In this guest post, Karen Coleman (main photo), managing director of brand agency Archetype Australia, talks the new hybrid work culture born from COVID and why it’s not without its challenges…
Company culture is everything. It is the catalyst for employee engagement, productivity, and retention. However, the shift to remote and hybrid work presents several challenges associated with team building and company culture, and the long-term impacts are yet to be assessed. It adds a layer of complexity to conventional workplace camaraderie, with the potential to weaken bonds and make employee relationships more transactional.
The shared circumstances of the past two years have shown that our experiences at work beyond professional interactions are significant in solidifying job satisfaction. At Archetype Australia, we found that while our teams want to have flexibility to work from anywhere, the one thing we were missing was each other. Work from home and collaborating remotely is wonderful, but nothing can replace seeing each other face-to-face. It creates unique opportunities to brainstorm and collaborate, mark milestones, or simply re-energise.
The hybrid workforce needs office spaces that support social interaction, as well as collaboration, which is central to maintaining company culture. At Archetype Australia, we have launched The Clubhouse as part of a series of people-first initiatives designed to address the shift in workplace culture that has accelerated since the start of the pandemic.
The role of the office has changed, the objective of The Clubhouse is to make it attractive for employees to come together for things that can’t be achieved on Zoom. Where ‘old style’ office space was often configured around workstations and desking, The Clubhouse concept encourages collaboration, creativity and connection.
Employees will have a social space available to them five days a week that is re-designed for connection and collaboration. Creative breakout spaces, meditation rooms and open air rooftop are currently being re-configured to break down conventional walls to make way for the new approach.
This change came as a result of extensive feedback from the Sydney team and an analysis of global trends into ways to maintain culture, without forgetting the importance of giving individuals the freedom to work the way they want. Agency environments are built on teamwork, fun and creativity, so we’re bringing that back to support flexible working to strike a balance.
The launch of The Clubhouse comes on the back of the success of our flexible-working and employee-support program comprised of three core strategies. Make Work Work for You allows employees to define how they like to work, when they work and where they work, supported by a tech and furniture allowance; Digital Detox sets parameters around out-of-hours communications, reducing Friday meetings, and ‘camera-optional’ Zoom calls. Archetype Lifeworks is our employee assistance program available to all.
