Inyourshoes

Business leaders face supply chain disruption and recruitment challenges: In Q2 2021, SME CEOs were more confident in the UK economy than they had been in the last two years.

Business leaders face supply chain disruption and recruitment challenges The results of the Vistage Q3 Confidence Index are in. See what your peers are saying.

Why companies fail at digital transformation - and how to succeed: Imagine that everyone in your organisation has been summoned for the town hall meeting. The CEO walks onto the stage. The music starts to play, and he turns to the audience.

Why companies fail at digital transformation - and how to succeed Looking to implement a digital strategy but worried about failing? Vistage Speaker, Robin Speculand shares how to succeed.

Hybrid working requires significant cultural considerations in addition to legal matters: 83% of attendees at a recent Vistage webinar expected to work in a hybrid way – both remotely and in the office – over the next 12 months.

Bringing employees back to the office part-time while still allowing remote work comes with unique challenges. How do you adapt your business practices, HR policies, leadership style and physical office space to this new way of working? How do you ensure your company culture is felt both in the office and remotely?

Helen D**e, Senior Associate, and Elaine Huttley, Partner, at national law firm, Irwin Mitchell, discussed these challenges in a recent Vistage webinar.

Watch the full webinar here.



Reconsidering your office space

“As we look ahead over the next 12 to 18 months, there is a real opportunity to stop and reflect,” says Helen. “We would urge business leaders and HR teams to come together to make the most out of what has been a difficult situation.”

Irwin Mitchell has found that many clients are reconsidering whether they need their large, expensive city-centre office spaces. Leaders can reduce costs by downsizing. They can also reduce their environmental impact – and use this move to boost their brand and future growth.

“In a lot of tenders, we get asked about our carbon footprint, our sustainability, and our commitment to the environment and local community,” says Helen.

“If you are downsizing and allowing employees to work remotely, you can demonstrate that you are more sustainable than you used to be. It can be part of setting out your commitments.”

Do we need an office? Download our full guide to find out.



Legal considerations for hybrid working

“We all know that the heart of the employment relationship is the trust and confidence between employee and employer,” says Helen. “When this goes wrong, employees can potentially make claims. So it is important that it doesn’t go wrong.”

“This isn’t only to avoid litigation, though. The flip side is that if you get that trust right, you will attract and retain the best talent. Studies show that when employees are engaged and motivated, absences go down and productivity goes up.”



Statutory right for flexible working

“So the pandemic hasn’t changed the law when it comes to flexible working,” says Helen. “There has always been a right to request a different working pattern, not a right to obtain it. And businesses can reject applications if they can prove it’s going to adversely affect your business.”

“In the past, it’s been quite easy to turn down those applications as long as you didn’t have a blanket ban. But that’s going to change going forward, as employees have proven that they have been working from home successfully all this time.”

Employee’s legal rights are actually some way behind the move to hybrid working. The Flexible Working Bill introduced to Parliament in 2021 still hasn’t passed, despite calls for businesses to be legally required to allow more flexible working back in 2019. However, this is expected to change next year.



Cultural considerations for hybrid working

The pandemic only sped up a larger movement towards more flexible – or even agile – working practices. There are huge benefits for both employers and employees. Working mothers are better positioned to balance work and childcare, and businesses – no longer bound by geography – have widened their recruitment reach to find the best talent no matter where they live.

Ultimately, we are changing the way we think about work, Helen says.

“Agile sees work as an activity rather than a place of work. It embraces both the physical and the digital workplace. It’s about supporting people to work, where, when, and to some extent how they wish to. And it’s about maximising their productivity and making sure that they're delivering the best value to your organisation.”

Irwin Mitchell has embraced this concept wholeheartedly. They have considered the challenges when adapting work culture to hybrid working and retaining a good relationship with employees.



How to make hybrid working work

We describe our current working relationship at Irwin Mitchell as “flexible by choice”.

“We’re all a team, we’re just miles apart in some cases. We’ve then looked closely at how physical distance impacts the employment relationship.”

Watch the full webinar with Irwin Mitchell here.



Be aware of multiple experiences

“We’ve seen a big shift during the pandemic around wellbeing and mental health. And considerable scrutiny of the work/life balance,” says Helen.

“There’s a huge spectrum of responses to these new issues. Some people like the new way of working. They feel it gives them a better work/life balance, they have more time for friends and family, they’re saving time and money through not having to commute.”

“The flipside is that there are some employees who now say: ‘I don’t work from home, I live at work’. You have to be aware of this. In your strategy, you’ve got to come up with ways to anticipate this in advance.”



Lead to reduce churn

Leaders need to be an example to their employees during times of change, or risk losing them.

“It’s not enough for your HR team to announce a policy and to cascade that message,” Helen says. “You have to live it on a daily basis, otherwise employees are not going to engage – and they will vote with their feet.”



Be creative about communication

One of the most valuable tools for developing and maintaining employee engagement is frequent communication.

“Think about what you've done so far to monitor and gauge employee wellbeing and engagement,” Helen advises. “At Irwin Mitchell we’ve used surveys every few months. When you do any sort of survey, someone might be having a bad day. Next week, they could be fine. So continuous listening gives you an average sense of what your employees like and what they don’t.”

Helen also believes that thinking creatively about communication when not everyone can rely on face-to-face contact is key.

“Employees don’t want to read long-winded emails. You need to use light touches and think about when you time your communication to be best received. Now we’re looking at using videos. If you work remotely within a senior leadership team, you might not have seen someone's face for months. Creating a short video that asks some questions, followed by something that needs to be read – that personal touch can really help with engagement.”

Ultimately, there are many legal considerations around the move to hybrid working. But as the Irwin Mitchell team have explained, the new world of work requires even more cultural shifts to ensure employees stay happy and productive.

Our in-depth guide to hybrid working includes more advice from Helen and other Vistage speakers on how to lead both remote and office-based teams. Get it here.

Hybrid working requires significant cultural considerations in addition to legal matters Law Firm Irwin Mitchell explains how to make hybrid working work.

Does your marketing support healthy sales flow?: By Bryony Thomas, Author & Founder, Watertight Marketing.

Does your marketing support healthy sales flow? Marketing is like fitness. If you’ve never done any, it can be hard to get started. See whether your business is marketing fit by looking at the four Flow Foundations from the Watertight Marketing book.

A positive outlook with Vistage’s Q2 2021 CEO Confidence Index: The Vistage Confidence Index is a quarterly analysis of data collected from over 200 CEOs of small to medium-sized businesses. We look at their overall confidence in the economy, their investment plans, revenue expectations, talent outlook and more.

A positive outlook with Vistage’s Q2 2021 CEO Confidence Index Both business and economic confidence continues to grow through Q2 2021 - read on for the highlights of our latest Confidence Index report.

What can business leaders learn from England manager Gareth Southgate?: “Looking at that man there it’s everything a leader should be: respectful, humble, tells the truth, genuine. He’s fantastic.” This praise for England men’s football manager, Gareth Southgate, came from his former teammate Gary Neville after England beat Denmark to reach the Euro 2020 semi-finals - a stage of the competition that, realistically, many thought it was unlikely that England would reach.

What can business leaders learn from England manager Gareth Southgate? We spoke to Vistage Chair Graeme Thompson to find out what makes Southgate such a game-changer for English football.

How to win the upcoming war for talent: All signs are pointing towards a recruitment boom in 2021.

Our latest Vistage Confidence Index found that 70% of CEOs are planning to increase their workforce next year. This will lead to a war for talent – meaning leaders will have to up their game to employ the best people for their organisation, and ensure they retain existing talent too.

We spoke to JG Consulting CEO, Jeff Grout, to find out how CEOs can win the upcoming war for talent.

How to win the upcoming war for talent 70% of CEOs plan to increase their workforce in the next year. Here’s how to ensure you recruit and retain the very best talent in 2021.

How to prepare your business for increased confidence and growth: Our latest Vistage Confidence Index showed that 76% of CEOs expect economic conditions to improve during the next 12 months. Revenue growth expectations have doubled from that of 12 months ago. Plus, planned investment by SMEs has climbed significantly above levels shown 12 months earlier.

Andrew Brent, Founding Partner of Think Again Growth, agrees that all signs point to the second half of 2021 being a markedly better period for businesses.

“It’s certainly true that most consumers - and businesses - have got a degree of money stored up that they haven’t spent. So the expectation is that there will be more spending in the second half of the year.”

Spending more following a difficult time is a very human response, Andrew explains.

“When you’ve been through a period of difficulty, there’s a strong psychological need for positive experiences – give me some joy, let me go on holiday, to the pub or buy new clothes. And that translates into more spending.”

We’ve seen this response before, in the face of two world wars that were followed by real “periods of fun and expansion.”

“We can see that the market is ready to get out there and spend a bit of money, and businesses should be gearing up for that.”

How to prepare your business for increased confidence and growth The Vistage Confidence Index showed that 76% of CEOs expect economic conditions to improve during the next 12 months. Andrew Brent, Founding Partner of Think Again Growth, discusses how leaders should prepare.

How should your hybrid office look? Consult with staff to find out: Our research has found that just 26% of businesses are considering an entirely remote work setting, with 17% likely to remain office-based, and 57% considering a hybrid of the two. So how do you transform it to fit this new style of working? And why is it so important to get it right?

Phil Muir, Director of Consultancy and Design at Space Solutions, believes that getting your workspace right is fundamental to employee happiness, productivity and business growth. In order to do this, leaders need to consult with stakeholders throughout the business.

How should your hybrid office look? Consult with staff to find out Transforming your office for the new world of hybrid working requires both a top-down and bottom-up approach.

Hybrid workforces require a new type of leadership: As we emerge from the pandemic, one thing is clear: we’ll never work in the same way as before. While some people prefer to continue working remotely, others are keen to get back to the workplace, leading many businesses to adopt a hybrid workforce model.

Allowing employees to work in a flexible way - one which suits their particular circumstances and personality type - has obvious benefits such as employee happiness, improved productivity and better retention.

However, leading a hybrid workforce presents a clear range of challenges for business leaders. According to a recent survey by Adecco ‘empathy, trust and a new focus on wellbeing and culture building are the most important leadership skills in the new era of work.’

Senior Associate Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, Helen D**e, believes this new era of hybrid working is much more than a logistical change, rather a complete shift of culture for businesses.

So, how do you adapt and lead a change of this magnitude? Here’s how to lead a hybrid workforce…

Hybrid workforces require a new type of leadership The new era of work will require empathy, trust, and a renewed focus on employee wellbeing. Find out how to lead a hybrid workforce.

Is your hybrid working set up for introverts?: Right now businesses around the world are facing a big decision: how to work in a post-pandemic world. There are three clear options: continuing with a fully remote workforce, using a hybrid model, or a full return to working IRL. According to a recent study by the CIPD, hybrid working is the most popular choice, with 63% of businesses planning to ‘boost hybrid working’.

While there are many benefits to this model, in order to make it work, it’s crucial that you consider personality types. Your model needs to suit the needs of introverts as well as extroverts. If it doesn’t, you’re likely to see a negative impact on employee engagement, and ultimately, on retention of talent.

During COVID, many introverts have thrived in their work roles. From independence and the ability to work at your own pace to less social interaction and more opportunities for autonomy, if you’re an introvert, the chances are you’ve enjoyed this way of working. So what happens in a hybrid model? With extroverts more likely to want to go back to the office, how do you ensure your introverted employees remain engaged, productive and happy?

COVID has highlighted the fact that the business world has always been designed and tailored for the needs of extroverts. We’ve also seen (more than ever before) that introverts are highly creative, productive, and natural born innovators. That’s why you can’t afford to lose them.

One person who knows how to make sure your hybrid working is set up for introverts, is Erica Dhawan. The author of the bestselling book Digital Body Language and and CEO of Cotential recently spoke about hybrid working at the Vistage Summit. If you missed it, you can watch the full webinar here. Here’s a taste of what to expect...

Want to become a better leader? Find out about the 7 Laws of Leadership.

Is your hybrid working set up for introverts? With 63% of UK businesses planning to use a hybrid work model, how can you ensure the introverts will be as happy as the extroverts?

Leading Gen Z and Millennials requires a new understanding of generational theory: If generational theory is to be believed, Generation Z and Millennials are very different to the generations preceding them. For business leaders, this means that they need to be led and managed differently. Inter-generational diversity expert Henry Rose Lee, recently spoke at a Vistage webinar on this very subject, outlining what sets these generations apart, what can discourage and disengage them, and how best to lead these groups.

Leading Gen Z and Millennials requires a new understanding of generational theory Inter-generational diversity expert Henry Rose Lee discusses what sets these generations apart and how to encourage and engage them in the workplace.