find that your industry niche has shrunk and that it may not become robust again for a long time, taking an interim position allows you to check out new companies and determine the best fit for you. “That’s a real advantage,” says Ozier. “You can determine if the leadership style and the culture of the company are compatible with your goals and comfort level without making a permanent commitment.”

Ozier points out that there are other tangible advantages in becoming an interim employee:

A boost in pay. Temporary assignments can give contractors exposure to an array of responsibilities and companies, often while earning more competitive salaries than they would in permanent positions. “Also, contractors typically get paid for every hour they work, unlike their salaried counterparts,” says Ozier. “They don’t find themselves working 60 hours a week and only getting paid for 40.”

Broadening skills. “If you bore easily or fear growing stagnant or getting pigeonholed, going from contract to contract offers the perfect solution,” says Ozier. “Most importantly, it helps you build your skill set. Exposure to a wider variety of projects, technology tools, and work environments accelerates how quickly you build those skills. Meeting a wider variety of people also allows you to build your professional network. Both lead to future opportunities.”

Finding security. In the interim world, you quickly learn how to stay relevant, nimble, and employable. “People who still believe that job security is synonymous with full-time employment may be missing out on one of the best-kept secrets of contracting: once you are established with a good staffing firm or you become adept at drumming up new work on your own, you stop worrying about layoffs,” says Ozier. “Instead, you cultivate industry contacts and keep a constant ear to the ground for fresh opportunities.

Making a living as a contract professional isn’t suitable for everyone. It requires planning and self-motivation. But the independence and the ability to build skills at a fast rate can be financially and personally rewarding.

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Four Ways to Strengthen Your Personal Brand

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Four Ways to Strengthen Your Personal Brand

Your personal brand has a significant impact on your career. However, many people overlook how they represent themselves online. While there are millions of professionals “on” platforms like LinkedIn, many neglect to proactively build their reputation and leverage it to boost and support their careers. So, how can you actively develop your brand and use social media to create meaningful dialogues between you and the people you want to influence? Here is some sound advice from Patrick Convery, Senior Marketing Manager for MRI.

  • Be real. Creating and attempting to maintain a false persona is exhausting— and your audience will see right through it. Branding is not about positioning yourself as something that you are not. ”It’s all about strategically showcasing your skills and your expertise in a way that brings value to your audience,” says Convery. “They key is to deliver this content to your followers in a way which nobody else can: by being yourself. It’s sustainable and leads to quality engagement.” He advises that you start by identifying your goals and taking inventory of your skills and credentials, your interests and areas of specialization, and your core values and beliefs.
  • Define your target audience. You’re not out to attract everyone— just those you want to work with in some way. Craft your messaging and content strategy to attract those specific people. Think carefully about the segments you want to reach. What are their needs and concerns? What can you offer them? How do they consume content? “Don’t use resources on content creation and distribution until you have clearly identified your social media audience,” warns Convery. “If you’re just throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks, your current audience will literally get mixed messages from you— leading to confusion, a lack of credibility, and ultimately, a damaged brand that’s not reaching its full potential.”
  • Adapt a demand generation philosophy. Distributing free content is one of the most effective ways to build your reputation as a subject matter expert in your field and earn the trust of your target audience. “People are sick of being pitched and sold to. Stop telling your audience how great your widget and widget services are— show them why your widgets are amazing,” says Convery. “Stop telling everyone how you can help them and start actually helping them. If you consistently share your expertise and give without asking, you will position yourself as an authority in your industry— and business will come to you.”
  • Grow your network. Next, build relationships with other subject matter experts within your niche by frequently engaging on their posts. This can open new opportunities and help you grow your social following. When you have a personal brand that clearly articulates who you are, what you do well, and how you help others, it makes it easier for individuals to see value in connecting and collaborating with you. “Your digital network is your distribution channel. Your goal should be to deliver quality content to as many relevant individuals as possible,” Convery adds. “Amazing content is worthless if it doesn’t reach anybody.

Finally, Convery emphasizes the importance of consistency. “Your personal brand is your reputation and it will fizzle out quickly if you don’t nurture it. To grow a strong brand, you should post regularly and constantly interact with others,” he says. “But don’t post just to meet a quota. Delivering information which your audience finds value in is critical. Like everything else, however, your messaging needs to evolve or your brand and its relevance will become stale, and perhaps, obsolete.”

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Preserving Company Culture in a Remote World of Work

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Preserving Company Culture in a Remote World of Work

For many businesses, working the “9-to-5” in a centralized office is a thing of the past – at least for the time being. Even when you and your people are able to physically return to your workplaces, you’ll most likely find that practices such as working remotely continue in some form.

”Adapting your company culture to effectively support remote work is one of the most important things you can do to set your company up for work-from-home success or just for the future of work in general,” says Nancy Halverson, SVP Global Operations at MRINetwork. ”With proper planning and execution, you can leverage remote work as an integral part of your business strategy.”

Halverson notes that one of the dangers inherent in remote work is the loss of employee connection. People can feel isolated and out of touch with the company culture and values. She advocates taking proactive steps that not only prevent that from happening, but also strengthen and enhance your employees’ alignment with your culture and values.

Establish a results-oriented environment. Creating and communicating clear objectives and key performance indicators for your team members to achieve is critical to a productive remote culture. They must clearly understand what the expectations for success include and have the tools to track and report their productivity. Even if you can’t be physically present, you can stay close through consistent communication and encouragement. Discuss work styles, resources and support needs to determine how you can empower individuals to be more autonomous.

Be inclusive. Successful cultures involve the collaboration of all stakeholders working together to determine their shared values and ideals. This can be difficult for remote teams. “Going to an office provides many opportunities for people to come together and create the type of working environment they want,” says Halverson. “For remote teams, those opportunities are fewer because of factors like different time zones, no physical presence and interactions dictated by technology.” That means remote teams must be deliberate about inclusivity. Schedule regular time for coworkers to chat, get the team together in the same location when you can, support multiple channels of communication and encourage group work and collaboration.

Support your employees’ health and well-being. Employees who don’t normally work from home may be thrown off their routines. When kids are home, things are even more complicated. It takes time to build healthy routines up again in a different environment. You can help employees by encouraging them to practice healthier behaviors. Encourage senior leadership to share what they’re doing to stay healthy while working from home. Check in with your employees often. Ask how they’re doing. During a time of increased stress, coworkers can provide support and make them feel less alone.

Look for signs that your culture is healthy. Even if your employees aren’t coming into the office, you can take note of the way they act in videoconferencing meetings. Do they seem happy? Are they engaged? Are you picking up signs of discontent? When your team members are truly committed to your values, they do good work that reflects their loyalty to the company. You can see it when they propose ideas or offer solutions, demonstrating their desire to give back to an organization that is supportive of them. “You’ll also get positive feedback and referrals from clients and vendors,” says Halverson. “Or job candidates may refer to your culture as a reason for wanting to work for your company.”

You may ultimately find that you have happier employees due to their flexible work environment. It takes time and conscious effort to build out the processes, structure, and culture needed to accommodate remote workers. As more of the world makes this transition, it also provides opportunities for organizations to adapt and evolve as they embrace the new world of work.

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Starting a New Remote Job During the Pandemic

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Starting a New Remote Job During the Pandemic

If you’re starting a new job during the ongoing pandemic, it is likely that you won’t have the customary onboarding experience of even six months ago. Instead of spending a day or two in orientation, meeting your co-workers, picking up your laptop, and being taken out to lunch, your introduction to your new job will almost certainly be conducted remotely. So, what can you do to successfully navigate the process and come away feeling ready to get started?

“Keep in mind that your new employer is also grappling with orientation difficulties, so be patient and flexible,” advises Nancy Halverson, SVP Global Operations. “Depending on policies at your new company and the current public health situation, logistics might be confusing at first so you might want to reach out ahead of time to find out what the process will look like in your case. Contact your recruiter, your HR contact, or your new manager to find out how they’re handling the logistics of onboarding during WFH.”

You’ll probably receive an onboarding packet that provides you with a list of tools, links, and systems and directions on how to access them, internal/external contact information for any issues that may arise, colleague contact information, and an organizational chart. It’s also likely that your new boss will send out a communication to your team members announcing your hiring, but you can also reach out to your co-workers and personally introduce yourself.

Halverson’s additional recommendations include:
Understanding expectations. Your new job probably wasn’t intended to be remote, and since your manager and colleagues won’t be working in the same location, you can’t just drop by to ask a quick question or get clarification. “Take the initiative and make sure you fully understand your role and the tasks you’ve been assigned,” says Halverson. “Know when you’re expected to produce deliverables, for example, and how your boss wants to receive them. Don’t hesitate to ask for more information.”

Knowing what digital tools your team is using. “This is really important,” says Halverson. “Remote working depends heavily on the use of digital tools for communication, meetings, and project management. Take your time navigating the company’s training documents and onboarding materials. Walk yourself through each new tool – especially the ones that involve workflow and communication.” Once you know the preferences of your boss and your colleagues, you should be able to quickly adapt to a digital platform that allows you to work effectively with your team and collaborate on projects.

Cultivating a work friend or mentor. “Remember that people who are working remotely miss the camaraderie and interaction they enjoyed in the office,” says Halverson. “Most would be happy to have a virtual one-on-one coffee chat with you, giving you a chance to build relationships and find helpful mentors.” You’ll learn about what they’re working on, and you’ll gain a better understanding of the organization and how it functions.

Tuning in to the culture. Every organization has its own culture, and typically you absorb it through everyday interactions that are a normal part of being in an office. You hear conversations, have discussions about what other people are working on, and you pick up on what activities are valued and what styles of work are appreciated. “Now you have to create those interactions digitally,” says Halverson. “From them, you’ll be able to determine a great deal about the values of the company and its leaders.”

Starting a new job is always a challenge, never more so than now. However, if you are proactive in your efforts to acclimate, you’ll soon begin to feel more comfortable socially and to demonstrate your value more quickly.

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