What if 2020 had actually been a… good year?
Here’s a contrarian thought: what if 2020 had the potential to become one of the most meaningful years of our lifetime?
Don’t get me wrong, as for most of you, I’m aware that 2020 has been quite the shitty year, with disastrous consequences for people, organisations and countries all over the world. And, because so many people have suffered, I’ve also felt encouraged to complain and self lament. All of these feelings swell, despite having a rare year in that I’m living from France, I’m in a stable relationship that has actually improved due to the crisis, and working in an industry that’s generally considered recession or crisis proof.
So, taking to mind the unique position that I’ve been in for 2020, I’ve decided to stop the whining. To take this new year on with a more constructive mindset and focus on the incredible things that we’ve all experienced at Oh BiBi during this past year.
The hidden effects of video meetings
Thanks to video calls, something materialized that I would have never thought possible in my lifetime; meetings were actually starting on time! Gone were the excuses from people just grabbing a cup of coffee. No more being stuck in transit, waiting in the company lobby, trying to find the right meeting room or the last minute plea of, “just finishing something!”
Of course, arriving on time is easier when meetings are at your computer but I also believe people have developed a greater respect towards other’s time. To take a personal example, I’ve been a “just finisher” throughout most of my professional life, wielding my personal power to make sure that 95% of my meetings would start at least 5 minutes late. But having to juggle with my partner’s agenda, homeschooling kids, or cooking and lunch time, I’ve become much more aware of the need to accurately stick to a timetable and the need to respect other’s calendars.
Another unexpected results of video meetings (as demonstrated by Pierre Entremont from frst VC in his article and in the extremely rigorous survey below) has been our sudden ability to multitask during meetings and actually do more with less time (at a minimum cost for the quality of said meetings).
To complement Pierre’s points, I’d even add that another benefit of video meetings has been the possibility for everyone in the meeting to access online resources and actually make meetings more productive and equalitarian. Meetings can now benefit from instant and different points of truth and not be subjected to the whims of the meeting owner.
Finally, video meetings have reshuffled power dynamics. By abolishing the power dynamics of the meeting room (a great example of that would be the rectangular table story in Ed Catmull’s Creativity Inc), video meetings allow for a freer flow of discussion and information. I would even argue that since the multitask effect discussed above would mostly impact the attention of the “most important” people in the meetings, video meetings have given a chance to a more diverse cast of people to express their ideas and arguments.
Has the workplace become a good place?
A very surprising fact from 2020 is how much better our all hands have been when transferring them online. Before COVID, we would have a monthly Oh BiNews where we would present product, people, marketing and financial updates. I would summon people, and would wait in the lunch area for everyone to come and sit. It was a slightly awkward, yet informative event where participation and enthusiasm were hard to find. Entering into the lockdown and to make sure we multiplied social meetings, we made the decision to switch our Oh BiNews to a weekly basis. To my surprise, the level of participation and engagement just skyrocketed, with people having the possibility to give instant praise, provide questions without the social pressure of a live event, it became much more enjoyable and is now a staple of our company culture!
In a similar fashion, while our bimonthly drinks have been harmed by the lack of direct interaction, we’ve been able to get a considerable upgrade in togetherness and sense of belonging. Recently, we’ve made the efforts to always include a group activity to our Oh BiDrink meetings, making sure everyone would be able to participate and the conversation would not be entirely captured by the loudest voice in the room (I plead guilty on that one). As a result, we’ve been able to truly experience events together through costume contests, quizzes, gift unwrapping and a “thank you” event for Thanksgiving where we were lucky to witness a stop motion train video, drawings, some Sims recreation of Oh BiBizens and even a French electro rap song from yours truly.
Finally, with work taking such a big place in our new social lives, with the distance and the imperfect communication of our electronic tools, managers have had to up their soft skills in a dramatic fashion if they wanted to maintain a healthy and productive team. On a personal level, I made sure to call everyone at least twice during the first lockdown phase and asked all my leads to do so regularly with their team members. We’ve invested in free mental health support for all our employees and as people and as an orgnaization, we’ve made major progress on our empathy and nonviolent communication skills.
Showing your true colors
Benefits from WFH on work/life balance, gender equality and the possibility to find different sources of meaning have already been widely discussed (to a point where I would almost argue that the counter effects and woes have not been as widely covered).
But something that has escaped discussion is how deep the chasm between “conservative” and “progressive” companies have become. Some would argue that crises are the real test of of a person, I’d say it’s true or even truer for organisations.
From companies being late to the WFH party, arguing that COVID was not so bad or that working from home was impossible in their context, to controlling managers being even more controlling, to borderline or completely illegal behavior from companies regarding government backed relief plans, we’ve all heard our share of horror stories.
For companies built around strong people oriented culture, business ethics and progressive values, the opportunity to attract talent has been dramatically improved. We’ve had the opportunity to hire really great people this year and I’m sure this will even be accentuated when the crisis is over and people feel freer to change companies.
So, not so bad a year in the end! All this being said, I believe 100% WFH is quite detrimental to people and a company’s health and I can’t wait to be back to a more “normal” situation, but I’m convinced that this crisis made us better people and made Oh BiBi much stronger. And I cannot be more excited for the “best of both worlds” future that’s to come!
What do you think last year brought to the table? Leave a comment if you have a story or best practices to share!
