We asked Anna Wenngren, chief people officer, SafetyCulture, about bringing employees back to corporate offices post-COVID. Among other points, Wenngren addressed maintaining a strong corporate culture regardless of where employees are located. The interview with Wenngren was part of Women Leading Travel & Hospitality’s latest report, Back-to-Office Checklist: Executives Navigate the Challenges, Unknowns, and Plans for Defining a New Way to Work.

Women Leading Travel & Hospitality: What’s your company doing to acquire and retain employees in this new work environment (e.g., hybrid work from home and in office)?
Anna Wenngren: For high-growth companies like ours, it’s important that our approach to talent acquisition and retention continuously evolves to ensure we remain competitive. COVID-19 has shown everyone the possibilities of flexible working, and at SafetyCulture we embrace a hybrid model, allowing us the ability to hire from all locations. That being said, the office remains a fundamental part of our business plans — it’s somewhere to help embed our culture of innovation and teamwork. We create world-class workspaces which offer a mix of fun and functionality. 

We aim to help our employees do their best work every day, whether that’s from home or the office. Key to this is ensuring all staff have access to our Employee Assistance Program to support mental and emotional well-being. In addition to hosting online personal development workshops, we’ve also partnered with ClassPass to offer free online fitness classes.

Our offices are lively, collaborative spaces with pool tables, rock climbing walls, a basketball court, great coffee machines and in some locations a bar onsite. We also provide snacks, lunch and drinks! 

When coupled with our award-winning culture and unicorn status, it creates a compelling proposition for existing employees and people considering a career with us.

Anna Wenngren, Chief People Officer, SafetyCulture

WLT&H: What safety and design protocols are you planning to implement as you bring employees back to the office?
AW: Keeping our employees safe is our No. 1 priority. We have SafetyCulture offices all around the world, including countries which have made significant progress along their reopening road map. For example, our Australian headquarters returned to the office back in 2020, so our Kansas City office will have the chance to utilize their processes and learnings.

A simple first step to get safely back to the office is to implement a pandemic work policy. This should include things like risk assessments, social distancing measures, and clearly communicating implemented policies to employees. 

If you’re in a leadership position, recognize your employees as your first line of defense, delivering valuable insights. It makes much more sense to involve employees directly in monitoring safety protocols. We’ve seen this time and again with our customers that make employees part of the solution, creating a positive feedback loop that keeps people safe and increases compliance throughout the organization.

WLT&H: Has your team investigated a hybrid model? What does that mean for your company? Are employees choosing their schedules, or is that dictated by the company?
AW: The pandemic really challenged people’s perspectives about how they work most effectively. At SafetyCulture, we’ve long supported dispersed and deskless workforces with our technology. We knew that with the right guardrails, support and technology, we could operate a hybrid model effectively. 

The one thing we’ve learned is that there’s no one size fits all when it comes to flexibility in the workplace. We believe it all comes down to good communication. Instead of becoming rigid about flexibility, we talk to each other about it. People are able to work out their individual flexibility directly with their manager and team members.

WLT&H: How do you encourage employees to want to return to the office, especially if they have been productive working remotely? If there’s pushback to that decision, how will you handle that?
AW: In the tug of war between remote work and in-person arrangements, we’ve seen benefits and drawbacks on both sides. This is what has led us to the hybrid model, and we’re constantly evolving our approach as the world of work changes. With our communication-first approach, we’ve encouraged our people to self-organize. This has reduced the need for us to mandate specifics. 

After a prolonged period at home, we’ve experienced a surge of interest in company events. This has motivated us to take our on-site staff experiences to the next level. We recently formed a workplace experience team to champion events which motivate our staff to come together face-to-face and collaborate. 

WLT&H: How did you maintain company culture virtually, and how do you plan to maintain it if you do decide to offer hybrid?
AW: The past 12-plus months has been an extraordinary period for SafetyCulture with our team focused on supporting our customers through the COVID-19 crisis. Our staff rallied together to help put safety into the hands of workers across the world. Connecting people to the company’s purpose has always been a driving force.

Additionally, we aimed to establish fun and collaborative virtual experiences. From online cooking classes with our chef, Zoom trivia nights, a virtual pub, talent shows and bingo night, we went out of our way to host spaces for team connection. 

In our current hybrid model, employees have the opportunity to engage with SafetyCulture events on Google Hangouts or in the office. 

Our strong onboarding program will be key to maintaining our culture. From technical boot camps to in-person and virtual coffee chats, each onboarding is personalized. Importantly, new employees meet with every member of our senior leadership team, ensuring they walk away as a product expert with a deep understanding of every part of our business.