Transforming Work with Sophie Wade 40: Reid Hiatt — Making Hybrid Work – Focusing on the Employee Experience
Reid Hiatt, the Co-Founder and CEO at Tactic, launched this new venture during the pandemic to enable companies to bring employees back into the office safely and to provide long-term solutions for those moving to hybrid models. Reid shares insights about the dynamics of hybrid work arrangements and how he sees companies—including his own—using effective communication and new tools to implement them successfully. He discusses specific solutions to reduce meeting overload as well as the importance of proactive planning and participation to enable every employee to do their best work.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[03:10] Reid never imagined being where his position is now.
[03:40] Reid finds meaning in his early career.
[04:15] How COVID shaped Reid’s life and family.
[07:00] Reid’s friend Chris calls with an interesting idea for them to explore together.
[09:38] Reid and Chris try to evaluate and scope the future of hybrid working during 2020.
[10:44] What was middle management’s reaction to hybrid work models?
[12:50] Reid learns the challenges for new recruits in distributed teams in his consulting job.
[14:58] At the end of 2020, Reid and Chris bring in a tech co-founder, and notice patterns.
[15:40] Believing the priority pain point for distributed teams is collaboration, the team is ready to start.
[17:45] How to address each person’s working preferences while enabling relationships to develop.
[19:50] The key to making hybrid work is communication.
[20:38] The importance of eliminating proximity bias.
[20:58] The approach tools for creating a good communication culture.
[23:39] We have too many meetings. How to make them effective—includind recording and documenting them.
[24:39] Reid shares an example of how to have an effective meeting using transparency and documentation.
[25:21] Being purposeful about transparency and inclusion.
[26:58] Reid was surprised by the number of hybrid models.
[29:25] The initial product launched based on their research.
[30:00] The focus on the employee experience especially collaboration.
[31:12] Hybrid preferably provides a solution to suit each individual worker.
[33:30] You need to be intentional about onboarding and employee development.
[35:12] How to choose the right model for your company.
[35:38] Effective implementation first requires a plan.
[36:49] The human-centric focus is key to success for any hybrid work arrangement.
[37:15] Internal messaging about a hybrid model is key so employees understand their wellbeing is at the core.
[38:48] What are the next steps after launching a hybrid model?
[39:29] What to do if your hybrid work model is working as well as you had hoped.
[41:40] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: First define what effective looks like and how you will measure the success of your hybrid model. Second, gather feedback from your employees to find out what their experience of hybrid has been so far.
RESOURCES
Reid Hiatt on LinkedIn
Reid Hiatt on Twitter
Tactic on LinkedIn
QUOTES
“Honestly, across the board, what we found was that the vast majority of people, both younger and older, really resonated with this hybrid model. The younger people actually more so than the older but there wasn't a ton of resistance.”
“I believe that one reason why work can be so great is because you develop relationships with people that you wouldn't have otherwise.”
“Remote and in-person, like just one or the other, is the easiest to implement. I believe hybrid, when done correctly, is the most effective.”
“If I don't have anything to share, if there's nothing for me to share, and there's nothing that I need to specifically know or do in this meeting, then I have to ask myself, is this the most effective use of my time?”