What leaders can learn from Google's return-to-office mandate

In the recent wave of crackdowns on remote working policies from large tech firms, Google is officially among the latest to clamp down on a mandated three-days-per-week in-office attendance, according to CNBC.

The tech giant has gone as far as to track employees' attendance via badges, and this is now forming an integral part of performance reviews. According to their policy, if the badge data shows that this policy is not being adhered to, employees will have this factored into their overall performance, and if this is done consistently, it will escalate to human resources for potential disciplinary action.

How ironic that large technology corporations, with all the resources for innovation and remote productivity at their fingertips that they are, in fact, selling to other organisations, are now the ones leading the trend in the return-to-office.

Shouldn't they be foremost in advocating more flexible work-from-home policies?

Why are employers following this trend? Why do employers feel the need to compel workers to be in the office for a mandatory minimum quota of half a work week?

Perhaps an even greater question is at stake here:

What skills are leaders lacking to creatively lead today's workforce in all environments simultaneously?

It turns out that two of the core motivations behind employers resorting to imposing stringent hybrid work policies are a lack of trust and an old-fashioned view of work that inhibits creativity.

Google cited a lack of togetherness and creativity that, in their view, can only be achieved through being in the same office together. They referenced the products released in Google Marketing Live last month (developed and built by teams working together physically) as proof that this is the best way forward.

However, it is evident that the backlash from not only their own employees but from the responses of other external workers viewing the situation is causing significant damage to company reputations and perhaps, most importantly, putting unnecessary pressure on those who cannot afford to come to the office three days a week due to their health, family and personal commitments.

The truth is, there are many ways to foster team spirit and unleash creativity that is not limited to the confines of office walls.

For example, in one of the organisations I had the privilege of working in, we had an 80 per cent remote working policy, which meant a minimum of office attendance one to two times per month. We were free to choose what days of the month we wanted to come into the office, based on our schedules, and we would simply track on a shared spreadsheet when we would be booking our desk for that day.

This worked well for many in my team who had caring responsibilities due to having sick or elderly dependants, children to take care of on their own due to being single parents, and even some who had side hustles or were studying.

Our teams were led by a management team who were deeply invested in their employees' growth and most importantly, were coaches.

Having a manager who is trained in the art of coaching and the servant leadership mindset is pivotal to organisational success when rolling out new policies, especially as it is naturally part of human nature to resist change.

Coaching, from a management perspective, empowers the employee to act in the best interests of their work, by offering unique perspectives and guiding them on a journey of curiosity and growth through asking insightful questions.

Instead of imposing what is deemed best by management, it considers the task to be a collective approach that all teams, company-wide, should have input and be involved in.

This allows employees to feel trusted, that their opinion matters, and that they will be more involved in their work. Doing otherwise is counterproductive.

When I appeared on Premier Christian Radio last week to discuss Google's new policy in the news break, my co-host asked me what can employers do instead in these situations. How can this sensitive issue be approached?

My answer was to be flexible.

Involve employees, as much as possible, in consultations and discussions regarding new policies that may be adopted, right from the beginning. Obtain feedback and input, and you may see common themes. For example, you may find that 50 per cent of your workforce prefer two days a week instead of three, and the other half can only come in two to three times a month.

Using this feedback, you could arrange individual 1:1 consultations during performance reviews with employees to determine what best suits their personal needs and the work they perform, and agree on a flexible working pattern that works for them.

For example, in another organisation I worked in previously, my manager and the operations director adapted the hybrid working policy to suit my personal needs and changed the two-day-a-week pattern to just one day a week.

For team coordination, building, and development, set core event days throughout the year where all teams (or individual teams) get together to work on a challenging project, brainstorm, undertake training, etc.

Make the most of these team-together days so that it includes a professional development and training element, and maximise the use of physical activities as much as possible.

For day-to-day work, use your creativity to facilitate teamwork by using channels such as Slack, Teams, Google Hangouts, and Zoom, to keep in touch with everyone.

Let's not forget, there is a plethora of related apps and resources with many of these virtual meeting platforms, that allow you to facilitate productive work and team-building as much as you would in person, such as virtual whiteboards, virtual team boards, polls, virtual games, team quizzes, using the 'Praise' feature on teams to celebrate a colleague, having dedicated channels to specific discussions and using screencast to record a walkthrough of a process on your screen to help your colleague (if unable to have a video chat), etc.

During the pandemic, I managed a remote team that hadn't met each other for almost a year, as they were all hired during lockdown.

But despite this challenge, they were able to execute and deliver on their key deliverables and even exceed targets, exceeding them by 140 per cent and being the highest performing team regionally for 6 consecutive months – because I was creative and found ways to maximise "togetherness" while not physically together.

Many of them commented to me on how they felt like they had truly met and grown into their family since joining the team, and one even shed a few tears when they moved to another team internally, because their bond was strong and they felt just as connected to their work and their colleagues as if they had met each other in person.

There is an abundance of proof that it can be done.

Instead of focusing on your limitations, focus on what resources can be leveraged and empower your teams by demonstrating that you trust them.

By Rachel Wells rachelwellscareerexpert

Rachel Wells is a Corporate Career Coach, Corporate Trainer, Christian Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur and public sector Contract Manager. Her passion is in helping people discover and live their purpose, and equipping the next generation of leaders. When not coaching or speaking, Rachel enjoys traveling, vegan baking, and long-distance running. You can learn more about management training for newly appointed and aspiring managers, by visiting her  website: https://www.rachelwellscoaching.org/.