Done with care, returning to work can not only improve morale and corporate energy, but it can also enhance the bottom line.

First published in Forbes. Read below, or read it on Forbes.

Many companies responded well to the pandemic, developing remote working approaches to keep things going. But Zoom socials go stale, new employees don’t get a sense of people and culture and mentoring, and career development suffer. Efficiency also drops, especially in professional services firms that thrive on dynamic teamwork and communication. But what is the best way to return to in-person work and build back an active office culture while remaining sensitive to new realities?

One option is simply to accept the new norm. Given the length of the pandemic, changing work-life expectations and staff relocations, some firms may never recover a busy office environment and will have to make do as a virtual company. For some, this may work. The other solution is to declare remote working over and revert to the status quo ante. There may be resistance, but if leadership is determined to get everyone back in the office, it can require attendance — come what may.

Another solution is to rekindle the esprit de corps that comes when people are together through re-experiencing it among those teams who will really benefit. Some working groups thrive on collaboration and constant in-person communication. These teams can be encouraged to find workable solutions for gathering at the office. Doing it step-by-step, and focusing on workflows where it really matters, is likely to create its own positive momentum — and may increase productivity, too.

“It was like, ‘Wow, this is really working, we’re working well together,’” says Rogier Goedecke, president of RK Engineering Group, Inc., the transportation and environmental engineering consultancy firm in Newport Beach, CA, after bringing working groups back together. “It reinforced the feeling of, ‘Yeah, we need to work together.’ And that just continued to build.”

Build Back Different

Recreating an office buzz should focus on building for the future, not reestablishing the past. Some work, like coding, requires long periods of solitary effort, and is quite easy to do remotely. Other teams, especially in professional services, were tightly integrated prior to the pandemic and would benefit from restoring daily interactions.

The key is to use encouragement, consultation and support, rather than compulsion. Detailed steps include:

1. Identify tasks and teams that will see practical benefits from returning to an office environment.
2. Pick a time to start bringing those teams back into the office. It might be a day a week, or three days or full time, but walk before you run — take it incrementally if there is resistance.
3. Discuss why coming back together is important. Listen to everyone’s opinions and strive for alignment around next steps. The reasons you cite should be real and pragmatic, not just “we think it’s better” or “we used to do it this way.”
4. Make every hour together count — the team must feel the difference, enjoy it and see the benefits. If possible, measure the impact of being together, both in productivity and in employee engagement and mood.
5. Have regular open discussions about how it is going, might be done differently, and what the right amount of “togetherness” for each team might be. Stay flexible, and find the hybrid that works best.
6. Underline that everyone’s voice is critical. From building team spirit and company culture to developing innovation and strategic departures, larger corporate objectives both depend on and inspire team collaboration, and that means getting together.

Rebuild the Office Culture

Not everyone will be thrilled by the idea of returning to the office. Some people will have moved away. Others for whatever reasons just won’t want to leave home. Still others may be willing but may take time to become accustomed to the idea again.

A common argument is that bringing teams together will not in fact be better than letting them stay remote. This is best addressed through experimentation. Find those teams who are more willing to try and see how it goes. Do it on a project basis, and monitor. If you see stronger results, then move forward. If not, maybe it’s OK for them to stay remote.

At some point, companies determined to rebuild the office culture may have to replace those who never want to return to the workplace. But wherever possible, and especially at the start, the approach should be understanding. Coaxing people, listening to them and encouraging them will generally work better than forcing them.

How to Increase Revenue by Employees Returning to the Office

When RK Engineering decided to return to the office on June 1, 2021, everyone was anxious, a bit nervous to be with others again.

“I wondered what it was going to be like after 15 months of working remotely and not physically seeing anybody that I typically would spend at least 40-50 hours a week with,” says Goedecke, the president.

While they did their best to adapt during the pandemic, it wasn’t the same. Zoom calls grew old. Some team relationships got frayed. Virtual one-on-ones couldn’t replace the real thing. This was a particular strain for RK Engineering, which stresses teamwork and prioritizes communication as a value in its recruitment.

“To do that via Zoom for 15 months was a really big challenge, because it’s artificial to me,” Goedecke says. “It’s not the same as you and me sitting across from each other and actually talking.”

To ease the transition and bring the team back together, on the first day back, they had a luncheon outdoors and didn’t do much work.

“It was just kind of, here we are as a group, let’s talk about our experience a bit and have a little kumbaya moment, and talk about what makes our company great and about how we’re going to move forward from here now that we’re back together,” the president recalls.

As they worked through June, they found that, within a day, anxiety eased. This was helped by having a flexible, understanding approach. The policy was to wear a mask when working closely with others. Some people wore masks in their office, even if they were by themselves, while others did not.

“People have a different level of comfort, and I want people to feel comfortable in the office and not feel threatened. So, we talked about it and came up with some reasonable expectations and guidelines that we could follow,” Goedecke says.

The breakthrough was a month or so later, when they could assess the results, and everyone was astounded. Between May when the company was working remotely and June when they returned to the office, revenue increased nearly 35%. And it stayed at that level for the rest of the year.

The firm’s revenue is driven by hours worked on specific jobs and their ability to improve their production to get the work done in a more efficient manner.

“Remote working is just not as efficient,” says Goedecke. “Suddenly, we are able to work quicker on these projects, because we can sit down shoulder to shoulder, put our heads together, and really work these things through.”

The increased efficiency allowed them to work through their backlog quickly, further contributing to the jump in revenue.

There was also a sense of camaraderie in that they went through this difficult time as a company and they grew. When they came together again, they shared their experiences, and their bond went to another level. Sharing the revenue increase with the team got people only more excited about being back in the office.

“It’s like you look at a military unit, the people were in the foxhole together. And you come out and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did this together. This is so cool.’ It was a big high five,” says Goedecke.

Finding Your Own Hybrid

Flexibility remains key. To ensure their return to the office is sustainable, RK Engineering has become more open to home working than it was pre-Covid. They trust their professional teams and everyone has already proven they can work from home. So, if there is a need for someone to work remotely, the company is understanding.

The reality is that one size does not fit all and each company has to find its own hybrid solution. Done with care, returning to work can not only improve morale and corporate energy, it can enhance the bottom line.

“If you’re going to attract employees and retain talent, you have to be flexible. Otherwise, you’re going to get left behind,” Goedecke says. “But it’s good to be back in the office.”