Ingram's October 2023

The Pandemic Pricetag A shared concern was the impact of the pandemic in multiple ways—on com pany cultures, on lost mentorship and re lationships in offices where remote work became popular, and on the ability of high performers to be seen by leaders who decide on assignments, promotions, raises and other career mileposts. Spring Venture Group’s Kendal Schmidt said the upshot of the pandemic is that employees now bear more responsibil ity to engage with their companies and colleagues. She’s director of employee engagement there, and said increased communication with employees, new hybrid events and non-stop efforts to gather feedback have been successful tools. Blue KC, said Rosie Hollis, created a channel to retain the feel of water-cooler discussions. But with the hybrid work model implemented there, she sees fewer in-person meetings across departments or corporations “and less face-to-face time which really help address and re solve issues live, drive collaboration and decrease email traffic.” At Commerce Bank, the emphasis on in-person work has paid off for Jenna TeKolste. “I feel as though I get tapped frequently for involvement in projects and experiences which are developing me to be the leader I intend to be,” she said. “What’s even better is that it’s not just me being in the office; everyone around me is, too,” allowing for seam less collaboration and growth opportu nities for all. “Zoom calls are easy and working from home is more convenient, but in my opinion the benefits of face to face meetings and watching experienced col leagues operate in person outweigh the convenience of a hybrid schedule,” said Richard Chaves, who became CEO of Parking Company of America just before the pandemic hit. “I think most employ ers realize this, and are slowly starting to fill their offices again.” Zach Fischer of Peoples National Bank says employees everywhere now have fewer workplace interactions. There- fore, “each interaction/exchange you have

with an employee can potentially leave a stronger impression,” he says, and it falls to leaders to help employees under stand the value of their work. When they do, performance levels rise. During the pandemic, said Luke Eck ley, Apollo Insurance Group “offered our employees the choice to work remotely, and we discovered that more people pre ferred to come into the office because of the cultural experience and the ease of communication.” He, too, believes that many remote workers miss out, includ ing the opportunity to establish friend ships with colleagues. Newmark Zimmer, said John Faur, was adamant from the beginning that the workplace was special and key component for the culture and success of the commercial realty firm. “I feel

very fortunate to have those opportuni ties for face-to-face contact, mentorship, and “water-cooler chit-chat,” which has had a very significant effect on my growth and productivity,” he said, and has been a catalyst for his early career success. “There is a learning curve to build ing workplace skills,” said Dentons law yer Kamillia Scott, but “I think having meaningful and impactful in-person in teractions with colleagues once or twice a week is plenty to fill the corporate culture cup.” The firm requires three days in office each week—Tuesdays and Wednesdays are highly encouraged— and is monitoring badge swipes to track attendance. “But we have yet to learn what they will do with this data,” she said.

1.

2.

3.

4.

1. Kendal Schmidt said one impact of the pandemic was that young workers would have to assume more of the responsibility for engaging with their employer. | 2. For John Faur , the impact of the pandemic was both professional and personal, affecting his commercial realty prospects as well as his own opportunities to learn the business from more experienced hands. | 3. An upside of that, said Jenna TeKolste , is that she feels as though leaders at her bank are more likely to involve her in projects that can advance her own development. | 4. Kamillia Scott said Dentons was tracking in office appearances of the staff, but it’s not yet known how the firm will put that data to use.

23

202 3

20 i n t h e i r twe n t i e s

Kansas City’s Business Media