There is no denying that the Coronavirus pandemic will continue to reverberate for many years to come. However, one area that has positively progressed considering COVID-19 is the way we work and where we work. There are more remote workers than ever before, and many companies are looking to close or reduce their office spaces to support a better work-life balance. Typically, remote working has been an option for gig workers whose roles are more freelance based or who work in isolation, but as we offer this option to more teams across the US, isn’t it time to do the same for our leaders too? 

Why Remote Leadership is Worth Considering 

It’s no shock to learn that senior roles are often based in an office. This is to give a sense of accountability and provide a team with a figurehead to look up to, but with more remote working comes a contemporary style of leadership – one that can inspire and motivate from afar. 

The great news for life science is that if a workforce is remote, nothing is stopping you from selecting a leader that works remotely too! Remote leadership does not mean an absence of a leader but will give you a greater chance of finding the right leader from a larger pool so that your business can grow in capable hands while respecting their need for a healthy work-life balance! Failing to offer remote roles will not only narrow your potential candidates, but they may be tempted to leave sooner if they find a similar job that allows them to work remotely.  In addition, the life sciences industry is posting more remote ads than ever before.  

Getting Remote Leadership Right 

Many people worry that remote leadership will lead to a lack of good working relationships, but this doesn’t need to be true if a company invests in the right technology and the right leadership. Some of the main considerations a company needs to consider include: 

• Considering whether their technological investment will support a remote leader’s success. 
• Ensuring a system where all team members can access support and advice during their working day without delay. 

• Finding ways to keep their leadership team visible and accessible so that the ethos and values of the business do not get lost in translation. 
• Being willing to innovate where there may not be a current solution so that remote working and a better work-life balance become a fully supported model. 
• Ensuring that all training opportunities are as robust remotely as they were in person.

When you find a leader with the drive and passion to take your company forward, it is worthwhile to offer them the way of working that best suits their needs. In return, you can be sure that they will drive success and innovate new ways of working that work for the whole team. 

The time has come to diversify hiring practices, with remote leadership becoming a real possibility. If you want to find out more about making remote leadership work for your business, then the GeneCoda® team are ready to help. Get in touch today and let us help you navigate the potential remote leadership has to offer. 

Companies are often looking for ways to cut costs, and since real estate is usually the second biggest expense, it makes sense to evaluate real estate costs.

Many employers are analyzing their square feet per employee ratios and ways to reduce that, and one way to do that is to embrace an open office concept.

Nationally, square footage per employee has decreased from 211.4 sf in 2009 to 193.8 sf at the end of 2017—a decline of 17.6 sf or 8.3%. But, this trend has not been consistent across all markets. In many of the largest office markets in the country there were significantly steeper decreases, like in Northern Virginia, which saw a 13.3% decrease on sf per employee. However, changes in square footage per employee were small in markets where the space allocation was already relatively low in 2009, like the 2.2% reduction in Washington, DC.

A main concern with office densification is the potential downsides for employees when personal work space is reduced. Many employees can struggle with new distractions in an open office plan. For example, employees who need quiet time to focus can struggle if they now sit next to others who have a phone call heavy roll. Therefore, paying attention to what teams, roles, and personality/workstyles end up sitting in close proximity to one another can help mitigate these issues. Furthermore, offering private break-out spaces for employees to use for both heads-down work and for louder work like phone calls or team meetings can also help alleviate these issues and distractions.

While open offices were first praised for breaking down barriers and encouraging employees to have face-to-face conversations, new research has emerged that finds that often times open offices actually discourage this communication. Instead, workers can rely on email more in order to avoid distracting colleagues or to ensure privacy and avoid eavesdroppers. The impact of open offices on employee collaboration and communication is still being debated. Furthermore, each office and workstyle is different and therefore will react to an open office differently, but these impacts should still be considered.

At Cushman & Wakefield, we have helped a number of companies move to an open office concept or manage the change of each employee having less square feet allocated to themselves. We also have several tools to monitor the impacts. For example, our Experience per SF™ consulting program measures employees’ current work experience in their office space and identifies the biggest levers for optimizing the employee experience. This is useful both for employers looking to move into an open office concept, and those who already have an open office and want to make sure it still works for their staff.

The move to open offices that many companies embraced as a way to control or cut costs are probably here to stay. Therefore, ensuring that the office layout, open or not, works for employees is an important step for all organizations to take. Read more 

Teamwork is undeniably important when it comes to being successful in the life sciences sector. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations were moving towards a more agile way of working. Technology was starting to be used to connect people around the world so that talented life science professionals could collaborate. This was still in its infancy for most areas before the pandemic, with the changing world forcing organizations to become more agile and allow for remote working almost overnight.

Remote Teams are Becoming the Default

One of the biggest changes to the way people have been working in life sciences is that teams have become separated. People have needed to work within the guidelines for social distancing and remote working has become the norm for many people.

Remote working manifests itself in different ways and includes working from home for much of the working day, being placed into smaller team groups or reducing the amount of time spent in the company of others by holding virtual meetings and sharing more work through digital channels. Ultimately, the more we get used to working remotely, the more creative we need to become to meet all workload tasks.

Managing a Dispersed Workforce

Remote working brings many challenges, and this is particularly true for mangers or executives who need to ensure teams work effectively and maintain positive team culture, even when teammates aren’t spending time together.

A dispersed workforce can quickly become a demotivated team, which can lead to people being unhappy in their roles, or even leaving to work for a competitor. As an executive it is likely to fall to you to ensure this does not happen.

Bring Fun to Remote Working

It’s difficult to bring a team together when some people are working remotely and others are in the office. However, if you think about the things that you used to do as a team in the office for fun, you can replicate these. If you usually have cake and sing to someone on their birthday, why not send team members a cake in the post and have a Zoom catch up just for singing and enjoying cake together?

If you often go out as a team after work, arrange to have ‘after work drinks’ virtually. Or if you usually have lunch together, make sure you continue doing these things. People can enjoy a drink or lunch while chatting to colleagues over Zoom. It won’t be the same, but it will bring the team together. 

Focus on the Purpose and Potential

When teams are working remotely, or in a hybrid way, it can be easy for team members to lose sight of the purpose of their work. This is another way that people become demotivated or demoralized quite quickly. When working together, people talk and share aspects of their jobs, meaning that everyone has an insight into the bigger picture. When working remotely, you may need to instigate more regular virtual catch ups so that people have the chance to share what they are doing.

Giving people the opportunity to chat about their work and hear about colleagues’ work will help to ensure employees remain motivated and focused on the purpose of what they are doing. This will also mean that employees can realize their potential by finding out about other opportunities to progress.

Good Morale Achieves a Productive Solution

Maintaining a happy and productive team can be more difficult in the current pandemic climate. However, remote working and hybrid teams are set to stay for the foreseeable future and so implementing ideas now is only going to making working in the future more effective and efficient.

GeneCoda

One of the top questions that employers in the Life Sciences community within the Capital Region are asking is how companies are approaching bringing employees back to the office. That’s why we asked nearly 30 top employers in the area to share their strategies in a recent survey conducted by BioBuzz Media.

What the data you will see shows is that while there’s still a great deal of indecision in the industry, companies are cutting a wide margin for COVID-19. Remote work, shifting processes, and the focus on safety are still top priorities. However, what you’re starting to see are the impacts it’s having on the long-term strategy for everything from facilities planning to talent acquisition practices.

Approximately what percentage of your workforce is now working remote for at least part of their week (2+ days)?

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