It’s Time for Change

By: Mary Beth Oakes, CEO & Owner

Business Furniture + Co

Hybrid work has gone mainstream, and it’s one of the most significant economic and cultural changes facing leaders today. I can’t have lunch or a meeting without someone asking, so how are you handling remote work?

As a leader, it’s both exciting and scary.

Most organizations that choose hybrid work are trying to offer a balance between the flexibility people want and the need to bring employees together to create greater cohesion and build a sense of community.

But hybrid work policies can feel empty when people come into offices that still look like ghost towns.

Bringing people back together recharged and reinvigorated is perhaps the most significant challenge leaders have today, regardless of their hybrid work strategy. There’s never been a more substantial time for leaders to lead by example and demonstrate the culture and behavior they expect from their employees.

Can hybrid work for your team?

This is a loaded question and one without a clear answer. Each company we work with has its own unique approach, and it’s a plan that we’re happy to help carefully choreograph. The Business Furniture approach revolves around your business and is driven by research and strategy to give you the hybrid results your team deserves.

You shouldn’t have to walk this new hybrid road alone; that’s why we’re here.

Find Your WHY

Your company’s WHY differs from the next companies, but making a plan for your space without reason can be costly and ineffective. Leaders need to take the time to ask, why do I want my employees back in the office? Why three days vs. four days? Why are we putting these protocols into action?

This is where our change agent teams shine; your answer becomes clear through careful questioning and deep conversations, and you can feel confident with your next investment decision.

Create Your Strategy

Now comes the planning; turn your research into results by creating a workplace strategy and clear plans for your hybrid future. Our team carefully choreographs this change to prevent any missteps, and it’s all driven by your team’s unique needs.

Our change agent team defines your audience and creates a communication plan with careful messaging to get employees excited and accepting of what’s ahead.

Build Your Hybrid

Your hybrid is carefully curated and unique for your company’s results. We educate and engage employees on why your space is designed for the best hybrid experience. We train and orient teams on their new environment and explain protocols thoroughly and refreshingly- with change agents on board to support.

Drive Your Results

Your team is longing for a sense of community. Now we drive it home and support the people who “live” in the space. Community members have a sense of trust, belonging, safety, and care for each other.

They have an individual and a collective sense that they can influence their environments and each other as part of that community.

Our design and change agent teams use a highly collaborative process with leaders to create spaces that work. Through survey tools and one-on-one interviews, they learn about each person’s leadership style and how they prefer to work — alone and with others. The results can be a range of solutions that solve the tension between the need for accessibility and privacy.

So, what do I think is next? The answer to making hybrid work is listening to your people, defining your why, and then creating a space that pulls people in like a magnet, a community where they can be seen and heard. The new hybrid experience is thoughtful, strategic, and different for everyone.

We can’t ignore it any longer, it’s time for a change. Let’s choreograph it together.