Discussing "Work Reimagined" As We Return From COVID-19

Kelly Conway has been the Chief People Officer at Lockton Companies since August 2020, where she has led the organization's people strategy and all central HR functions. Prior to joining Lockton, Kelly served as Vice President of Human Resources at Stryker, and held roles at TomoTherapy and Coca-Cola. We spoke with Kelly about how she is reimagining work following the pandemic, and what are her top priorities to make the return to work as safe, practical and smooth as possible for Lockton's over eight thousand employees.

Benson Executive Search: “Work reimagined” is a broad theme. How are you thinking about that topic and what are some of the things that other people should be thinking about too?

Kelly: It is a big topic, but I think my personal story is indicative of how HR leaders can think about the future. I joined Lockton Companies six months ago, but I first met with them pre-pandemic, in 2019. I loved the organization but quickly realized they felt the role had to be based in Kansas City. I have four kids, and to disrupt my family like that didn’t make a lot of sense. We parted ways, but I got a call mid-pandemic, when everyone was working from home, and they said, ‘look, we understand now that you’re the right fit, and we can be flexible on remote work’. I’ve always been comfortable traveling and being where I need to be in order to drive HR, so with that and their flexibility, I ended up joining.

Work reimagined is the way in which we use what we’ve learned over the past year to do better in the future. It’s reexamining questions like ‘does the talent have to be there in person?’. Now, while I do believe in building culture and creating organizational heartbeat, which can only really happen when you have people together, I don’t think you can do everything via a distributed workforce. To start to have that discussion, to think about trade-offs we can make, like the one Lockton made to bring me on board, that’s how we reimagine work.

As the impact from COVID-19 wanes, how are you balancing culture while also rethinking some of the trade-offs you mentioned, such as remote work?

As returning to offices comes into clearer view, I’m focusing on three things: safety, team culture and flexibility.

On team culture and flexibility, I think if you go too broad on virtual work options, what happens is that people come in on opposite days and it’s hard to find a consistent rhythm. We’re thinking about this on a team level, especially in entry-level or mid-level roles, where employees need mentoring and connection. Examining flexibility in context to the individual and the individual’s team, using learnings from the past year and resisting an urge to be overly-prescriptive, will be what moves us forward.

Would you care to share some examples on how you’ve managed those three elements, or some strategies that you think might be valuable for others moving forward?

Our feedback indicated people do want their own place to sit, so instead of hoteling, we’ve been piloting a program where we give dedicated space to two to four people and let them work out the schedule. On the days that all are in, there is enough hoteling space to allow everyone to be comfortable. We think it’s a more collegial approach, and empowers our people to manage themselves.

For our conference rooms, we’re testing out some multimedia technology that would allow for more visual communication from remote participants. We’ve all been on the phone when everyone in the room is laughing at a joke that you didn’t hear, and it’s terrible, so coming out of COVID-19, we wanted to make sure no matter where you engage from, that you can feel more present.

Do you think these new ideas like hoteling and shared spaces will eventually be adopted as the standard or do you think that there will be a shift back to previous ways of working? And what would you like to see?

I do see an expectation that flexibility is here to stay. I consistently see myself that productivity can remain high at home, so why wouldn’t we want to offer that? I do think if there’s anything good that came out of COVID-19, it’s the fact that we’ve accelerated ourselves into more flexibility.

I hope workspaces begin to feel that when you’re there, you’re there for a purpose and to connect. It’s up to each HR organization to figure out what that means for them, but that purpose leads to better productivity and outcomes.

How do you see the future of work differing based on the team that you’re on? How have you looked at creating organizational plans that meet the needs of every group? A cookie cutter approach will rarely work. Different roles require different levels of visibility and connection, and each team will have different things that they need to do in person for the best results. As we return to work, I’m trying to see how we can be as deliberate and purposeful as possible, both online and importantly face-to-face.

Using executive teams as an example: when I go to Kansas City, we’re very deliberate about doing as many of the things that are difficult over the phone as we can, like strategy sessions or brainstorms. For an engineering team or a product team it would be no different, except the activities they highlight together will naturally change.

It’s important to let team leaders drive that process and to not micromanage. They have to trust and empower their local teams to work through it to find the heartbeat and tempo to follow.

How can teams and individuals start to identify those things that matter most to them?

The foundational building blocks of the role is a great first step. For me, that’s people, so when I’m not in Kansas City, where it’s a bit easier to find that face-to-face time in order to build those relationships, I know that I have to deliberately make time for people connection meetings. Each team, or even person, will have a different answer to that question. For anyone for whom the answer seems to be a bit harder, that’s where we come in as HR leaders to help them map out those steps.

How does the idea of being deliberate mesh with creating culture and camaraderie? What are some other things that people might do besides “the usual” coffee chats and Zoom parties?

People have been managing remote teams for years, which means this playbook has already been created. It’s just that more people are having to think about it now. What’s helped me is to avoid kicking off a call without doing some sort of people connection exercise first. At Lockton, I start off my weekly team huddle with a different question, which I send through in advance. It can be narrow and simple, like ‘what’s your favorite movie?’, or something more provocative like ‘what are you doing for Black History Month to make a meaningful impact?’ For the more provocative questions, I don’t have an expectation that everyone is going to answer because I don’t want to put somebody in an uncomfortable position. But I try to avoid ‘hi, let’s get straight to work’.

Another is being deliberate about turning on your camera whenever you can. We all understand camera exhaustion, but it’s a great way to be deliberate about being and staying connected. Finally, when you’re at home, never act like you’re in an office-style environment, because you’re not. It just happened here, I saw someone walking behind you, and that’s okay! Respond to your husband or wife or kids, because everyone recognizes we’re just trying to manage life.

Thank you for your time today. Anything you’d like to say in closing?

I think as a leader, your number one job is to be vulnerable. And part of being vulnerable is not always knowing the answer and accepting that. Be open, be willing, and talk to and listen to the people in your organization. It’s really a collaborative environment now--if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with a team.