Pandemic accelerates workplace changes already underway at EirGrid

Many organisations around Ireland are beginning to plan a return to the office for the first time since March 2020. For EirGrid, the hope is to return in October, but things will be very different to the way they were before the pandemic struck.

“We have gone for a 60:40 hybrid model,” says EirGrid chief people and information officer Siobhan Toale. “Most people will spend three days in the office and two at home. There are a small number of people in the organisation who have to come into work five days a week to keep the power system running.”

The workplace itself will have changed as well. “The notion of having a fixed desk or workspace is gone and we will move to communal and collaboration workspaces where we can nurture network building and connections across the organisation,” Toale adds. “We were already thinking about future ways of working prior to pandemic and had decided to reduce our office footprint and reduce our overall environmental impact.”

She explains that the pandemic has accelerated a journey which EirGrid had already started. “We were already engaged in digital transformation and a move to new ways of working. We knew we were pointed in that direction. The pandemic pushed us light years ahead in terms of our thinking. When we speak about returning to the office, we are not talking about going back, we are talking about moving forward in a world that’s constantly changing.”

That head start placed EirGrid in a good position to respond when the pandemic first struck. “We were in a position to quickly mobilise our people to work remotely,” says Toale. “Cyber and data security are of utmost importance to us, given the critical nature of our role operating the power system, and underpins our digital strategy and our enablement of remote working. The technology has worked very well for our people and has not proven to be a challenge during this experience. This has meant that we have been able to concentrate on the human side of things – motivating, collaborating, engaging and connecting with our people.

“This has been especially important for our newer employees, particularly those who have moved to Ireland during the pandemic, for whom the workplace would usually provide a welcome network and community,” she continues.

Hybrid model

Under the new hybrid model people will be able to work remotely for up to 40 per cent of the week without having to seek prior approval from managers. And there will be no set days or patterns for home and office working. “We told our people early on what we were planning to do, and it has landed really well with them,” Toale adds. “And they told us they want a fair, transparent and open system where everyone gets a shot at different days in the office, and nothing is fixed. That’s what we are offering.”

The new arrangements will be phased in over a number of weeks following the return to work. “We will be following the Covid guidelines, of course, and that will be part of the plan. We will give people time to adjust and settle into the new model. We will have to learn as we go on. We’ll find some things work better than others. We are agile in our thinking and our approach is to try and learn. We are also encouraging our managers to figure out the best approach for their teams. What works best for one team might not work so well for another. We want people to suck it and see.”

Flexibility is built into the new system. “If people want to come into the office five days a week, we’ll look at that,” she says. “We do understand that some people’s home circumstances may mean they would much prefer to work in the office. For example, we have a big international community working here and they are new to Ireland. They might prefer to be in the office more while they build up their networks. We will accommodate that.”

Looking ahead she says the challenge is how to move to the new hybrid working model as the economy opens up. “We have spent a long time working on our culture, values and behaviours. We want to provide the technology and high-level guidelines for teams and individuals to be empowered to make it work. The expectations will be clear, and we know that we can trust our people to make it work, just as people stepped up when required to work from home at sudden notice in early 2020.”