How to avoid cultural retreat when staff resumes work from the office?

The cultural retreat is the most expected next big constraint to arrive for the businesses. For those of you who don’t know what a cultural retreat is, it is getting back to the culture that we had in our organisations before the pandemic. To be precise, the managers had less trust, loved micromanaging and taking the onus for most of the tasks, they delegated less or ended up taking credit in front of the senior-most people instead of highlighting the work and efforts of their team member(s). This is not just it, there’s a lot more to the before the pandemic story.

Nonetheless, we understand how tempting it is to go back to the same old habits bit by bit even when you know you shouldn’t. Here are some tips that can help you stay the same old great employee that you have been throughout the year when employees were working remotely! How to not go back to the same old practices checklist is what we are going to share in this post today. So, if you are also calling employees back to the workplace, here are several things that you just avoid at every cost. We will also very briefly discuss how HRMS software can help you in avoiding cultural retreat. Take a look! 

Also Read: How to Revamp Your Office After COVID-19

Accept your new role as a leader

 Managers have been fed that “they need to know” or “command the team”, this is also because this creates a positional power threat. While this year employees have learnt to be more empathetic, they must be rewarded for empowering their teams. Challenging bureaucracy like this will help the leaders work on growing and empowering their teams and not let the authoritative behaviour take over.  Because if it will, things will get back to the same level as they were before and most of the employees won’t really enjoy it. 

Look back to realise what you’ve learnt

This is for everyone in the office, a virtual board or a sticky note on the work desk can be put. In the same, every employee has to write what they learnt and what they unlearnt. Not only will this act as a daily reminder of what to do and what no to but this can also be used to look back at when things are normal hopefully in 2021 to realise if we are sticking to the good we learnt or changing. This way you will be able to map your journey and see what action or change gave what outcome. You can also share the list in the team with each other and discuss as to what should change or has scope for improvement and what should be changed. 

Let HRs be the anthropologists of culture 

It is the time to observe how the business worked and why did it work that way. Have some employees been integral to growth? Who have been the most creative? Have some departments being reskilled or upskilled more than others? What has the outcome been? How have you measured and rewarded performance or you haven’t? Everything will help in the years to come. 

How can HRMS software help?

There are many ways in which HRMS software can help but the best way would be to keep using the HR software to track performance to avoid micromanagement. 

Going back to offices and giving the same old treatment aka the culture retreat can make it hard for everyone to work. Times have changed, we have learnt to be more flexible, empathetic and trusting as employers, let’s stick to that. Shall we? Let’s pledge to avoid cultural retreat at all costs. What are your suggestions? Let us know in the comments.

Also Read: Post COVID-19, Consider These Few Things Before Accepting A Job Offer

Don’t forget to share this post so that you colleagues, senior management, HR fraternity and the CEO, everyone can understand the importance of avoiding this and ways to use HRMS software to keep things in good faith of everyone.