Transforming Work with Sophie Wade 127: Mika Cross - Learning from Public Sector Distributed Teams, Telework, and Wellness
Mika Cross is a Workplace Transformation Strategist at Strategy@Work. She discusses her military career and years federal government agency experience including talent management, workplace flexibility, and wellness. Mika shares her approach to distributed teams, performance management, and work-life balance. She describes how flexible private sector workforce management policies, informed by public sector successes, foster engagement, retain talent, and meet the diverse needs of the modern, distributed workforce. Mika describes how remote work options allow us to reimagine veterans’ and civilians’ working lives and communities.
TAKEAWAYS
[02:39] MIka works wants to be a journalist then has to take a break in her studies.
[03:17] A mentor suggests military service so Mika can complete her education and serve nobly.
[04:26] Mika has some job options from Uncle Sam after finishing top three in her officer training class.
[05:35] Mika is attracted by inclusive workplaces that support the whole soldier and family.
[06:32] Working for a rapidly deployable unit, Mika must support distributed teams holistically.
[07:33] The military is facing shortages, how can retention be improved using flexibility?
[09:15] How to share knowledge across agencies while dealing with confidential information.
[10:31] What does employee experience look like in the federal government?
[11:49] The power of communication to enable effective policy implementation.
[13:41] Managers want discretion and information to make the right decisions for their teams.
[16:11] With deep knowledge of federal regulations, Mika takes an integrated systems approach.
[17:44] What are the blocks to effective equal opportunity?
[18:37] Mika finds some workplace flexibility policy options blocked by supervisors.
[19:50] Mindsets can prevent advancements or enable cultural transformation.
[21:26] How to measure the impact of policies including cost savings.
[23:04] Taking a multi-pronged approach with broad buy in and incentivized training.
[24:25] Celebrating wins, measuring engagement, and saving on leases.
[25:34] The benefits of getting multiple share stakeholders on board.
[26:36] The USDA gets recognition and rewards as one of America's best workplaces.
[27:25] Achieving savings of $8 million per year through telecommuting.
[31:00] Negotiating work policies with 92 unions!
[36:34] Enabling veterans’ smooth transitions into civilian jobs requires many types of flexibility.
[38:20] Mika explores upskilling, reskilling and benefits.
[40:14] Veterans often returning to Hometown USA find few jobs after years of rural brain drain.
[41:20] Three ways to provide thriving healthy supportive workplaces to veterans.
[42:43] Military spouses need remote work options as they support transitioning veterans.
[45:01] The wild opportunity to reimagine the nation, rebuilding Hometown USA.
[46:58] The importance of soft skills -- or success skills as Mike calls them.
[48:18] Mika believes in career readiness skills so workers learn how to work.
[49:14] Moving to a skills-based talent economy.
[50:27] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: If you don’t include flexibility in your work policies and turnover increases, recognize the burden on employees who stay and the loss of skills and organizational knowledge. Instead, extend a little trust and autonomy first, hold people accountable second, and teach flexible open mindsets.
RESOURCES
QUOTES
“I ended up seeing the power of inclusive workplaces, supportive workplaces, policies, procedures and programs that supported the whole soldier in order to get the best out of our troops, especially when they are deploying into conflict and being separated from their families and having to support the other half of that equation, which is their spouse, their families, their children, their loved ones.”
“It really helped me to inform, regardless of what my work was or what projects I was working on, how are people interpreting even the wording in these policies to be able to implement them successfully the way we intended.”
“The Secretary of Agriculture had included telework work life and wellness as a component of his vision for cultural transformation and had monthly metrics to which he reviewed and held his sub cabinet committee accountable for each and every month.”
“If you have jobs that are suitable to be done in a remote capacity, could you be leveraging those remote jobs for the purpose of attracting and hiring an amazing skillset of talent from either military spouses or transitioning veterans?”
“We're looking at wild opportunity for our nation to rebuild and put emphasis in areas of the country that sort of have been left behind in the past.”
“When you consider older workers staying longer, trying to continue working, this can really create opportunity not just for employers, but for those communities where they live. If they're able to continue contributing their tax base, to the infrastructure, and re-imagining what our Hometown USAs can look like all around the country.”
“What we used to call soft skills; I like to call them success skills—skills that any worker needs in any industry and occupation. These are what can set you apart from someone else. Things like critical thinking, autonomous work ethic, conflict resolution skills, interpersonal, and intergenerational skills.”