__This article is written by FlexGC, a grassroots volunteer network of federal public servants that promotes flexible work arrangements and is not affiliated with the Government of Canada in any way, shape, or form. __

It is part two of a four-part series meant to support public servants as they navigate the twists and turns that come with working in the public service. Read Part 1 on adapting to change, Part 3 on building distributed teams, and Part 4 on how to build team culture for hybrid working.

  • The problem: We’re asking public servants to return to a common hybrid work model without providing them with the tools and resources necessary to thrive.
  • Why it matters: Public servants are often leaders - both formally and informally - in their respective spaces. Inadequately equipped public servants lead to inadequate outcomes, impacting the workplace and the nation at large.
  • The solution: While many departments do not have dedicated change managers, any public servant can become a change leader. Good change leadership will allow public servants and their teams to navigate the changes associated with working in a hybrid model in a way that creates space for communication, empathy, and problem-solving.

On December 22, 2022, the Government of Canada released a mandate directing all public servants back to the office for 40–60% of their work schedule, or two to three days per week. At the time this was written, questions remained regarding this return, including the need for additional clarification on exemption status, accessibility and accommodation concerns, and career development and progression to name a few.

Simply put, change management requires a clear understanding of the change itself.

For the majority of federal public servants, there is little we can do to impact change with regard to this mandate. Instead, all we can do is learn how to navigate within the confines of this new direction, managing the change as best as we can. Thankfully, change management exists to help support us through these changes. Here are our top tips for teams managing change as we learn to navigate the new world of fixed hybrid work.

Over-communicate

Communicating with impacted employees is at the heart of all change management. Simply put, change management requires a clear understanding of the change itself. To have teams and individuals adequately cope with this new change, it’s crucial that people have a clear understanding of the situation and how it may evolve. While so much of this is currently out of the hands of public servants, communicating what you do know or what you can control (i.e., which day you head into the office) is so important in building a sense of reassurance and transparency across your team. Over-communicating will be vital in creating an environment where employees are fully aware of all changes in advance and will help to minimise stress and uncertainty among the individuals (public servants) who are responsible for the success of the return to the office.

Engage your employees

Closely linked, it’s important to ensure that you are engaging your employees, if you are a leader. Make sure you’re listening to understand, not just to respond but really understand, and ensure you’re offering a safe space to voice concerns. For leaders, especially managers, you will represent the frontlines of this change and are likely to face the plethora of emotions that may occur for your employees, on top of your own emotions. Be sure to respect the emotions associated with this change and continue to engage moving forward.

Manage expectations

Conveying and managing expectations is often a big-ticket item for organisations managing change. Typically, this means establishing and communicating policies and procedures prior to rolling out the change. As many will not have this luxury, ensuring that you and your team are identifying and celebrating what is working is key. Closely linked, documenting and exploring what is not working will comprise an important part of managing expectations around the return to the office. If you’re struggling to document what is not working, consider tracking and assessing shifts in individual, team, and organisational effectiveness. Track these and identify solutions.

Keep your culture at the centre

Teams with a strong culture will excel at navigating the changes associated with the return to the office. Culture that is positive, healthy, and connected, will lead to teams better equipped to weather the change. Above all, it’s important to not let the return to the office backslide into the old mentality of “the office as culture”—the office should not be our culture. Instead, the office should help to foster our culture, rather than representing the beacon of culture. As teams return to the office, it’s important to collaborate and engage on what culture looks like for a given team. What do you prioritise? What holds value? What doesn’t? For leaders, a key component of building and/or maintaining your team’s culture will include modelling the mindsets and behaviours that you want to see. FlexGC has another blog on culture and hybrid work next in this series, so stay tuned!

Bottom Line Up Front?

Ideal change management would have seen many of these principles, such as communication and employee engagement, occurring in the early stages of planning, complete with robust data gathering and sharing, engagement initiatives, and feedback mechanisms. That’s not the case here, and that’s OK. Instead, it’s important to remember that change management will not end once the return to the office deadline for implementation (for Canadian public servants) arrives. Collecting feedback and managing expectations, including pivoting as necessary, will be a core part of managing this change well into the future.

Note: FlexGC is here to help - this article represents part two of a four-part series meant to support public servants as they navigate the twists and turns that come with working in the public service. Read Part 1 on adapting to change, Part 3 on building distributed teams, and Part 4 on how to build team culture for hybrid working.

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(Image Credit: Jehyun Sung, Unsplash)