Episode #77 The silver lining of COVID with Laura Staples
When Laura Staples was last on the podcast she shared that Laminex were undertaking the biggest work from home experiment ever. Laura joins us again to share how things have played out over the last 18 months.
Laura is the Head of People & Performance at Laminex Australia and has spent the last 16 years pushing the boundaries in organisations with an eye on the future, seeking out the best experiences to fuel her knowledge and passion for the future of work. Laura is passionate about untangling complexity - be it people, processes or systems - and uncovering the hidden opportunities to transform ways of working. Naturally curious and at times outspoken, Laura is known for her creative leadership and ability to design innovative and commercially viable solutions which surprise and delight.
Links:
Ep 44. The biggest work from home experiment we have ever done with Laura Staples
Transcript
CP: Hello, and welcome to The Security Collective podcast. I'm your host Claire Pales and today we welcome back Laura Staples. Laura, it's great to have you back on the podcast.
LS: Thanks, Claire. It's great to be back.
CP: So when we last spoke, you were sharing how Laminex were undertaking the biggest work from home experiment ever. Now 12 months on, it'd be great to hear from you how things have played out.
LS: Gosh, what a 12 month ride it has been. We've learned a lot, there's been a lot of time for reflection as well. I think we've adjusted our ways of working substantially as a business. And we've really had to think outside the box in order to still achieve everything that we want to, plus more. But obviously adjust to doing things a little bit differently. So I think looking back over the last 12 months the growth that I've seen from our teams, from our leaders, and the ability to just embrace what's actually happening, and be really open minded to the opportunity that working remotely has brought to our people.
CP: And when we spoke we talked about your online strategy festival that was happening. How was that received? And did you feel like there were things you had to change about it because you were so remote, or was it structured in a similar way to if you have all had have been together in the office?
LS: So the strategy festival, this is actually probably one of the most exciting pivots, to use that word, that we've done over the last 12 months. As a business we love to celebrate strategy and action. And we love hearing the stories from the front line, as to people who are really living out our strategic pillars and using them as their ultimate guide to what they come to work for every day. The strategy festival, whilst it would have been a great way to do things, we actually came up with a new and what I think is an improved way to keep people connected, and obviously celebrate strategy and action. And we launched our own internal TV show instead. The internal TV show is called Laminex Live. We partnered with an incredible crew of people at a company called Pirate TV. And we have our own talk show once a month, where leaders come on and talk about our strategic pillars, we get stories from the frontline, people that are living and breathing our values, and we also showcase a lot of our product launches. So the new TV show, we have two award winning speakers that are our hosts, they bring a lot of fun and entertainment. And we now have over 300 people dialling in or tuning in every month to come and watch what happens on Laminex Live. So I think as a great example of whilst we've been known for our strategy festivals, and they're a great thing to be actually, you know, to participate in and be a part of the business. I think this change in direction has now had a far more positive impact, and we've been able to see all these amazing things come from it. So something that I'm really proud of over the past 12 months.
CP: And so the TV show is people can kind of watch that on demand, or is it somewhat something that people come together at the same time every month?
LS: It is live, but it's also recorded so that new employees can use this as part of their onboarding, it's a great way to go back and meet leaders from across the business and see what's happening, but also hear some of the incredible stories that we share. It's designed to be just as interactive, so because it is recorded live, we have a hotline where employees can dial in, we have various activities that take place during the show. I think it's, look at the end of the day it's a capability initiative disguised as a TV show. It's a great way to be able to, you know, increase our core capability around our strategic pillars. It's a great way to communicate and keep our remote teams connected that may not see each other face to face every day. And it's just allowed us to have more fun in the workplace, which ultimately, I think that's something that we need to include a lot more in the initiatives that we design. You can be just as serious about some of these topics whilst having a lot of fun.
CP: And I think when we've lost that, the water cooler, not that I think many organisations still have a water cooler, you know that in the hallway moments, or the few minutes you have before a meeting starts in a meeting room. We've kind of lost that dynamic, impromptu chat that people have. But I think what you're trying to do and hopefully you've been able to achieve is allowing that connection between people that is not a meeting, you know, it's a time to sort of switch off and hear something fun as you say, and I guess reconnect with your peers and some that you may have never met face to face as well. And you know, there's lots I guess of ways that organisations can do that. But I love the idea that you've brought something that is exciting people and also, as you say, is a back catalogue of, I guess, what am I trying to say, like a back catalogue of highlighting some of the great leaders in your business that we probably would have never done if COVID hadn't have happened.
LS: Absolutely. We work with two incredibly talented speakers or TV show hosts, Michael Dixon and Simon Waller. Both are amazing in what their expertise is. I mean, Michael is a cultural architect and he knows exactly how to curate these experiences for our people, which brings everyone together. And Simon and his use of knowledge of technology and how it can amplify impact. And we've been able to utilise a technology now by format of a TV show, to reach an audience that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to do had we been in an office. We're a national organisation, we have people dotted around the country, and by using this format, I mean, we've already had that feedback is they've been able to see and meet people via this forum, far more often than they would have, if we'd still been working in the Melbourne head office. So I think it's ticked a number of boxes, but it's been a genuine way, really authentic way to connect people and feel part of our culture, whilst working remotely and not seeing each other face to face.
CP: Have you seen in general, the workplace dynamics change? And you mentioned that you kind of all over Australia anyway, but now that everyone's working from home, and you've made the choice that that's going to be permanent, what's changed about the workplace dynamics do you think for Laminex?
LS: Look, the biggest thing that I think that has changed, and not to say that we didn't have this previously, but the notion of trust. I mean, the premise of our work from anywhere programme is that we trust our people to choose when, where and how they work. That means that we as a business, our responsibility is to make sure that they have really clear roles and responsibility, that our vision is clear, our strategic objectives are clear, and that they know the role that they have to play in achieving our success. So I think what has really changed as part of our culture, is that leaders are trusting their people to do the right thing. And our employees, because of the benefit that flexibility brings, and the way in which they're able to now manage their day differently. I mean, it's okay, instead of, you know, the commute that they would ordinarily do coming into the office, they can go out and walk their kids to school, if they're allowed to do that, take the dog for a walk around the block. I mean, there's so many things that they can do, because they've got that flexibility. I think that trust as part of a key element of our leadership, and the culture of our business, that's probably been one of the biggest shifts that I've seen now that work from anywhere is a permanent way of working for us.
CP: And would you say that's the biggest positive, what would you say is probably the biggest positive that's come out of not just the work from home part, but the pandemic, in its entirety? Is there kind of one thing that you put your finger on and say, you know, that's the most positive thing that we've seen out of the last 18 months of turmoil, really what's been going on across the world?
LS: The silver lining of COVID, I think there's been a huge amount of positive outcomes. Something that I've been really passionate about for a while is the notion of anti-fragility. And this is where it's that one step beyond resilience. And if you look at it within an organisational context, businesses that are resilient would have had a number of defence mechanisms put in place in order to manage and navigate their way through the pandemic. Out the other side of it, they're probably going to be the same shape and size. Whereas the businesses that have approached this with a really anti-fragile mindset have actually absorbed the impact and have grown stronger from it. And I think Laminex and our people are a great example of having an anti-fragile mindset. The silver lining of COVID is that we've been able to recognise and reinforce that as a leadership team, but also as an employee and our culture. We're absolutely able to embrace impact in whatever shape, form or size that might be, and evolve and become stronger on the other side of it. Not only is our ways of working changed, the structure of our business has changed, the products that we offer, the services that we offer, a whole heap of things have come as a result of the last 18 months, because we've had to think differently. We've had to work with our customers differently. And we've had to build in this culture of trust and empathy for our people, because everyone has been managing or navigating through this pandemic differently.
CP: So how do you get a remote workforce to embrace a culture of anti-fragile or anti-fragility? I'm interested to ask because, obviously, this is a podcast, but normally about cyber security, and we have a very strong lean on the word resilience. Particularly at the moment, because organisations want to be seen to be able to bounce back from a cyber attack or have, as you said, particular controls in place, and continuity plans and response plans, to remain "resilient" to whatever the bad guys out there can throw at us. You know there are a number of adversaries out there that organisations are aware that the threat is rising around cyber, but we're always talking about resilience. But I love this idea that you're talking about of anti-fragility, which feels a little bit more dynamic and a bit more innovative, I suppose, in terms of mindset. So is there a way that you've tried to engender that in your workforce that you can share?
LS: Absolutely. Now, I'm no expert in this. But I've read a number of books and listened to a lot of people talk about this topic. And I've had to find ways to be able to visualise what this means. And the closest example that I've been able to find is in Greek mythology. So if you think of the Phoenix, the Phoenix which rises from the ashes, it comes back in its same form. So it's a great example of resilience. Whereas the Hydra, which goes into battle, may lose a head, but two more grow back in its place. That is a great example of something that has absorbed the impact and become stronger from it. So if you look at that from a culture or even an individual's mindset, it's about having that openness, to impact. To being able to reflect, to learn from what we've encountered. And rather than just go back to the status quo and manage things the way we've always done, is really take that as an opportunity to think differently and evolve. That's been the best way that I've been able to explain to our people that being anti-fragile is about genuinely looking at the force and the impact that's coming towards you and saying, well how can we actually turn this into a positive? Another topic that is quite popular at the moment is this notion of a great resignation. A lot of leaders are talking about the post pandemic shift that we're going to see in the global workforce. And I think organisations that have the anti-fragile mindset, instead of seeing this as the great resignation, they're going to view it as the great attraction. So this is their ability to tap into a market that's thinking of new opportunities, and to go out and attract the best candidates possible. So rather than worrying about what they might lose, it's definitely viewing it from the perspective of what they could potentially gain as a result of this talent shift.
CP: It's such a, as you said, such a popular topic at the moment. And certainly, you know, if you haven't read about the great resignation, you only have to Google it, because, you know, people have been talking about especially in the States, I think, the conversation started and it's certainly reaching Australia now. And I think the figures for America was something like they saw 40% of the workforce turning over. And I actually agree with you that this is an opportunity, because if there are people within our employee community, that have any inkling of not wanting to be in the role that they're in or feeling like they've got a different purpose in life, or that they can offer their skills to a different organisation, or that now somewhere different aligns with their values better, I think we should encourage them to go and grow. You know, I don't like the idea that people stick around because of inertia. You know, this kind of it's not it's not bad enough to go but it's not good enough to stay in this sort of in this flux of limbo, I suppose. The idea that if people have a desire to work elsewhere, or to go and lie on a beach or whatever the case is, should we be encouraging that?
LS: I think that's probably been one of the things that's happened the most over the last 18 months during the pandemic is people have all of a sudden had time on their hands. And so when you've got time, you tend to reflect. And I think you start questioning what your own values are and do they align with your employer. And it's completely fine to think about new opportunities. Because we want humans at the end of the day to evolve and grow and to have new experiences. So as an organisation, it's about creating really memorable offboarding experiences, as well as onboarding experiences so that they end up being what I've heard termed as boomerang talent. They will eventually come back if the experience of trying new things and going to the next opportunity, the next chapter of their life as a positive one. And I think that's what leaders really need to embrace is letting their people try new things. And that could potentially be a role in another organisation. And going out there and looking at all the potential talent that they'll be able to tap into now. I've also read some really high stats in some surveys recently about the number of people that are going to start looking for new opportunities once, so for example, in Melbourne when restrictions ease, so 2022 is looking to be that big year, that big shift. But I think at the end of the day, it's really as a leader, how you can approach the opportunity that it brings, and making sure that your organisation is fit and ready to welcome new talent, new thinking, and I guess diversity of thought into the business.
CP: Do you think that the changes we're about to see in 2022, or the great resignation, or any of those vast changes that will happen as a result of the pandemic, do you think you can put many of those down to burnout? And I guess in the case of Laminex, now that you are work from anywhere, how are you able to measure or monitor for burnout and I guess mental health with your staff now that they're consistently off site?
LS: Burnout is certainly a popular topic at the moment. And I think we're seeing a genuine, and this has come as the shift in ways of working, I definitely think that burnout is a topic that organisations need to take really seriously because we've seen that blur between work and life. And whilst Laminex has got a whole range of initiatives in place, we've got a partnership with an organisation called Mentemia, we've got wellbeing hubs, we do workshops with our leaders. Probably the most important shift that we've made over the last 12 months is to introduce a new programme called Goal Mastery, where every employee now has a wellbeing goal that they set alongside their performance goals. And I think by bringing your wellbeing goal into the conversation between yourself as a leader, you're actually having an accountability buddy. I mean, we know that from research, and for anyone that's tried to change a habit, telling someone else and having that accountability buddy working alongside you, you're going to be more successful in breaking some of those bad habits. So the idea behind all of our employees setting a wellbeing goal and entering it alongside their performance goals was to say that Laminex is just as prepared to work with you on your own wellbeing, as we are to achieve our strategic objectives. And that could be as simple as making sure that, you know, you tell your manager that a 30 minute walk every day is really important for your mental health, being able to get up from your desk, stretch, your legs go outside. By having that conversation with them, you're saying look, in order to me to perform at my best, and to be the best version of me, getting outside and walking and getting fresh air and being able to think a little bit clearer is very, very important. So if you can honour that, if you can support me, if you can check in and to make sure that I'm actually doing those things. That's where the success of these wellbeing goals come in. And I think as organisations, it's very much our responsibility these days, to be accountable for our people's well being beyond pilates and free yoga sessions at work.
CP: Yeah, I definitely agree. And I think too, something that others I've spoken to about this, not just having the conversation with your boss, but having conversation with the wider stakeholders that you work with, to make sure they're aware that, you know, for example, between 12 and 1230 every day, you're never going to accept a meeting request. You know, having that blocked out time I'm completely unavailable because I think people allow that kind of scope creep - well, I'll just do this midday meeting once and then you know, and then all of a sudden, you're giving up that walk every day. So you know having a broader group of people aware that you're just unavailable at that time to allow you to really kind of make that default diary decision that you're going to walk every day and have that just downtime and yeah, reflection, I suppose so that we're not in zoom meetings from eight until six.
LS: Yeah, I think this is part of our own self accountability, self responsibility that we have, to manage our time. There's without a doubt the events of the pandemic and the changing working style that everyone's had, that hours have shifted. But we're also able to manage our diaries a lot more. I mean I block out the first couple of hours of my day in my diary so that people can't put meetings in so that I can make phone calls, that I can respond to emails, that I can use that as time to think about some of the challenges that we might have and, you know, problem solve with a clear runway to be able to do that. Everyone's got different things that are going to work from them. And I don't think it's up to the organisation to prescribe a one size fits all solution. But I think what we need to do and it's a cultural thing, is to empower our people to be responsible for their own time. And to say that it's absolutely okay to have a sacred hour in your diary where you don't accept meeting invites, you don't answer phone calls, and that is the time that you get to spend in order to feel organised and feel on top and not get that sense of overwhelm and burnout that can come from, you know, not being able to say no at times.
CP: Laura, I've loved having you back on the podcast and and i think yourself and Laminex as an organisation should be incredibly proud of what you've been able to achieve. And I know my listeners will get a lot of nuggets of gold out of this episode again as it was when we spoke last time. So I really want to thank you for joining us and sharing again what Laminex has been able to achieve. And all the best with your work from anywhere into the future, I think it's brilliant.
LS: Thanks, Claire. It's been great to have another chat today.