Return to the Office? Try ABC

There was an interesting article recently in the Financial Review describing how ANZ in Australia is looking at cutting people’s bonuses (or ‘at risk’ pay) if they don’t come to the office at least 40% of the time. The article goes on to describe how a broader culture shift is underway at ANZ to drive performance and how other organisations are also struggling to get people back to the office, nowhere more than Melbourne. 

To my mind, having people in the office around half of the time is actually quite a good idea, but critically, only if they’re able to do the right kind of work with the right people. There is no value to be gained by bringing people into an office by enforcement, paying them for showing up, with that as an end in itself. It entirely misses the point, particularly  if the goal is to drive performance. 

Forcing resentful people into the office could actually be counter productive, unless what you really wanted was to drive employee turnover and shrink the size (and cost) of your workforce.

What high performance for the hybrid workforce requires in the office is ABC: Acquisition, Belonging and Contribution.

Acquisition is acquiring new knowledge by listening and learning from others, especially beyond your immediate team.

Belonging is spending time with your close colleagues, connecting at a human level and building the relationships you value for your work alongside a social sense of belonging.

Contribution is what we want to give when we’re with our colleagues beyond the immediate tasks on our to do lists. In the office, when we’re working collaboratively, we’re able to contribute to creative discussions in ways that are much harder to achieve remotely.

If we want to get the best from our people, reward them for the behaviour that will drive high performance, let’s go for it. But let’s be guided by what we know will actually drive the outcome we want. As it turns out, it is as simple as ABC, so why wouldn’t we put our energy into that?

If you’re looking for simple tools to help you get there, check out my Flexperts Kickstarter Pack.