The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. They have been working remotely since the start of the pandemic and are now in the process of implementing a hybrid model.
We recently spoke to CEO Deirdre Garvey about the Wheel’s journey and what she has learned from making the transition to a hybrid way of working. Like many businesses across Ireland, The Wheel are still very much in the experimental and learning stage and it is a challenge to identify metrics and measurements of success of these new ways of working. Nonetheless, Deirdre was happy to share her top 5 tips for making the transition to remote or hybrid a success.
Tip #1: Stick to your core values
“It’s not about doing 2-3 days a week because someone else is doing it. It’s about aligning with the values and purpose that make you successful and figuring out the right pattern of office/remote that works to deliver that success”
Tip #2: Over-communicate
“Pay more attention to communication than you ever thought was reasonable”
Tip #3: Focus on the ‘hybrid virtuous circle’
“This means trust, psychological safety and culture. What are the behaviours and practices that keep you in that virtuous circle?”
Tip #4: Take care of your employees
“Invest in training, treat your staff well, and listen”
Tip #5: Be humble
“It will help you to be a better listener”
Deirdre and the management team at The Wheel recently completed Grow Remote’s fully funded ‘Leading Remote Teams‘ programme. Here’s what she had to say about this course:
“All line managers at The Wheel did Leading Remote Teams with Grow Remote, which was fantastic and I would recommend it strongly. This training completely transformed my thinking.
We now have a communication charter, a single source of truth intranet, we understand the importance of meta skills like empathy, creativity, self awareness, flexibility, and cross skills. The course has given us as a senior managers a language to talk about these things openly”
Learn more: Grow Remote – Leading Remote Teams