Business leaders reveal insights for 2022
Wed, Feb 02, 2022
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In 2022, business leaders are still realizing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their work and teams. As work has shifted to digital environments, Calvin alumni have had to be creative and flexible to meet their customer expectations and collaborate with kindness. Here鈥檚 an inside look at how alumni are responding in their respective industries.听
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What are the most significant changes you've observed or experienced in the nature of work in your organization/industry?听听
I work at a digital marketing agency, and we have gotten more work since the pandemic started. The pandemic forced everyone to go digital and we鈥檝e had a lot on our plate helping business owners build an online presence. Due to this, we鈥檝e been growing and hiring more than ever, and I think we鈥檒l just keep growing.听
鈥 Maydi Hernandez 鈥18, Content Coordinator, Hite Digital
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Fundraising has become more difficult as many non-profits rely on major donor events (e.g. galas) to raise a large percentage of their annual revenue. As a sector, I believe we are still working through what this means. Funders were willing to be generous during Year 1 of the pandemic, and we are not sure to what extent that will continue. Overall, I would say that the non-profit sector adapted quite well to the challenges brought on by the pandemic and benefited from the changes in technology. Still, technology resources in non-profits are not on par with for-profit companies. We struggle to afford the technology that a remote work environment and/or changing customer expectations requires.听
鈥 Michelle Van Dyke 鈥85, President & CEO, Heart of West Michigan United Way
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People have new expectations about their workplace since they have experienced working out of their homes. People realize how "space" can affect their productivity/comfort/health/motivation/etc. People seek physical health and safety, but they need emotional/mental security as well. They want to know that they are in a safe environment when working. Leaders are now thinking about the overall employee well-being to help their people stay safe and feel safe.听
鈥 Yeaji Choi 鈥14, Dealer Business Manager, Steelcase Korea
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The significant majority of work is done in home offices. This change in location changes the way of interaction. Face-to-face has been replaced by technology-enabled meetings (Webex, MS Teams, Zoom, etc.). While overall productivity appears to be consistent to pre-pandemic levels, we can see challenges in making sure our teams have good communication and feel connected to our culture as they navigate work-life balance challenges given pandemic pressures in people鈥檚 lives beyond 鈥渢he workplace.鈥澨
听Of course, much is being observed around what is being called the 鈥済reat resignation.鈥 This is a rapidly evolving landscape as workers adjust to pressures just mentioned, inflation pressures, and the opportunities created by talent and labor shortages. 2022 could be a very disruptive year in that regard.听
鈥 Mike Cok 鈥83, President, Foremost, Farmers Insurance
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鈥 Jeremy Louters 鈥03, Partner, Plante Moran
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What significant changes have you personally made in your work and in your leadership?听
I have placed even more emphasis on communication. Formal communication is following similar media, method and cadence as before. What is different is the priority and effort given to informal communication using remote connectivity to replace the 鈥渉allway鈥 or ad hoc 鈥渄rop in鈥 conversations of the past. Beyond the method, I have focused on making sure I am authentic and available. That takes time and commitment. It is easy to get disconnected in today鈥檚 way of work.听
鈥 Mike Cok 鈥83, President, Foremost, Farmers Insurance
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For years, I had been staunchly opposed to remote work. When it became inevitable (and the only option), I realized that we could be just as productive/more productive in this new environment. The challenge is how to keep the momentum of an engaging organizational culture when we are not physically together anymore and most have 鈥淶oom fatigue.鈥澨
鈥 Michelle Van Dyke 鈥85, President & CEO, Heart of West Michigan United Way
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Culture is really important to me and by working from home it was a challenge to make everyone on the team feel part of something bigger, especially new hires! I鈥檝e focused on providing as much feedback as possible and ongoing training to ensure that everyone is doing their work to the best of their abilities. Working remotely pushed me to be a better leader - focusing more on team morale. I started having 鈥渢eam-time鈥 where we take a few minutes in the day to just chat, share how we鈥檙e doing, send memes, etc. This has not negatively affected productivity but has actually encouraged team members to feel more comfortable and stay engaged and close.听
鈥 Maydi Hernandez 鈥18, Content Coordinator, Hite Digital
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Throughout the virtual work environment, I was actually able to check in with my team more than ever before. Historically, it was a challenge to find times when we were all in the office and able to connect. Now that we were able to do video meetings, it actually became easier to schedule quick 鈥渧irtual coffee chats.鈥 I鈥檝e also embraced the additional flexibility that we now have in a mix of remote and in-person work.听
鈥 Jeremy Louters 鈥03, Partner, Plante Moran
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There has been minimal business entertainment and the government has been discouraging social meetings. I also had to get creative in thinking about how to motivate business partners/dealers with limited face-to-face time.听
鈥 Yeaji Choi 鈥14, Dealer Business Manager, Steelcase Korea
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What do you think the office and work environment once we're able to safely return will look like?听听
I think we will see more companies/organizations offering a hybrid model of work. It鈥檚 important to most employees to have the flexibility to work from home, yet critical to keep some face-to-face interactions, as needed to keep the culture 鈥渁live.鈥 So as leaders, we will need to think through how to add value to these days in the office.听
鈥 Michelle Van Dyke 鈥85, President & CEO Heart of West Michigan United Way
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听We have a new policy 鈥渨ork for your day,鈥 meaning that although we still envision a primarily in-person work environment, we recognize the need and ability for more flexibility and remote work. I feel like we鈥檒l be better off with this increased flexibility, while still having the comradery and benefits of a more traditional office environment.听
鈥 Jeremy Louters 鈥03, Partner, Plante Moran
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What will the workplace look like in the months and years to come? Learn more at Calvin鈥檚 upcoming Executive Breakfast Series: The Future of the Office with Rob Poel, general manager of Retail-Americas with Steelcase.