DL2022 Anita Gisch - Designing Business Systems to Support Flexible Work Practices and Hybrid Arrangements

Designing practices for hybrid and flexible teams requires a very clear understanding of what must be consistent and what can be flexible. In this presentation I will draw on some specific case studies and stories from my time as both a researcher and consultant in business process design and work practice. As researchers we talk about a desire to make our findings relevant to industry and as consultants, managers and leaders we talk about drawing on evidence. Over the last 7 years I have been wearing both of those hats simultaneously and it has had tremendous benefits for both my research and my consulting practice.

Transcript

1. Designing Hybrid Work Practices
   Anita Gisch | Gisch Consulting
   Anita Gisch | Design Leadership - UX Australia 2022 1
   

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2. Research Linked to Practice
   Anthropology
   Work
   Practice
   UX
   Research
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3. Being an Introvert in the Work Place
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4. Observations from Work Practice
   Challenges and cultural shifts before, during and after Covid
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5. An Early Adopter Experience
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6. A More Traditional Experience…
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7. Physical Spaces have Socio-Political
   Consequences
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8. Stepping Away from Cubeville
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9. Shifts in Australian Work Practice
   First came the Cloud, then came Covid
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10. Pre-Covid Normal:
    Capturing Physical Presence
    ► Heavy Emphasis on Physical Presence
    ► Common to see “performative” engagement:
    First in, last out
    ► Bonuses and wage increases negotiated on
    office hours
    ► Organisational Culture Centred around Faces In The
    Office
    ► After work drinks
    ► Lunch & learn activities
    ► Offsite staff/team days – introvert nightmares!
    ► Flexible Work Arrangements were Hard Fought,
    Political and ‘Exception-based’
    ► A ‘choice’ between career and care obligations
    ► Often involved pay and status cuts
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11. Emergence of Cloud
    ► Initial Trust Issues with:
    ► Security
    ► Data loss
    ► Local (familiar) vs distributed (ephemeral)
    ► Lack of Ecosystem Coherence
    ► Overwhelmed by choice
    ► Issues with app
    ► Spontaneous product selection
    ► Continued Reliance on the Physical
    ► Comfort with paper
    ► Visual productivity cues
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12. Physical and Cultural Segmentation by
    Business Functions
    ► Architects collaborate and share files
    ► Snapshots are sent to accounts team for billing
    ► Data is manipulated or recreated to suite
    specific purposes
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13. Stabilisation of Cloud Technology
    ► Cloud Technology as an on Premises Solution
    ► Shifting costs from Assets to Expenses
    ► IT Management & Security
    ► Increased Business Reporting
    ► Faster data entry
    ► Real-time reporting
    ► Reporting for decision-making
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14. The Big C: A Forced Shift to Remote
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    ► Physical Office Shutdowns
    ► Borders between national, state and
    local areas
    ► Restrictions on physical movements
    within zones
    ► Loss of Supporting Mechanisms
    ► Schools and childcares closed
    ► Student online learning attempts
    ► Boundaries between work and home broken
    

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15. Consequences
    for Design
    Applying research to practice
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16. Three Areas for Design Leadership
    ► Physical and Digital Spaces
    ► Physical buildings & infrastructure
    ► Digital environments
    ► Systems & Processes
    ► Service design
    ► Access to and use of information
    ► Individual Work Practice
    ► Reimaging collaboration and connections
    ► Embracing and supporting work styles
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17. Physical & Digital Spaces
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18. Developing a Hybrid Experience
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19. Not all Views are Equal
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20. Creating Quiet Spaces and Times
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21. Systems & Processes
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22. Common Tensions Between Flexibility
    and Consistency
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23. The Fabled Workflow
    Data does not Flow
    within Organisations
    It is Translated and
    Transacted
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24. Consistency & Accountability
    Reporting
    Needs
    Information
    for Action
    Individual
    Styles
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25. Individual Work Practice
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26. It’s OK to Introvert
    ► Learn to Say No
    Not to be difficult, obstructionist and
    inflexible, just to manage your capacity
    ► Establish Boundaries
    Scope and role creep are a killer
    ► Own your Environment
    Figure out where you are most
    effective and find ways to make the
    environment work for you
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