As a rule, you should never trust anyone who claims their intangible idea is true regardless of context.
And the exception that proves the rule? You should always ask a behavioral economist, and not only because they’ll give you clever one-liners that make more sense the more you think about them.
Behavioral economics is the study of human decision-making, and it differs from classical economics in one profound way: Classical economics models perfectly rational human behavior. This is crucial to developing and sustaining a functional society, but when it comes to actually predicting human behavior, assuming perfect rationality is not going to get you there.
Enter behavioral economics, sometimes known as the science of irrationality, in which we abandon the “should” and look only at the “would.”
For example, a doctor can tell you that you have a disease with a 90% survival rate or a 10% mortality rate. A perfectly rational person should have the exact same reaction to either statement (since both statements communicate the exact same thing). An actual person most definitely would not.
Understanding the how and why of human irrationality is beyond the scope of this article, but at the highest level, it comes down to this: People have a limited amount of energy available to them each day, and we must save it for when we need it. As a result, we run on autopilot for most of the day. And while this autopilot is effective enough to keep us alive, it is also the source for much of our irrationality.
This understanding is incredibly powerful because it allows us to predict irrationality and counterprogram for it (through interventions called “nudges”). This is as powerful a tool as we have to influence human behavior, and influencing human behavior turns out to be kind of important. So, let’s drive home that point by answering some of your burning people questions to drive a better firm culture and be a best firm to work for:
How do I compete with Big Tech to keep my talent in-house?
Short answer: You don’t. Long answer: You basically don’t.
You simply cannot compete with infinite resources, so if you engage in a competition you will lose. That leaves you with a few options:
1. You offer an alternative. What can you give that Big Tech can’t? Work-life balance. Two-way loyalty. Trust and autonomy.
2. You play Moneyball. The bias in big tech is gigantic, and they ignore amazing talent for all sorts of dumb reasons, including age, gender and race. Go grab that talent.
3. You change the work. If you can’t keep and retain the talent you need for the jobs you have designed, design different jobs. Outsource the work you can’t fit into in the new job role.
4. You turn to big tech (no extra charge for the irony). Use technology to reimagine your workforce and use evolving machine learning and artificial intelligence to supplement the workforce you are able to retain.
How do I keep my firm culture in a virtual world?
You don’t. You’re in a new world, so you need a new culture.
Organizational culture is best defined by “the way things get done around here.” Obviously, that’s had to change. So, it is incumbent on you to replicate what mattered about your original culture in the virtual world.
If you prioritized and rewarded conscientiousness in the office, prioritize and reward it virtually as well. If your employees thrived on recognition in the office, provide that recognition virtually. Intentionally and consistently. (You can no longer count on sensing in person when someone needs a boost.) If your employees thrived on socializing after work, set up virtual happy hours, or even better, actual happy hours after work for the vaccinated.
If you want to keep your culture, then you need to understand it. If you understand it, you can adapt it to the virtual world.
How do I manage burnout and mental health?
This one isn’t a mystery. Give people less work and less to stress about. Prioritize activities that nurture wellness, like pursuing hobbies, practicing mindfulness, or seeing a therapist. Castigate people for emailing on the weekends. Require vacation. Express your concerns and aspirations for your people — sometimes just knowing you care can make a big difference. Create psychological safety.
For a small percentage of you, though, there is something else to keep in mind. Sometimes people burn themselves out for psychological reasons, not employer-driven ones. If you are someone who actively thinks about your employees’ well-being and takes consistent and intentional steps to support them, it may not be you. Understanding that will certainly help you devise a better strategy for how best to address the challenge.
How do I team build in this new world?
In most cases, the answer is, “Gave them an office to work in.” It’s not like you’re doing any worse with Zoom. In fact, recent research from ADPRI revealed that people working remotely reported a greater sense of connection to the team and less toxicity. So, you may already be doing better.
The most important thing for team-building in the hybrid world is to keep teams connected. There needs to be a minimum weekly team meeting, and no one should be allowed to discuss work for the first 10 minutes. And there should be an update from each member of the team so that they can be recognized for the mastery they demonstrate in their work.
Anything that you might do for team-building in the office, from shared challenges to personal connections, can be accomplished in the virtual world. Just not a rope course.
How do I manage onboarding in the virtual world?
Very intentionally, very consistently, very thoughtfully, and very collaboratively. Everyone, including your new hire, knows this is a crazy time. Don’t bother pretending you have everything fully baked. Be honest about the challenge and collaborative in the approach. One great way to break someone in is to give them a self-contained project that aligns well to their existing skill sets. Sometimes generating some positive momentum is the key to unlocking a positive and meaningful onboarding.
