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.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Great Resignation has been taking hold and impacting organizations around the globe. Many employees have faced stress and burn-out over the past year, trying to balance personal, family and work obligations around the clock without necessary support structures in place. Simultaneously, many employees gained more work-life control than they ever had during the pandemic, experiencing more regular dinners with family, being able to live in new places and have new adventures while working remotely, and spending more time with children and aging parents than ever before. These seemingly dichotomous experiences, stress/burn-out and increased work-life autonomy, has led many workers to leave their jobs, which has been coined the Great Resignation. However, every coin has two sides – resignations at one organization will lead to retention/recruiting benefits at another. To have the upper hand, organizations need to focus now more than ever on talent development, diversity, inclusion and flexibility. Here are the Alliance’s recommendations:
Offer More Flexibility: Recent research studies during the pandemic have shown that employees have an increased desire for flexibility. A study in Harvard Business Review[1] sheds light on the desire for flexibility and autonomy – 59% indicated that flexibility is more important than salary/benefits and mentioned that they would not work for a company requiring them to be full-time onsite. Organizations need to revamp workplace flexibility policies and programs in order to recruit and retain the best talent.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-11-30 12:43:492021-11-30 12:43:49Action Step – GREAT RESIGNATION OR GREAT RETENTION: HOW YOUR POLICIES, PRACTICES & INFRASTRUCTURE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
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 in the process of designing hybrid work environments. While different organizations will need different hybrid work structures to support their unique needs, all organizations need to consider new ways to effectively onboard new employees and make them feel a part of their new organization. Based on our numerous conversations with leaders and employees, we have heard feedback regarding difficulty with integrating new employees during the pandemic. Therefore, organizations need to make sure to carefully think through their pre-arrival and onboarding processes, as well as modifications and additional infrastructure to support successful onboarding and intentional integration.
Pre-Arrival and Orientation – Outreach to new hires prior to their arrival to let them know the timing of orientation and what to expect makes for a more comfortable introduction to the firm. Organizations should provide all new employees with an orientation (in-person, virtual, or a combination) on their first day. At a minimum, this orientation should include a message from the CEO/Chair, messages from group leaders, introduction and contacts from all support departments (i.e. IT; Human Resources; Word Processing; Marketing), and any specific organizational processes/procedures (i.e. billing codes; necessary contacts). Subsequently, each new employee should have a lunch/coffee (in-person or virtual) set up with a department leader/supervisor and peer employee.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-09-29 11:15:332021-09-29 11:15:33Action Step – Creating a Successful Onboarding & Integration Program for Your Hybrid Work 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 rethinking their work environment post-pandemic. We learned a great deal during the pandemic regarding workplace flexibility and business continuity, leading many firms and companies to consider hybrid workplaces after the pandemic. While organizations will structure these hybrid work environments differently based upon their unique needs, all organizations will need to carefully think through different support structures and systems that will be needed for the new way of working. The Recommit stage of our Flex Recalibrated Framework discusses these additional support structures that will be needed to make your hybrid work environment succeed, including training. Organizations will need to train employees in order to arm them with new skills to make sure they can succeed in a hybrid world:
Individual Strategies for Remote Work Success. Employees who will be working remotely, even part of the time, will need to learn best practices and strategies for being successful in a hybrid/remote work environment. These trainings should include real life examples to make the training more impactful. Teach employees effective ways to maintain connection and receive training in this new environment (i.e. intentionally reaching our/scheduling time with supervisors/colleagues; coming into the office when supervisors/clients come in; proactively asking to debrief after client meetings; maintaining visibility when coming into the office). Trainings should also discuss effective ways to handle challenges, such as communication/responsiveness difficulties, workload allocation challenges, maintaining and building connections, and creating effective boundaries.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-08-26 11:17:062021-09-08 13:50:24Action Step – Building Your Training Program to Support Your Post-Pandemic Hybrid Workplace
Action Step – GREAT RESIGNATION OR GREAT RETENTION: HOW YOUR POLICIES, PRACTICES & INFRASTRUCTURE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
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.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Great Resignation has been taking hold and impacting organizations around the globe. Many employees have faced stress and burn-out over the past year, trying to balance personal, family and work obligations around the clock without necessary support structures in place. Simultaneously, many employees gained more work-life control than they ever had during the pandemic, experiencing more regular dinners with family, being able to live in new places and have new adventures while working remotely, and spending more time with children and aging parents than ever before. These seemingly dichotomous experiences, stress/burn-out and increased work-life autonomy, has led many workers to leave their jobs, which has been coined the Great Resignation. However, every coin has two sides – resignations at one organization will lead to retention/recruiting benefits at another. To have the upper hand, organizations need to focus now more than ever on talent development, diversity, inclusion and flexibility. Here are the Alliance’s recommendations:
[1] Reisinger, Holger and Fetterer, Dane, “Forget Flexibility.
Action Step – Creating a Successful Onboarding & Integration Program for Your Hybrid Work 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 in the process of designing hybrid work environments. While different organizations will need different hybrid work structures to support their unique needs, all organizations need to consider new ways to effectively onboard new employees and make them feel a part of their new organization. Based on our numerous conversations with leaders and employees, we have heard feedback regarding difficulty with integrating new employees during the pandemic. Therefore, organizations need to make sure to carefully think through their pre-arrival and onboarding processes, as well as modifications and additional infrastructure to support successful onboarding and intentional integration.
Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center
To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity &
Action Step – Building Your Training Program to Support Your Post-Pandemic Hybrid Workplace
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 rethinking their work environment post-pandemic. We learned a great deal during the pandemic regarding workplace flexibility and business continuity, leading many firms and companies to consider hybrid workplaces after the pandemic. While organizations will structure these hybrid work environments differently based upon their unique needs, all organizations will need to carefully think through different support structures and systems that will be needed for the new way of working. The Recommit stage of our Flex Recalibrated Framework discusses these additional support structures that will be needed to make your hybrid work environment succeed, including training. Organizations will need to train employees in order to arm them with new skills to make sure they can succeed in a hybrid world:
Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center