What Hybrid Work Looks Like In Real Life - The LEGO Workplace Experience, with Timothy Ahrensbach and Anne Sofie Fedders

Summary 

Timothy Ahrensbach and Anne Sofie Fedders from LEGO join Kursty to share insights from the hybrid work model they are currently implementing. Since the pandemic, the future of work has been one big experiment. Our perspective about work from home and hybrid work life has changed month by month since the beginning of COVID-19 lockdowns. 

Tune in to hear Tim and Anne Sofie’s insights into how they created principles and guidelines to facilitate an effective and happy hybrid working environment. They discuss, among other things, what it’s like to build community and run meetings in a hybrid working world. 

Timothy Ahrensbach is the Head of Workplace Experience at LEGO and Anne Sofie Fedders is the Head of LEGO Ways of Working. 

“We’re still trying to figure out what the future of work is while we’re implementing it.” - Tim Ahrensbach

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Timestamps

[00:49] Episode overview: The best of both (LEGO)

[02:18] What’s been going on at LEGO Workplace Experience the past 9 months? 

[03:35] What hybrid working at LEGO is like. 

[07:11] Why is their hybrid working initiative called The Best of Both? 

[07:55] Crafting and coordinating the LEGO hybrid working plan.  

[12:23] Two-pronged approach to building a trust-based system. 

[15:55] The main question to consider when rolling out a hybrid work programme. 

[21:23] The practical side of rolling out a hybrid work programme (behaviour and mindset)

[23:32] How is the workspace changing to accommodate hybrid work? 

[25:21] The necessary feedback loop between workspaces, individuals, and teams..

[28:00] The beauty of the LEGO Leadership Playground model. 

[29:35] Co-creating unique shared experiences in the office to grow a strong culture. 

[36:45] How do the different parts of the hybrid experience work together?

5 Key Highlights 

1. The LEGO hybrid work plan was tested with several stakeholders before it was presented to the executives. The plan had to comply with local legal requirements. 
2. People are now much more aware of what they want to get out of the office and more particular about their experience of it. 
3. Coming into the office is not merely a personal affair but a collective one.  Structures and systems are needed to ensure a certain amount of time spent in the office, for the well-being and harmony of the whole team. 
4. Workplace culture should be co-created with staff, not imposed. It's influenced by the relationships formed between people; strengthening culture is about strengthening relationships. 
5. A principle that can streamline hybrid work is that if one is online, then everyone is online. This can eliminate the awkwardness of having part of the meeting cohort online and the other part offline. 

Links 

Connect with Tim Ahrensbach: LinkedIn | Twitter

Connect with Anne Sofie Fedders: LinkedIn

Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter

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