Why Culture and Flexibility Must Go Hand in Hand

Some hesitated to accept this new way of thinking because of personal bias— it was not how they had it as they came up in their firms, so why should future generations have it easier? They recalled the long hours they worked in the office as a prerequisite for being promoted, so it was hard to accept that younger generations might not have to do it the same way. Still others had misperceptions about productivity or collaboration—such as, you have to be in the office to be productive or to collaborate, don’t you?

Some were simply used to working in the office. They had been successful working this way in the past, so why change? Baxter Credit Union (BCU), among the top 5 percent of credit unions in the United States, successfully implemented flexibility into their culture, but its chief executive officer (CEO), Mike Valentine, was initially reluctant. He explained, “I never thought when COVID-19 hit, that within two to three weeks, we would have deployed 98 percent of our employees to their homes. I would have said you’re nuts because we’re a financial institution and financial institutions require people onsite to run the business. Before that, I remember when people asked if they could work from home, I’d say, no, no, no, you’ve got to come to the office!”

Where does Valentine land on flexibility today? In his words: “I was wrong. Because this is the world we’re in and it’s real—and it’s working.”

Trust me, many people are hesitant at first, but even the most skeptical, work-should-be-done-in-the-office executives come around when they understand the business case for flexibility. My first step when working with an organization is to help leadership understand the true nature and value of flexibility—which often includes clearing up myths and misperceptions first so that they can reset their mindset and reframe the conversation. Then I help them create their own unique business case for flexibility. Once executives understand the impact that flexibility has on the bottom line, they support it wholeheartedly.

I remember working with a client—an American Lawyer (AmLaw) 100 firm—that wanted to create a promotion process for people working on a reduced hours schedule, but in their entire history, they had never promoted an associate to partner who worked on a reduced hours schedule. How many talented attorneys quit in frustration because of that? I worked with the firm to reframe the prevailing misperceptions they had. I explained that if an associate reduces their hours to 70 percent, it doesn’t mean they are now only 70 percent committed to each client. They are still 100 percent committed to their clients; they just have fewer of them. This shift in thinking really resonated with them and opened the door for change.

Another prevalent misperception was that flexibility is simply a policy. But, when organizations only invest in creating a policy without first articulating the why behind the policy, and without focusing on successfully putting it into practice, it just doesn’t work. Flexibility is not a policy; it’s an organization-wide culture change. I witnessed many organizations create flexible work policies that collected dust in human resources (HR) manuals. In those organizations, the policy was hastily rolled out without support and effective communication, and the success of the entire initiative was compromised. The unconscious and conscious biases and stigma against flexibility in these organizations were palpable. As a result, employees were afraid to utilize the policies for fear of negatively impacting their careers or losing the best project assignments.

Alternatively, I witnessed successful launches of flexibility initiatives that had the backing of management and included communication and support from all organizational leaders. Those leaders who were willing to initiate the cultural changes needed to support a flexibility policy were able to transform their workforce from a group of tired, underengaged individuals on the verge of walking out the door to an enthusiastic, balanced, supportive, and efficient team.