S03 E07: How to balance productivity and flexibility in a hybrid work setup – an HR policy maker’s perspective

In the seventh episode of this season of CultureClub X, we have with us Diane Sanford, Former – Chief People Officer – On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, who discusses the importance of balancing productivity and flexibility in a hybrid work environment.

About Diane

Diane is a seasoned HR leader with over 25 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

She has a proven track record in providing ​​strategic leadership for employee relations, talent acquisition, retention and L&D teams.

Prior to “On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina”, she had worked with some famous restaurant chains like – Texas Land & Cattle/Lone Star SteakHouse, Chili’s Grill & Bar and Brinker International.

She is a notable alumni of Dallas college and Mt. San Antonio College. She is also a PHR, SHRM-CP certified HR leader.

Here’s a gist of what Diane’s speaks about in this video:

Importance of establishing true connections in the remote-hybrid work environment and the need for employees and leaders to explore ways to re-establish the personal connection over visual mediums has increased many folds.

The need for HR leaders to understand what’s important for their workforce, be it remote or in-office and to close the gap between lack of clarity and right direction. The foundation one needs to have to solve for this is having a good company culture and bottom-up feedback in place.

Understanding how people digest information today is very different than it was five years ago and how it can help us explore more dimensions to the learning and development segment for the employees. Thus the role of customization in L&D efforts in accordance with the needs of every individual employee is essential.

Why is it essential for leaders to ensure that their teams are actually talking to other teams and getting their buy in the things organically, and also make sure they have enough flexibility & autonomy in their work, so they feel engaged and be more productive.

Catch all this and more with Shelley Smith in Episode 7 of Season 3 of CultureClub X.