March 31st 2020

Keeping it together whilst working remotely

To help teams adjust to a brand-new world of work, Helen Matthews, Chief People Officer at Ogilvy introduces the agency’s Guide to Managed Remote Working.

Helen Matthews

Chief People Officer Ogilvy

Here we are as we find ourselves in this strange, dystopian world of UK lockdown, everyone staying at home, except of course, our heroic key workers, with kids, cats, dogs, elderly relatives and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

It’s a brand-new world and remote working just got a whole lot tougher, even for those who have perfected the art.

Those who have worked remotely for some time praise their sense of calm, their routines, productivity, and space for exercise and balance. For those of us suddenly thrown into this new reality though, we’re still finding our way. And let’s not forget that this is remote working en-masse.

We are gradually finding our groove over at Ogilvy UK. And it does rather beg the question: once this is all over, will we return to our traditional ways of working? Or, will we all instead be embracing more remote working, giving ourselves some wellness balance back, as well as taking the strain from our expensive open plan office spaces? People are commuting for longer periods at breath-taking costs; we know we’re polluting ourselves, is this our ultimate test to break down some of the remaining stigma around presenteeism?

As we all left our offices at Sea Containers and Shere last month under the shadows of COVID-19, our Ogilvy People team collaborated with the Ogilvy Consulting Behavioural Science team to produce the Ogilvy Guide to Managed Remote Working, to help our UK teams to adjust. We broke this down into three working pillars: happy, healthy and productive. It’s a practical guide with the science underpinning it, and so far, there’s evidence that it’s been the nudge we all needed. We went on to also share the guide with clients, as they have also needed support in adjusting to new ways of working. Our job is to solve our clients’ problems and we will continue to do so in all aspects.

A few weeks in, and we are habit-forming. I highly recommend using Rob Stephenson’s brilliant ‘form score’ as the starter for ten. Introduced to us here at Ogilvy UK by our Behavioural Science team, it’s such a simple, yet powerful way to really get to the heart of both your team’s challenges, as well as codesigning brilliant solutions.

If anything, I’d say we’re now working in tune with each other more than ever before. It’s inclusive and we are hearing more from our introverts, and in addition, our productivity is going through the roof. I’m also able to watch trends, only a few weeks in, and I can see both the pinch points, and the wins. Do I miss some of the physical connection and camaraderie? Of course, I’m a social animal, plus I’m worried about my potential to self-isolate and only ever wear elasticated waistbands for the rest of my career.

KEY TAKE OUTS

It’s a marathon not a sprint. Think about the whole person. Our three pillars work beautifully to keep that front of mind: Healthy. Happy. Productive
You can’t over communicate. Find different channels for different things. Mix it up; the brain craves novelty. This is probably heightened in a creative industry; codesign with your team and bring their ideas to your ways of engaging with them and working at your best together. This includes fun. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the organised type of fun that some of us, ahem loathe, but that’s where including your team and getting their input is so vital. By the end of day one, we had our first team Spotify list, and by the end of the week, we’d had our first Friday wine-down, hosted by three of the team. Other teams had prop of the week, the Shere team had their first family-friendly virtual quiz night. You get the gist.
Find your team’s structure and rhythm. I can highly recommend using the Ogilvy Consulting Behavioural Scientists’ brilliant ‘form score’ as the starter for ten. It’s such a simple, yet powerful way to really get to the heart of both your team’s challenges, as well codesigning brilliant solutions.
Lastly, put in a morning commute. A walk, a run, a blast of lung-filling fresh air will do wonders to set you up for the day to be your most productive and happy. Those endorphins are addictive we know, so allow yourself a glimpse of them.
Finally, I have learned from slightly painful experience, trying to get your whole team to sing happy birthday over MS Teams doesn’t work. Needs must, but maybe stick to real cake and slightly in sync vocals wherever you can.

The free guide to managing remote working is available to download here. Hopefully in the longer term, this will be a positive shift in how we come together to be our best for ourselves, as well as each other and our clients, rather than under this current frightening set of circumstances.

Guest Author

Helen Matthews

Chief People Officer Ogilvy

About

In her role, Helen serves as the guardian of the agency’s employee experience, ensuring Ogilvy UK has the right offering and culture in place to attract, nurture and grow the best talent across the industry. With over 20 years of experience, Helen has worked across technology, media, broadcast, entertainment, professional services and healthcare sectors, as well as startups and SMEs. Her career spans many major organizations, including the BBC, ITN, NHS, SAP, Tiger Aspect and, most recently, Time Inc UK. She served as an external consultant to the company from early 2018, bringing to bear her experience in creating robust, future-proofing talent strategies which have yielded both internal and commercial success. As part of her remit, she works to ensure that Ogilvy remains a great place to work in the UK.