Training
Companies have successfully used webinars and other virtual platforms to train or educate employees. When the pandemic and stay-at-home orders forced everyone into remote mode, virtual training wasn’t a big leap for many.
However, just as the shortcomings of remote learning have become obvious to parents with young kids, employers recognized years ago that the best training is in person. Training in a conference room requires a higher level of engagement from employees than a remote webinar, where an employee can easily ignore the training while directing their attention to an off-screen device or some distraction in the home.
Training in an office is more valuable because, as with classrooms for children, the attendees have entered a learning environment and they must shift into a learning state of mind. The home is an environment for family, relaxation and play, which is why so many children have struggled with remote learning. Similarly, adults need a learning space at work, not in the home.
Momentum
In order for a successful business to keep growing, there has to be a culture of institutional energy that motivates employees and propels the company’s momentum.
Maintaining an exciting purpose for what employees do is essential to momentum. Promoting a unity of purpose happened in offices through employee huddles, rallies and training sessions. The pandemic and remote working have upended the traditional forms of momentum building, but as stay-at-home orders ease many business leaders are looking at how their offices can once again become forums for staff motivation.
Remember that energy is contagious. Many employees will be happy to return to the office because the return marks the end of their social isolation. It’s a good time for businesses to plan how they will harness their employees’ pent-up energy to revive or accelerate momentum.
Culture
Office culture is an essential ingredient for a company’s success because offices are where diverse points of view are shared, impromptu meetings occur and relationship building happens.
The pandemic and remote working pose an existential threat to office culture because virtual platforms don’t foster vibrant cultural environments. Remote employees are not interacting to the degree that they were in the office, and that separation has a cost.
Without the office culture, there are no shared company values and there is no unity of purpose. Business leaders should consider how they will preserve office culture as they plan their future real estate needs.