Starfish | Building Cultural Capital in a Hybrid World

Hybrid working is here to stay within many of the sectors that Starfish Search work with. It gives employees greater flexibility and global connectivity. It also allows organisations to recruit more widely, enabling team members to join from almost anywhere. Many charities have moved all their staff to home working and downsized their offices in the process, enabling colleagues to balance their work and life commitments more easily. The office for many people is now a tech platform, and we can work from anywhere. What is there not to like?

All true, but of course any change brings new issues and hybrid working can result in many employees feeling less connected, with a sense of loss and lack of community within the workplace.  If people begin to feel like workers rather than team members, there is evidence that it will impact negatively on morale and productivity. Ironically, the opportunities for creating a more diverse workforce can also result in a greater sense of exclusion if we don’t consider how we communicate and engage with our employees and colleagues, to create a tangible sense of community where we all belong.

We heard from three leaders at our webinar (link) who shared some fascinating examples of the work they are doing to encourage a greater sense of culture and community. Communication is once again critically important – to ensure that employees feel heard and providing opportunities for everyone, even those who are natural introverts, to participate in the discussion.

When we spend less time working together face to face, we need to invest more time as leaders in our communication, checking in with colleagues both formally and informally. We need to be aware of proximity bias, a situation where those who are more visible are more valued and, decisions can then be made on familiarity rather than evidence. If we have people working flexibly to manage their time and commitments, then the tools for communication such as instant messaging can be detrimental and flexible working becomes constantly working. Also, there is emerging evidence that remote workers will be promoted less often than those more visible in the workplace.

As leaders we need to consciously recognise others and let everyone know about it, so that achievements and contributions can be acknowledged. Investing in our social dimension creates the glue for our teams and organisations.

For any organisation, cultural capital is about the sense of us, our community linked to our purpose and understanding the centrality of people to the business. Hybrid working has shifted the focus for people and as leaders we need to invest in new approaches to ensure we are listening, communicating, and providing a work community which maximises potential. It is an ongoing process of connection, review, and response.  No one has all the answers, and it is a constantly evolving leadership issue that needs focus and commitment.

At Starfish we recognise that life is changing at speed, and we are here to navigate this unpredictable age by staying ahead of the curve and thinking creatively for our clients. Starfish was created to change the world through human talent – and we know that the right change must be driven by the right people.   If you would like a confidential conversation about our services, please contact Hilary.Clifford@starfishsearch.co.uk

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Mastering the Chair and Chief Executive Partnership: Insights from Our Latest Webinar

We recently hosted the second session in our Aspiring Chief Executives webinar series, focusing on a crucial theme for any leader entering the charity sector: Mastering the Chair and Chief Partnership. The session, led by our own Louise Beales, Prinicpal Consultant, and special guest Ciara Eastell, an experienced charity CEO, Chair, and coach, both provided a wealth of practical advice for those stepping into executive roles, especially within non-profit and charitable organisations.

Mastering the Chair/CEO Partnership: Your First 100 Days and Beyond – A Starfish Search Webinar

Starfish is dedicated to supporting leaders at every stage of their journey and we know that one of the hardest steps is how to go about finding the right opportunity, and what to expect when you get your first chief executive role. We are pleased to be running a webinar for our new Aspiring Chief Executives programme.

ACCREDITATIONS

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ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years. Starfish Search has been awarded a place on ESPO’s Strategic HR Services framework (3S). Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 1, Executive and Managerial Interim Recruitment Lot 2, Executive and Managerial Permanent Recruitment.

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Starfish are proud to be certified Disability Confident Committed. This scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.

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Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. Starfish Search has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Executive and Non-Executive recruitment. Services we offer under the framework include: Lot 3 - Non-Executive and Public Appointments.

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Bloom, launched in 2012 is the UK’s leading marketplace for professional services. They provide an end-to-end solution for the procurement, contract management and payment of all professional services, via the compliant NEPRO³ framework. Their public sector clients have access to 20 professional services categories and over 4500 accredited suppliers. Bloom provides swift routes to market via either direct award or mini competition. Starfish is an accredited supplier to BLOOM; our services can be accessed via this framework - Executive and Non-Executive Search and Interim Management.

Join the starfish team

We hire people who bring insight, integrity and ambition to their work. If you’re ready to contribute to shaping the future of leadership and you want to explore our current opportunities please get in touch with Harpreet O’Brien our Head of People: harpreet.obrien@starfishsearch.com