Flex+: Values of trust and empowerment
5-minute read
A culture of trust and empowerment: These are the values that led to the development of our new Flex+ program, which introduces new ways of working and ensures an employee experience based on the essential principles of flexibility, equity and friendliness.
This is a shift where the work organization is even more focused on the human factor.
As a result of the pandemic, the work environment is forever changed, with the hybrid formula becoming the norm for many organizations, including BDC. It now makes sense to let employees decide when and where they work.
We will not be returning to the organization of work as we knew it before the pandemic. The last few years have allowed us to experiment with, and see the benefits of, different facets of on-site and virtual work.
Complete flexibility
The majority of employees can now work fully or partially from the office, or remotely, up to five days a week. Only staff members whose role requires working at the office because of the equipment used, or the types of tasks performed, should work on site. However, they too may occasionally work from home, depending on the circumstances.
This greater flexibility is not only essential for attracting new employees, but it’s also helping retain those already working at the Bank.
We do not dictate a single way of doing things, especially given that teams obviously do not all have the same realities or ways of working. As such, we leave the necessary latitude to teams, leaders and employees to define together what new work parameters will best serve the activities to be carried out; it is more of an activity-based model than one that simply quantifies and dictates a number of on-site workdays.
The office now becomes a connection point, and just one of the possible places to work. Examples of situations that may require a more sustained presence in the office are defined and include:
- new employee onboarding
- training activities
- team building or networking
- projects requiring bursts of collaborative creativity and innovation
In all cases, it is important to maximize both the employee experience and client satisfaction, based on the organizational values that have always guided our actions.
We have also invested additional funds towards meeting technological needs created by holding hybrid meetings. The distribution of mobility kits, which include a mouse, keyboard, headset and backpack, has also begun.
To invest even more in staff well-being, the Bank has contributed an additional $1,000 to its employees' Wellness account. This money will be used to cover expenses incurred to better equip staff when working remotely.
Tips and tricks have also been developed to help employees run successful hybrid meetings—both in terms of the technology used and the mindset needed. A manager-oriented strategy adapted to managers has been implemented so senior staff can support their teams in making this shift. An example of which would be sharing sessions between leaders to facilitate exchanges between peers as a way of inspiring, modifying and developing good practices in change management.
More than two years into the pandemic, remote work habits are firmly established, and the value of teleworking—for both employees and managers—has been proven.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
In this new work environment, we also intend to prioritize maintaining team spirit and cohesion, as well as continuing to foster a sense of belonging.
It is also important to ensure fair treatment and the same career opportunities for people who work on site or remotely. We are well aware that there may be concerns in this regard, but we will closely monitor the situation to ensure that employees who work remotely are not disadvantaged compared with their colleagues who come to the office more regularly.
But employees must also do their part in continuing to be proactively involved in their career development and networking activities in order to fulfil their professional aspirations.
This new program reflects the needs and expectations expressed by the vast majority of employees. Throughout the process of developing this new work model, we’ve made sure to listen to our employees, particularly through various ongoing surveys. This new model is also the result of the work of a multidisciplinary team of specialists who pooled their knowledge to come up with the design and implementation of this new approach.
The adventure has only just begun. This model is still in the experimental phase, and if we have to adjust the way we do things along the way, we will do so, always while remaining in constant dialogue with our employees.