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Action Step – Maintaining Mentoring & Connection in a Hybrid Environment

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

Many organizations are reimagining their work environment after the pandemic, with flexible work at the heart of the discussion. A number of organizations are planning on instituting a hybrid work environment post-pandemic, based on positive productivity during the pandemic, employee feedback and desire to scale back real estate. A hybrid work environment involves employees working some of the time in the office and some of the time remotely. Organizations considering hybrid work models reap many benefits, but must make sure mentoring and connectivity are embedded in their culture and continuously fostered in order to thrive. To ensure that mentoring and connectivity are preserved within a hybrid workforce, organization should focus on these eight strategies:

 

  1. Training. Organizations should offer trainings on ways to develop mentoring relationships and maintain connections in a hybrid work environment. These skills are not always innate and organizations that provide such trainings will help foster these necessary relationships. Employee trainings should focus on effective ways to proactively build relationships, the need to be prepared and share specific goals, the importance of showing appreciation, and the benefits of developing relationships with many senior professionals. Supervisor trainings should cover the need to be receptive, ways to guide meetings/relationships with junior professionals, guidance on effectively helping with career development, and ways to be creative with mentoring in a hybrid environment.

Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

 

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. To learn more contact Manar Morales.

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Spotlight on Flex – Maryam Casbarro, Davis Wright Tremaine

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

June 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our June Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Maryam Casbarro, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How have the firm and clients contributed to this?

Maryam Casbarro: I formally started working a flex schedule in January of this year. It was brought about by life circumstances. In October of 2019 I found out that my baby would be born with special needs. We anticipated that she would have significant medical needs going into 2020, but of course we didn’t anticipate there would also be a pandemic! So I had a conversation with the chair of my practice on what work would look like returning from maternity leave with my baby still in the hospital.

She said I could come back on whatever schedule worked for me, and the firm would be completely flexible with my hours. At that time, my schedule wasn’t formalized so I would just take on projects that my personal life allowed. Then in September of 2020 I decided to come back full time. There was a very stark difference between working a pseudo flex schedule without a formal agreement to working full time. It quickly became apparent that life had shifted and it was not realistic for me to maintain a full-time schedule.

I spoke to the partner who oversees flexible working schedules and she walked me through what life would look like on a formal reduced hour schedule and what other attorneys had done in the past. She talked me through the process and explained that people had become partner on a reduced-hours schedule. That was something that was important to me because I didn’t want my career to be derailed by trying to accommodate the realities of my new life. So in January I formerly started to work an 80% reduced-hours schedule.