Latest news with #hybridWork
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Staff need a place they trust': how to instil a workplace culture in a fast-changing world
A workplace culture isn't just about an organisation's stated values – it's also about the processes that make those values tangible. In other words, how stuff gets done. Before today's era of hybrid and flexible working, employees tended to absorb their workplace culture almost by osmosis. 'You'd be living and breathing it five days a week,' says Nish Chowdhury of the marketing agency Oliver. As the agency's global director of people systems and operations, Chowdhury has had to grapple with the dramatic upheaval in working practices of recent years. While the shift started with the global work-from-home experiment that many companies underwent during the Covid pandemic, it has continued apace. 'Covid really put a spanner in the works in terms of how we see company culture,' says Chowdhury. A workplace culture is now harder to absorb, especially for new hires. And it isn't just about people's physical presence: the pace of business and technological change has also accelerated. The constant upheaval makes it that much harder to instil a corporate culture. Employees might find themselves suffering from 'change fatigue' or feel overwhelmed by technology and the numerous apps, platforms and information sources they now have to work with. For some businesses, the questions of culture and change management have grown increasingly intertwined. On top of this, the geopolitical environment is a lot less stable than it used to be, which has fed through into the economy. In such a fluid business environment, company culture is more important than ever. It binds employees together, ensures shared values and goals, and keeps everyone engaged and motivated. So how do you instil a workplace culture in today's fast-changing world – and make it easier for a distributed workforce to acquire? In broad terms, managers now need to make their workplace culture more obvious and intentional. For instance, they can try to articulate the culture more explicitly. This doesn't necessarily have to entail formally codifying every aspect of your workplace culture – there are human ways to do it, such as demonstrating the culture and building processes around it, or publicly recognising employees and actions that best embody it. Managers can also try to express their workplace culture more frequently, and make it more ubiquitous. Technology can help here. Chowdhury highlights how her agency adopted a new HR system that can be configured to reinforce the company's culture. 'We have customised our [HR portal] homepage so employees are exposed to our culture wherever they're logging on from,' she says. 'It might be adding our values or mantras, having hosted videos or branded experiences.' The idea, she explains, is that no matter where you are, you feel connected to the company. 'People are on their phones a lot and so you give them mobile access to the business.' The system used by her agency is Sage People, an HR solution. Steve Watmore, HR and payroll product manager at software company Sage, says these features and personalised experiences can be particularly crucial when companies are onboarding new starters, as it isn't always possible to physically get new hires in for face-to-face time. 'The question becomes: 'How do you create that culture of welcoming people in and starting the kind of conversations that bring teams together?'' he says. However, it's not just about having the right technology: you also need to make it easy to use. One way of doing this is by providing staff with a one-stop shop – a single point of contact – instead of having numerous apps and platforms that result in a very fragmented experience. Lampros Sekliziotis, a product leader at Sage, says having a single self-service portal for employees is key. 'Everything feels easy and smooth. You log on to your phone and you're immersed in the company.' Technology solutions such as Sage People can also help companies improve their workplace culture by breaking down barriers to connecting – for instance, making it easier to synchronise meetings and schedule in-office days. Sekliziotis says that for remote workers you can also emulate some of the feel of a physical workspace. 'You have interactions that would normally happen in the office – so you make them happen in the flow of work.' All this helps to make people feel more part of the business – and it helps the business run as a more cohesive whole. Moreover, the portals can be personalised and tailored to the needs of individual teams, geographies and so on. There are many other benefits. In a world where fake news is rife and can damage company culture and morale, having a single reliable portal that staff can go to for facts is increasingly important. 'You want staff to have a place they trust that they can go to if they need information,' says Chowdhury. However, workplace culture isn't just something that comes from the top down. It's always been a two-way process that is also shaped by employees. This has become increasingly true with social media and digital communication. Traditionally, employees had a chance to give their own views and feedback with annual satisfaction surveys. But once a year is far from ideal in today's world. Tools such as employee pulse surveys – short, quick surveys that are sent to employees on a regular basis – are becoming increasingly important as they allow HR managers to spot changes and issues quickly and take action to maintain employee engagement and satisfaction. Sage People therefore incorporates pulse surveys and other similar features as a built-in function. 'It's about getting real-time feedback from the employees,' says Watmore. He notes that the employee induction process is an example of how useful this can be. 'Maybe at the end of onboarding you can send a survey to the new hires to ask them how the process went. Did you find something that they didn't like?' The next round of new hires can benefit from this feedback. Going forward, more sophisticated data analytics and, increasingly, AI mean that companies will be able to use platforms to generate ever-more useful cultural insights from the information they hold. Thus, the future of company culture is a sophisticated, ongoing tech-enabled conversation that delivers a better workplace for everyone. Discover more about how to instil a workplace culture to your business
CTV News
06-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Amid a renewed return-to-office push, experts outline what your options are
Bank towers are pictured in the financial district in Toronto, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj As the number of in-office days is set to increase for many of Canada's hybrid workers, return-to-office mandates are setting the stage for tension between employees and employers. Remote and hybrid work spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic is giving way to arrangements more closely aligned with traditional office norms now that labour market conditions have swung in companies' favour. Some of Canada's largest financial services firms, including several of the big banks, have said they will shift to four in-office days a week beginning in the fall. Employment lawyers say they are hearing from clients who don't want to lose one or more of their at-home days, but that companies are taking a harder line compared with a few years ago when a lower unemployment rate meant the market favoured job-seekers rather than their bosses. 'Now, it seems with economic uncertainty, employers have bigger leverage to basically impose unilaterally that kind of stuff and tell people, 'If you don't like it, you might as well go,'' Philippe de Villers, the chair of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada, said in an interview. If you're in that situation, it may feel like you must choose between getting with the program or getting a new job. Though that may be true in many cases, experts say there are some other options. The basic choice One option for employees who don't want to return to the office is to look for another job, said Sunira Chaudhri, founder and partner at Workly Law, in an interview. 'Employees are considering career changes en masse, and as you can expect, those that are facing a stricter return to work protocol that do not align with that are, more likely than not, looking to jump ship and find a more flexible arrangement if they're simply not on board.' Return to office trends are more common with enterprise-level companies like banks and accounting firms compared with small businesses or ones in industries more concerned about retaining talent, Jon Pinkus, employment lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin, said in an interview. BMO, RBC and Scotiabank have all stated that more workers will be required to be in the office four days a week beginning in the fall, citing operational improvements and opportunities for collaboration. If an employee doesn't wish to leave their current position, and doesn't require an accommodation based on their family status or medical needs, they may need to comply with return-to-office mandates set by their employer. Family status Exceptions may need to be made based on family circumstances. Family status is an issue that may require accommodation, and one where employers must be 'pretty careful,' Chaudhri said, as many employees with young children have framed their days around childcare responsibilities. She said childcare responsibilities may need to be accommodated if they cannot be met by going back into the office on a full-time basis. For example, she said it may be difficult for someone to pick up a child from daycare if they are required to be in downtown Toronto until 5 p.m. 'If it's just impossible or unreasonable for an employee to make those types of changes, an employee can seek an accommodation with respect to family status, and say, 'I actually have to be in my neighbourhood at 4:30 p.m.,' as an example,' Chaudhri said. Medical accommodations If a person's medical needs have changed since they were in the office on a more full-time basis before 2020, Chaudhri said employers may need to consider medical accommodations. 'Employers need to be pretty aware and cognizant of the fact that accommodations might need to be a real part of the conversation of moving people back to work most of the time,' she said. Pinkus said medical accommodations are one of the most common issues he is seeing among clients regarding return-to-office mandates. He said employees may need accommodations for issues that may make it difficult for an employee to drive or sit for long periods. Other issues could include things like access to medication that may not be practical to bring into an office or needing to be close to a hospital or doctor. 'You do have an obligation as an employer to accommodate someone up to the point of what's called undue hardship,' Pinkus said. Undue hardship refers to a significant difficulty or expense related to accommodating an employee's needs or requests, according to Toronto-based law firm Achkar Law. Legal action Pinkus said if an employee started working from home full time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their employer didn't communicate whether the arrangement was temporary or permanent, but is now trying to get them back into the office four days a week, it could be considered a breach of contract. However, he said that if there was clear communication by the employer that remote working wouldn't last forever, it would be more difficult for an employee to launch any legal action. Pinkus said employees considering refusing to return to the office should be 'very careful' because if their employer did have the right to compel a return to the office, it could be considered abandonment of employment — meaning the worker is not entitled to severance pay. 'If you're wrong about it, the consequences are quite serious.' Under certain circumstances, Pinkus and Chaudhri say a constructive dismissal may factor in. According to Pinkus, constructive dismissal can occur if an employer changes the fundamental term of their employment without sufficient notice and without the employee's consent. 'There is precedent for the notion that an employer can't simply take someone from a telecommuting role and put them in a non-telecommuting role without their permission,' he said. If an employer has stuck with a remote or hybrid working arrangement for a long time, then Chaudhri said some employees might say 'this is my new normal,' and the return to office constitutes a 'meaningful change to my employment.' 'In some cases, employees may allege that their contract of employment has been breached and seek wrongful dismissal damages,' she said. Chaudhri added that companies have been very systematic about slowly increasing in office days over time, which she thinks is in large part to avoid 'the likelihood of success of a constructive dismissal claim.' She said it is up to the employee to prove they have been constructively dismissed, which can be difficult. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025. Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amid a renewed return-to-office push, experts outline what your options are
As the number of in-office days is set to increase for many of Canada's hybrid workers, return-to-office mandates are setting the stage for tension between employees and employers. Remote and hybrid work spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic is giving way to arrangements more closely aligned with traditional office norms now that labour market conditions have swung in companies' favour. Some of Canada's largest financial services firms, including several of the big banks, have said they will shift to four in-office days a week beginning in the fall. Employment lawyers say they are hearing from clients who don't want to lose one or more of their at-home days, but that companies are taking a harder line compared with a few years ago when a lower unemployment rate meant the market favoured job-seekers rather than their bosses. 'Now, it seems with economic uncertainty, employers have bigger leverage to basically impose unilaterally that kind of stuff and tell people, 'If you don't like it, you might as well go,'" Philippe de Villers, the chair of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada, said in an interview. If you're in that situation, it may feel like you must choose between getting with the program or getting a new job. Though that may be true in many cases, experts say there are some other options. The basic choice One option for employees who don't want to return to the office is to look for another job, said Sunira Chaudhri, founder and partner at Workly Law, in an interview. 'Employees are considering career changes en masse, and as you can expect, those that are facing a stricter return to work protocol that do not align with that are, more likely than not, looking to jump ship and find a more flexible arrangement if they're simply not on board.' Return to office trends are more common with enterprise-level companies like banks and accounting firms compared with small businesses or ones in industries more concerned about retaining talent, Jon Pinkus, employment lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin, said in an interview. BMO, RBC and Scotiabank have all stated that more workers will be required to be in the office four days a week beginning in the fall, citing operational improvements and opportunities for collaboration. If an employee doesn't wish to leave their current position, and doesn't require an accommodation based on their family status or medical needs, they may need to comply with return-to-office mandates set by their employer. Family status Exceptions may need to be made based on family circumstances. Family status is an issue that may require accommodation, and one where employers must be 'pretty careful,' Chaudhri said, as many employees with young children have framed their days around childcare responsibilities. She said childcare responsibilities may need to be accommodated if they cannot be met by going back into the office on a full-time basis. For example, she said it may be difficult for someone to pick up a child from daycare if they are required to be in downtown Toronto until 5 p.m. 'If it's just impossible or unreasonable for an employee to make those types of changes, an employee can seek an accommodation with respect to family status, and say, 'I actually have to be in my neighbourhood at 4:30 p.m.,' as an example," Chaudhri said. Medical accommodations If a person's medical needs have changed since they were in the office on a more full-time basis before 2020, Chaudhri said employers may need to consider medical accommodations. 'Employers need to be pretty aware and cognizant of the fact that accommodations might need to be a real part of the conversation of moving people back to work most of the time,' she said. Pinkus said medical accommodations are one of the most common issues he is seeing among clients regarding return-to-office mandates. He said employees may need accommodations for issues that may make it difficult for an employee to drive or sit for long periods. Other issues could include things like access to medication that may not be practical to bring into an office or needing to be close to a hospital or doctor. 'You do have an obligation as an employer to accommodate someone up to the point of what's called undue hardship,' Pinkus said. Undue hardship refers to a significant difficulty or expense related to accommodating an employee's needs or requests, according to Toronto-based law firm Achkar Law. Legal action Pinkus said if an employee started working from home full time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their employer didn't communicate whether the arrangement was temporary or permanent, but is now trying to get them back into the office four days a week, it could be considered a breach of contract. However, he said that if there was clear communication by the employer that remote working wouldn't last forever, it would be more difficult for an employee to launch any legal action. Pinkus said employees considering refusing to return to the office should be 'very careful' because if their employer did have the right to compel a return to the office, it could be considered abandonment of employment — meaning the worker is not entitled to severance pay. 'If you're wrong about it, the consequences are quite serious.' Under certain circumstances, Pinkus and Chaudhri say a constructive dismissal may factor in. According to Pinkus, constructive dismissal can occur if an employer changes the fundamental term of their employment without sufficient notice and without the employee's consent. 'There is precedent for the notion that an employer can't simply take someone from a telecommuting role and put them in a non-telecommuting role without their permission,' he said. If an employer has stuck with a remote or hybrid working arrangement for a long time, then Chaudhri said some employees might say 'this is my new normal,' and the return to office constitutes a 'meaningful change to my employment.' 'In some cases, employees may allege that their contract of employment has been breached and seek wrongful dismissal damages,' she said. Chaudhri added that companies have been very systematic about slowly increasing in office days over time, which she thinks is in large part to avoid 'the likelihood of success of a constructive dismissal claim.' She said it is up to the employee to prove they have been constructively dismissed, which can be difficult. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025. Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
27-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Oleap's New Archer AI Meeting Headset Comes With ANC And Multilingual Transcription
The Leap Archer AI Meeting Headset has up to 50dB of active noise cancelation and transcription ... More function in 89 languages. With so many people working from home but still needing to make phone calls and attend video meetings, a wireless headset is now an essential accessory, much as a good quality keyboard, a large computer display or a comfortable office chair are. Today, Oleap announced the launch of a new headset aimed at home workers and those with hybrid office jobs. The new Archer AI Meeting Headset uses the advanced capabilities of AI and harnesses them for improving sound quality, especially in noisy office environments. The Archer AI Meeting Headset is a single earpiece model and provides up to 50dB of environmental noise cancellation. That should be enough to make a big difference over traditional headsets without ANC, which can struggle in noisy office environments. Making calls in an open plan office can be hard work, especially when there's a lot of background chatter, laughter or ambient noise like an air conditioner. The Oleap Archer AI Meeting Headset is available with the optional charging case. Advanced Noise Cancelation With the use of some advanced algorithms and machine learning, Oleap says the Archer AI Meeting Headset can actively identify and eliminate unwanted sounds in real time, ensuring the user's voice is picked up loudly and clearly. However, headsets aren't just about noise cancellation. This model also has AI-powered transcription and summarization capabilities with built-in support for no fewer than 89 languages. The headset doesn't just record conversations; it can also transform them into actionable insights. For example, a recording made during a meeting can be turned into a summarized document containing highlighting of key points, action items and even deadlines. The Oleap app can record, transcribe and summarize in 89 languages. Oleap wants to position the new Archer AI Meeting as a premium headset for those who need quiet and efficient communication as well as advanced transcription features. Other features include a Personal Mode for recording voice memos or making notes; a Media Mode for listening to music, podcasts or videos; plus, an ambient mode that can filter through ambient sounds while still providing clear audio. Semi In-Ear Design As well as working as a headset, the Archer AI Meeting uses a semi-in-ear design that enables it to be worn for long phone calls or even all-day use. It's lightweight and has a 270-degree rotatable boom microphone that can be adjusted for optimal sound capture. A full charge of the new headset's battery will provide up to seven hours of talk time. When used with the optional charging case, the total available battery life goes up to 28 hours. Other features include one-click mute and dual-device Multipoint connectivity for working with more than one device at the same time. The headset market is a crowded one and dominated by the big brands like Jabra, Poly, Bose and Sony. Oleap hopes its new Archer headset can differentiate itself because of the advanced noise cancellation and transcription functions with multilingual AI capabilities. The ANC function built into the Oleap Archer AI Meeting Headset can cut unwanted noise by up to ... More 50dB. 'Traditional headsets are great for basic calls, but they don't address the deeper needs of modern users,' claims Liu Zhi, Oleap's CEO. 'We wanted to create a device that not only enhances sound quality but also becomes an active tool in your workflow. The Archer does exactly that.' Future Audio Technology As AI continues to reshape consumer electronics, devices like the Archer AI Meeting Headset are using AI for features like noise cancellation, real-time translation and intelligent summarization. It's this kind of innovation that will disrupt industry norms by bringing the convenience of AI to a wider range of consumers. The 50dB of noise cancellation is a case in point and breaks previous industry standards. Demand for audio headsets with extra features like noise cancellation and transcription is growing, especially as more of us work remotely or spend some of our time in hybrid offices. According to TechNavio, by 2029, the global headset market is expected to increase in value by $32.3 billion, a CAGR of 20.7%. The growth is being driven by the uptake of remote communication tools and the extras that AI technology can provide. Oleap hopes to grab a slice of this growing market. The Oleap Archer AI Meeting Headset is available on Kickstarter and will also be available from Amazon. Prices start at $129.99 for headset or $189.99 with the optional charging case.
Entrepreneur
23-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
In-Office, Remote, Hybrid — My Global Company Does All Three. Here's How to Find Success in Any Setting.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In-office, remote or hybrid? It's a question that dominates headlines and board discussions, but often overlooks the complex dynamics of global teams. Instead of being guided by where employees work, let's reframe the narrative to ask ourselves more meaningful, customer-centered questions. How can we build stronger teams and cross-functional alignment? How can we embed a culture of customer obsession? What actually fuels performance? Global growth requires flexibility, nuance and a purpose-driven approach. As we scale, success is not defined by location, but how we lead. Related: I've Managed Remote Teams For 15 Years — Here Are My 3 Most Important Leadership Lessons. Beyond the remote work debate Rigid work models no longer serve high-performing teams or high-growth businesses. The moment your operations outgrow one office, timezone or region is a milestone to embrace, not a problem to solve. Location-agnostic leadership requires intentional design and execution. Yes, collaboration requires more effort. Yes, culture must be nurtured. But we shouldn't shy away from the challenge. If anything, we should run toward the opportunity. Resisting distributed work is resisting growth. A distributed model expands your talent pool, opens up your business to diverse perspectives and reduces employee turnover: Hybrid work has been found to have zero effect on workers' productivity or career advancement, while boosting retention rates. 83% of recruiters say they believe remote work has improved the quality of the applicants they attract. 45% of workers who quit their jobs cite lack of flexibility in their work hours as a major factor. How to lead distributed teams for global success At Maropost, the way we work is shaped by the distinct needs of our global teams. We operate remotely in North America, in-office in India and hybrid in Australia. Our leadership team travels regularly and meets in person quarterly. In addition to monthly all-team town halls, each region also hosts its own virtual get-togethers. Day-to-day, we rely on one-on-one check-ins and tools like Jira to collaborate. We strive to maintain a system that balances structure with flexibility. We adapt to regional requirements while remaining grounded in our shared customer focus. 1. Invest in results-driven leadership Leadership should prioritize results and relationships over micromanagement. A culture of trust that empowers employees is fundamental in any workplace, but it is acutely important in distributed environments. To cohesively manage teams across time zones and markets, hire leaders who can build rapport and inspire performance without constant oversight. When hiring for leadership roles, I look for candidates who show strong communication skills and who can clearly set and achieve goals with their teams and work through challenges. During interviews, I always ask for specific examples of how they motivated remote team members. An example of a question I might ask is, "Tell me about a time you had to rebuild trust with a remote employee or team." I find that the best answers to questions like these focus on proactive communication and problem-solving, which are key for the success of remote teams. Related: How to Succeed as a Performance-Driven Leader (and the Pitfalls You Need to Be Aware of) 2. Reframe the concept of collaboration Collaboration can — and should — work differently in a global environment. Resist the urge to impose legacy practices on new dynamics. Embrace tools and tactics that facilitate distributed teamwork and prioritize quality over immediacy. Digital-first workflows, asynchronous communication and open knowledge-sharing aren't just workarounds; they are powerful productivity tools. At Maropost, we focus on building transparent knowledge bases in Confluence that the whole team can access and contribute to anytime. Our team leaders routinely establish shared documentation where meeting notes, insights and project decisions are recorded. Then, regardless of time zone, everyone can reference and build on each other's work asynchronously. This works well for us because it creates a living knowledge base that strengthens the more we collaborate. 3. Nurture culture and connection How can we recreate spontaneous brainstorms and organic conversations between colleagues who might never meet in real life? Physical proximity doesn't always equate to connection — nor does it guarantee alignment or innovation. Foster a culture that transcends location with intentional relationship-building and value-informed leadership. Give employees the purpose and clarity to work together, even when apart. We have a monthly all-team town hall where we openly discuss our progress, invite questions from anyone and explain how what we're working on now connects to our long-term goals. We're aiming to foster trust and connection through honest leadership and promote transparency. 4. Restructure KPIs at all levels Structure goals, KPIs and employee evaluations to reflect impact and outcomes over optics. Set clear objectives, schedule regular check-ins and balance autonomy with accountability throughout the organization. No matter the environment, performance should be measured based on what gets done, not where or when work happens. Across our organization, each team has pushed itself to publicly share quarterly goals, how achieving them impacts business goals and how we will make it happen. It helps everyone understand how their work contributes to success, and we've noticed that performance discussions are more focused on meaningful progress than arbitrary metrics. 5. Avoid distributed downfalls Distributed work isn't without its challenges. Leaders must communicate generously and favor public channels over private DMs to fight information silos. Encourage calendar blocks and honor everyone's right to log off to avoid multi-timezone burnout. Global teams can power round-the-clock productivity, but only when they operate within a sustainable, people-centered system. As CEO of a global company, my team knows that I am often messaging and posting in public channels around the clock. But I make sure they know that they don't need to respond outside their normal work hours. This way, we can keep important work rolling without creating burnout. Related: 8 Things I've Learned From Running a Fully Remote Company Location-agnostic leadership defines the future of work Where we work is an oversimplified debate that deflects from deeper questions of performance and culture. Growth is determined by how we lead and why our teams show up. Management structures that falter in a distributed environment won't suddenly flourish in a fixed location. Invest in a leadership strategy that is adaptable, results-driven and guided by customer obsession to succeed in any setting.
