Culture During the Crisis

A huge wave of new ideas about how to maintain optimal levels of performance and communication surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CULTURE DURING THE CRISIS

BY CINDY PEKRUL

In march 2020, indeed.com published an article titled “What is Work Culture?” The story defined it as a collection of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that make up the regular atmosphere in a work environment. A place where healthy workplace cultures align employee behaviors and company policies with the overall goals of the company, while also considering the well-being of individuals. An employee’s attitude, work-life balance, growth opportunities and job satisfaction all depend on the culture of your workplace.

That’s all well and good. But what happens when a global pandemic throws a punch that hits your company’s culture square in the proverbial jaw? How do you recover and come out stronger on the other side?

I checked in with some top financial leaders in the media industry and discovered that they employed a variety of actions to maintain and strengthen the dynamics between those who were steering the company “ship” and those further down in the ranks.

While the pandemic has evolved into a situation where people and companies are learning to adapt and vaccines are bringing us a light at the end of the tunnel, the learnings gained will continue well into the future. 2020 and 2021 have certainly brought a

“lasting” seismic shift to workplace strategies. Before describing the many solutions that were shared with me, let me first acknowledge that the media industry is no stranger to disruption. Yet, even for an industry used to changes and pivots, the pandemic resulted in a variety of “where do we go from here now?” scenarios. The immediate focus may have been revenues, cash flow and over-thetop platforms. But parallel to that, financial leaders needed to ensure that employees had virtual connectivity, access to systems and each other. Immediate needs focused on different ways of keeping employees safe. And at the same time, many managers worked to address the emotional impacts employees would face from the quick and massive disruption caused by the pandemic.

It is a testimony to technology, cloud-based solutions, video conferencing capabilities and human grit that day-to- day operations continued in the face of societal shutdowns. The big takeaway is that most companies moved to a remote work environment successfully.

Discovery put a big focus on making home offices work with the same productivity as the traditional office environment. “We learned a lot about our employees during this time,” says Lori Locke, executive vice president and chief accounting officer at Discovery. “As the pandemic goes on longer, we keep rethinking and will continue to rethink because the goal posts keep moving.”

LINES OF COMMUNICATION

That sentiment is common among other companies. Robin Szabo, president of Szabo Associates, says the transition at his company to a remote work environment was pretty seamless but not without its hiccups. There was a difficulty with the phone systems, forwarding calls from desks to employees’ mobile devices. This was solved quickly with a new system. There were other issues for media-related companies as well. It was quickly apparent to many that one video conferencing platform was not going to cut it. Employees needed access to a variety of them, and IT teams needed to support the flexibility. Some companies set up a policy to reimburse employees for their office setups and supplies while others set the tone with clear guidance on flexibility with work hours.

These solutions are even more important for organizations planning to eliminate some business locations. Mike Lavey, interim CFO at Tribune Publishing, says that his company is reducing its footprint for its financial shared services team and converting to a 100% remote environment with a small office space that will be used for essential in-office needs like check printing and training sessions.

It’s been essential, during the disruption and for companies with longer-term hybrid work environments, for employees to remain connected to their leaders and feel like they are still supporting

a common goal and vision. Shane Johnson, vice president and group controller at WarnerMedia, said that his company asked its senior leaders to create videos showing their work-from-home situation. They shared some of their own challenges when work lives and home lives collide. “This really went a long way to humanize our leaders and show vulnerability,” Shane says. The videos not only created a sense of empathy, but they also showed WarnerMedia’s employees that their leaders remained focused on guiding the company through the challenges ahead.

Johnson is a member of the WarnerMedia F&A (Finance and Administration) Talent Council, which published a set of 12 tips to help employees achieve a work life balance in the home-office environment. (See sidebar,) The council also asked managers to overcommunicate so their teams stayed informed. And at the same time, the council stressed the need to remain open and honest about resources and flexibility so that everyone could be productive.

Even with travel restrictions, the WarnerMedia council viewed time off as important. And as part of that “staycations” was seen as a path toward rejuvenation.

WORKING ENVIRONMENTS

Ginny Hernandez, CFO of Georgia-based Trilith Studios, notes that flexibility is key, especially in a period where health, family and self-care need to take priority. Trilith took a hybrid approach that involved employees who worked on the lot and others who worked from home, depending on the need and with strict safety and testing protocols.

The company plans to bring all teams back on-site eventually, but with new technology capabilities. It includes an LED-equipped virtual production stage that can simulate scenes that would typically require travel or hundreds of extras. Those groups within Triluth that can work effectively in a remote environment will have the option to do so.

The media industry financial leaders contacted for this story say that a 100% remote working is not a permanent scenario, although a hybrid plan moving forward might make sense. One executive said that employees at her company were asked to remove all of their belongings from the office so that it could be reconfigured into a more collaborative space that will be ready for a new hybrid environment as soon as the pandemic is finished.

Face-to-face communication won’t go away for most. “You get better results in person that you don’t get with video,” says Ralph Bender, CFO of Manship Media. He notes that it’s easier to bring your “water cooler” idea to others in an in-person environment.

To keep the communication flowing in the current environment, NBCUniversal’s senior financial leadership made a commitment to host office hours and allow team members to sign up for one-on-one sessions with the leader of their choosing to discuss what’s on their minds. Antonella Ricciardi, senior vice president and group controller of NBCU, said the virtual office hours has been a great tool for leaders to stay connected to their teams and also engage with team members they don’t see on a regular basis.

In some ways, virtual environments have opened opportunities. “Working virtually has leveled the playing field for those of us working in different locations. No longer do we feel remote,” says Cal Mostella, vice president and treasurer of WarnerMedia. He hopes the virtual communication norms will continue even after people return to the workforce so that those employees who are not centrally located continue to feel as included as the rest of the teams.

To keep the communication flowing, one of Mostella’s managers established quick morning-call meetings for the team. Mostella participates regularly and says there is no agenda; everyone is able to provide an update that is sometimes work-related and sometimes casual.

Mostella believes that a big part of culture is ensuring that employees are connected to the vision, and regular interaction is important to accomplish that goal. “These daily meetings are the virtual version of the hallway or breakroom conversation. And by doing them in the morning we are getting our day started as a team,” he says.

Employee recognition is also an important part of culture and a engaged workforce. Last year, as its global workforce went

ACHIEVING WORK-LIFE BALANCE

The WarnerMedia F&A (Finance and Administration) Talent Council put together a tip sheet to help guide managers and staff members during the remote working environment. Here’s an edited version of its suggestions.

1. TAKE TIME OFF — Book a relaxing staycation; even if you can’t travel, everyone needs a break from work.

2. FIND EFFECTIVE DE-STRESSORS — Move around. Set time for exercise, meditation, teatime or reading. Consider the pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes followed by a five-minute break throughout your workday.

3. COMMUNICATION IS KEY — Leaders should overcommunicate to their team(s) so they stay informed and feel connected. Staff members should be open and honest with managers about the resources and flexibility needed to stay productive.

4. BE AVAILABLE — Set aside and share open office hours so your team can connect with you without an appointment. (It’s like a virtual peek in the office door.) 5. NETWORK — Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you can’t connect. Take (or create) opportunities to network by socializing virtually with peers and leaders.

6. ENCOURAGE NEW LEARNING — Webcast for continuing professional education (CPE); attend virtual industry conferences; read trade articles.

7. ESTABLISH AND DEFEND WORK/HOME

BOUNDARIES — Block adequate time for breaks. When working alternative hours, use the schedule feature in Outlook to avoid disrupting your colleagues’ home time. 8. BE ADAPTABLE — Allow yourself more flexibility to manage work and family priorities. Practice attention management over time management.

9. AVOID OVER-SCHEDULING FRIDAYS — Allow time to catch up and prioritize your deliverables.

10.CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS AND WORK

ANNIVERSARIES — It’s the small things that matter. Acknowledge important dates with emails, Props (WarnerMedia’s employee platform) or even send a card through the mail.

11. HAVE A LITTLE FUN — Engage your teams through giveaways and friendly competitions for bragging rights. Get creative!

12. PROMOTE TEAM RECOGNITION — Send well-deserved recognition to motivate your team and showcase accomplishments. A little praise goes a long way.