Last week, a few hundred people participated in person and via video stream to launch my new book: Thuisvoordeel. While this was a great moment for me personally, the first feedback also showed the need to think about our organizations in hybrid and asynchronous terms. A few takeaways, without trying to touch on all the great points made:

Asynchronous first!

The next way of work is asynchronous first, and synchronous when needed. While organizations can set general guidelines, the strength in organizing work will come from the teams. Engaged employees who participate in creating an adapted work process and who understand the desired results will be the key to benefit from adopting a « transnational » way of work.

The office is interruption central

Going to the office becomes a deliberate choice to be disturbed. We’ll be in our shared workspace to be interrupted by coworkers. Social and personal interaction, formal and informal, is the prime reason to meet in person. When we want to get « work done, » we’ll seek a better location, be it at home, in a coworking space, or where we know we can focus on the task at hand.

Trust versus control

Managers relying only on control, or butts-in-seats-managers as I call them in my book, are still present in our organizations, and they’re hindering the evolution that has started. Trust is the key, and a manager who understands they are a facilitator will make a positive difference for their team’s results.

War on talent

The war on talent is over; talent has won. Knowledge workers expect an individualized approach when it comes to rewards and work conditions. Managers will have to find a balance between these individual(istic) desires on the one hand and the corporate ideas and standards on the other.

The war on talent is over; talent has won.

By adopting the transnational workstyle, companies can expand their search for new coworkers beyond the regional boundaries of their office.

Over-communicating

And we discussed the concept of over-communicating. We need to be clear about what goes on when informal chats aren’t part of daily life. We must agree on communication channels and expectations when reaching out to team members. Assumptions were always to be avoided in the old work environment; they’re outright dangerous in a hybrid setting.

Thanks Greet Op De Beeck who moderated the panel discussion, and to Evelien Vandersmissen (G4S Belgium), Katleen Jacobs (SD Worx), Johan Pintens (Priority Software) and Jan Laurijssen (SD Worx) to be part of this interesting debate.

Thuisvoordeel (in Dutch) was published by Pelckmans Publishers.