In the latest episode of Rewilding Work, hosted by Digital Workplace Group (DWG) founder and Chief Creative Officer Paul Miller, Tracy Hawkins, (VP) Global Head of Workplace Experience and Connection at Grammarly, shares a key insight into her experience of fostering an adaptive work environment at the tech start-up.
Speaking to Paul Miller, Tracy explains that employees’ connection with each other is incredibly important, especially post-COVID, where most people work either remotely or in some form of hybrid arrangement.
Noting that there is no one way of working, as all businesses operate differently, she details the current ‘remote-first hybrid’ approach that Grammarly has adopted, which sees employees meet up for a couple of weeks every quarter for meaningful alignment days. These gatherings boost and strengthen employees’ connections and maintain them through a period of remote working.
In the podcast, Tracy discusses what organizations can do to strengthen employee relationships and morale. This includes having scheduled days with the same employees to encourage continuity; at present many hybrid setups see employees going into the office, seeing different people each week, and ultimately carrying out work that could have been done from home, Tracy notes.
This is an interesting and topical insight, given that organizations and their employees are still working out the best way to utilize hybrid working environments following the return-to-work post-COVID. A recent study by Glassdoor found that 40% of remote workers reported that the virtual setup made it harder to connect with colleagues, and 31% struggled to build a relationship with their line manager or senior colleagues. This shows just how much the employee experience of the workplace should be a focus for employers.
