Staying Productive in the Modern Workplace

2021 Signature Seminar

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 2:00 pm ET

Featuring Paul H. Burton, founder of QuietSpacing.

Others work while we sleep. That has never been truer than it is today. Technology speeds communications up while response time expectations shrink. Organizations grow larger and more distributed, casting people and projects far and near. The only certainty is that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

Keeping up with globalism is a daunting prospect. How can we stay abreast without losing sight of the purpose for participating – enjoying rewarding personal and professional lives? What choices do we have and what actions can we take to best serve our clients, our loved ones and ourselves?

This program explores those questions, offering up eighteen suggestions on how to make the most of the time we have in this rapidly expanding playing field. We’ll address the following topics

  • Leveraging Distributed Work Environments. Working with people distributed across differing geographic locations is challenging. Consider these six suggestions on how to leverage this environment.
  • Running the Day Productively. Getting the work done is always Priority One. Here are six ways to accomplish that goal.
  • Demonstrating Leadership. Leadership is a state of mind, regardless of title or position. Choose from these six ways to demonstrate leadership on a global basis.

The workplace grows more global every day. We can react to that fact or we can lean in and participate. Choose to participate by attending this program.

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Action Step – LEVERAGE ALLIANCE FLEX RECALIBRATED FRAMEWORK TO REVAMP POST-PANDEMIC FLEX POLICY

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. 

 

The pandemic has forever changed how we can work, want to work, and will work. At the forefront of this is workplace flexibility. The pandemic inadvertently highlighted many benefits of flex, including productivity boosts, improved satisfaction, and business continuity gains. Now is the time for each organization to think through what type of flex is needed and can successfully be implemented. Use the Alliance’s Flex Recalibrated Framework to revamp your flex policy and lean on us each step of the way:

  1. Reflect. The first step is to Reflect on what worked, what were the challenges and how to structure flex to most effectively drive advancement, retention, diversity, recruitment, profitability, productivity, engagement and innovation. Organizations need to do this to establish a compelling purpose for flex that is unique to your organization. What were some of your successes with flex during the pandemic? What were some of your challenges? What are some ways to mitigate these challenges going forward? How has flex helped talent development, profitability and productivity? Now is the time to collect data to see what worked, what didn’t and why. Conduct employee surveys, check-in interviews and focus groups to gather data in order to build your unique flex business case and establish/communicate a clear purpose for flex….

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 – Margaux Trammell

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.

April 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our April Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Margaux Trammell, Director of Professional Development, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: Please tell us a little about your background. When did you begin working a reduced hours schedule? 

Margaux Trammell: I began my legal career in Switzerland before earning my LLM in American and comparative law and J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in the U.S. I joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck over 15 years ago as a second-year corporate associate, where my practice focused on outside general counsel representation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and finance matters. I became a shareholder at the firm in due course shortly after welcoming my first child.

Prior to my maternity leave with my second son, I approached our co-managing partners and CEO at the time about potentially enrolling in our reduced-work schedule that nobody was taking advantage of at the time. During those discussions, I wanted to make sure they knew that even though I was going to be working reduced hours, I still wanted to be fully committed to the deals I was working on and to be involved in the success of the firm. I still wanted to take an active role, and wanted to make sure that my part-time status wouldn’t sideline my involvement in firm initiatives and client work.

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DFA’s Manar Morales Quoted in ABF Journal

Phil Neuffer, Managing Editor of the ABF Journal asked DFA President & CEO Manar Morales to share her advice on creating a culture of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.  The article, Beyond Statements: How to Build and Maintain a More Diverse & Inclusive Workplace appeared in ABF Journal’s Q1 2021 DE&I Issue.

“Organizations need to look beyond mission statements that include diversity and inclusion and make authentic and tangible commitments towards improvement…I advise leaders to peel back the layers and ask, ‘Well, what exactly are we doing to improve?’ We need to see more concrete actions towards creating cultures that support diversity and inclusivity.”

Manar Morales

Alliance President & CEO

ABF Journal

 

Read the entire article with more insights from Manar and Michael Bush, CEO, Great Place to Work HERE. The ABF Journal is a magazine for Commercial Finance Professionals.

 

 

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Manar Morales Featured on ASAE Stronger By Association Podcast

Episode Title: The Power of Workplace Flexibility

Don’t miss listening to this recent ASAE: Stronger by Association podcast featuring Alliance President & CEO Manar Morales and Charles Moore, Principal of Thrive Street Advisors.  Learn why Manar and Charles predict that we won’t return to work as we did pre-pandemic and hear how we’ll all need to adjust to new norms and adapt to people’s different situations/abilities to be part of the modern workforce in 2021.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

 

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Bright Spot: Chapman and Cutler’s Virtual Coffee Chats

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction. 

BRIGHT SPOT – Chapman and Cutler – Virtual Coffee Chats

During the COVID -19 pandemic, many professionals have voiced concerns about the lack of “water cooler moments” with everyone working from home. In particular, some new Associates have found it difficult to network and find firm mentors while working remotely. The Talent Development office at law firm, Chapman and Cutler, came up with a creative, yet simple, solution to this new challenge. By creating a system for Virtual Coffee Chats, Chapman has been able to connect younger Associates with more senior colleagues for casual networking coffees.

The goal of the system was to make it easy for senior Partners to connect with First Year and Summer Associates for a 20-30 minute one-on-one Zoom call. The Zoom scheduling links were created to automatically schedule the coffees and add them to individual calendars. Therefore, no one was overburdened with scheduling the calls and the time commitment was minimal.

As an added incentive the Talent Development Office sent specialty coffees and teas – all provided by black or minority-owned businesses – to encourage participants and create a fun environment. This small incentive provided a very positive impact to firm culture.

IMPACT

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and many Partners and Associates plan to continue these virtual coffees long after the pandemic. Associates have really enjoyed meeting the Senior Partners and learning about best practices and new client projects. The Partners have appreciated the opportunity to meet the new Associates and pass down some good practice tips. The coffees have also helped with inter-office collaboration and one-on-one mentorship. There’s no doubt these mentoring relationships will continue to thrive beyond COVID.

Please share your Diversity & Flexibility Bright Spots with us by downloading and filling out THIS SHORT FORM and emailing it to Jane Caldeira at jane@dfalliance.com.

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Spotlight on Flex – Rachel Janger

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.

March 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our March Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Rachel Janger, Senior Counsel, O’Melveny.

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

Rachel Janger: I began working at O’Melveny in 1999 after my post-law school clerkship. I was full-time until 2007 when I had my second child and then transitioned to a 75% reduced hour schedule. A few years later in 2010, I requested a leave of absence to stay home with my kids. The firm agreed to my request. Once my older child was in elementary school, I asked if I could return to O’Melveny at an even further reduced-hours schedule. At that time, I believe this type of request was very rare in the industry, but it was helpful that I have a particular expertise in my area of law. O’Melveny was very accommodating and has always supported my reduced-hour schedule.

My reduced-hour arrangement works because I don’t take on more work than I am capable of fitting into my schedule but I also make sure that I’m available for our clients and colleagues when they need me. So, I work every day but I have more flexibility during my day.   My guess is that some of my clients may not know that I’m on a reduced-hour schedule because I make my schedule work for them.

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Action Step – Recommendations for Revising Your Flexible Working Initiative Post-Pandemic

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. 

 

The pandemic has changed the perception of flexibility from “a nice to have” to a business imperative. Prior to March 2020, some organizational leaders did not buy into workplace flexibility. Fast forward to 2021 and the conversations around flex are very different. Rather than asking why we need flex, more leaders are now focusing on how we can make flex as effective as possible. Organizations across all industries must think strategically about workplace flexibility in order to reap recruiting, retention, and business productivity benefits. To help you reboot your workplace flexibility policy, the Alliance has the following recommendations:

  1. Reflect, Reassess & Reimagine. We urge all organizations to look back and carefully reflect on the past year. How has your mission, values, products/services and/or business operations changed? In what ways can flexibility help with these changes? What were the positive impacts of flexibility in terms of productivity, satisfaction/engagement and recruiting/retention? We recommend that organizations create a task force of diverse leaders on the future of work, and collect data on employee productivity/satisfaction now to understand what worked and what didn’t. This will help revamp your flex policy post-pandemic, implement it effectively and create necessary infrastructure support. See our action step, Paving the Way for Flexible Work After the Pandemic Now, for ideas on how to monitor/measure employee experiences.

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.

Take Command of Unresolved Conflict

2021 Signature Seminar

Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET

Featuring Julie Holunga, Principal & Executive Coach of Chinook Executive Solutions

Problems typically begin with an unaddressed conflict. Unresolved breakdowns in communication are costly, and if left unaddressed, can derail a team, division, or company. Miscommunication is a precursor to conflict, and is draining your resources: productivity, people, and money. Creating mutual understanding and awareness is essential to your success, whether you’re developing a high-performing team, resolving a potentially explosive employee issue, or negotiating with a client.

In this powerful session, participants will gain insights into their natural responses to conflict, learn the strengths and preferences of their own communication styles, and build constructive behaviors to handle conflict. Participants will learn to:

  • Build personal and professional trust between employees
  • Develop and innovate solutions to everyday issues
  • Reduce time spent in (or avoiding!) conflict

Isn’t it time to stop paying the high cost of miscommunication and conflict? This dynamic presentation is designed for professionals who are ready to stop avoiding inevitable conflict and invest in their success. When we are conflict competent, we are engaged, productive, and innovative problem solvers, and that can’t help but impact the bottom line.

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Action Step – Future of Work: Post-Pandemic Flexible Work Policies

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. 

The pandemic has forever broadened the scope of flexible work. Many employees have learned to effectively work flexibly and/or remotely during the COVID-19 crisis and have experienced the benefits of flexible work. Organizational leaders are now considering how/what types of flexible work to offer after the pandemic. The Alliance has a number of recommendations for flexible work policies post-pandemic, so these initiatives can reap the greatest benefits in terms of work productivity, and recruitment/retention of top talent:

  1. Holistic Flexible Work – We strongly recommend implementing holistic flexible work policies, including reduced hours, telecommuting, flextime, compressed work week, asynchronous hours and job sharing options, as employees have individual flex needs. Additionally, by providing holistic flexible work options, employees who may not be able to utilize certain forms of flex due to their job function can still use other types of flex (i.e. a receptionist may not be able to telecommute due to his/her function but may be able to work reduced hours, flextime or compressed work week).

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.