“For us, ‘New Work’ will primarily mean a change in culture. This will be about the questions of how we will work together, how we can advance our mindset, and how we can make ourselves attractive to potential job applicants.”
What is “bricks, bytes and behavior” all about?
While bricks pertains to the physical working environment and bytes to the IT infrastructure, behavior is about this kind of cultural change. “Behavior is ultimately what breathes life into this concept,” explains Uta Vaagt, multiplier of the so-called “New Ways of Working.”
To define the appropriate content for the behavior aspect, a so-called “target picture” – or envisioned goal – for our future collaboration was formulated. This included having flexibility in our day-to-day work, using digitized processes and working together in a more comprehensive manner to bring out the strengths at VTG. “Thanks to the works agreements that have been reached, we can now decide more freely how we will work, where, with whom and when,” Uta says.
The “New Work” project has already been completed, and some of the bricks and bytes aspects of our new ways of working are already being practiced in the “New Work” areas. However, the actual process of establishing these new working environments still needs to be continuously assisted, learned, improved and entrenched.
The coronavirus as a catalyst for “New Work”
One of the focuses of the initiative was compiling a glossary to explain the topic in a comprehensible way. At the same time, videos were produced in which members of the Executive Board and employees could both share their thoughts on issues such as: How can I make good use of “New Work”? What will be the benefits of this new way of working? And what are the hopes and expectations associated with it? In an additional step, virtual information rounds known as “feedback coffee corners” were held in the newly designed Tanktainer area. The pandemic has also played a role in this transformation.
“The coronavirus pushed us to take things even further. And this was especially the case when it comes to digital working, such as in the parts of the works agreement related to mobile work and desk-sharing.”
Trainings for managers
One important sub-aspect of the process of adopting “New Work” was the workshops organized for managers. These gatherings focused on optimizing how the managers worked together with their teams and provided them with a personalized instruction manual, so to speak, on how they should redefine their rules in the post-pandemic era.
This support, in particular, has been an important learning. “The trainings on ‘New Work’ have shown that it’s important to put oneself on the managers’ level, to be transparent in change processes, and to communicate openly,” Uta notes. “Only then can the change be truly embraced and put into practice.”
Sharing experiences
Going forward, the focus will be on moving in the same direction and understanding “New Work” as a continuous process. Over the course of the year, there will be communications related to the target picture devised by the Executive Board for the entire VTG organization, which will complement the measures that have been formulated to date.
“A holistic concept for our company culture will be derived from this target picture,” Lennart explains. “This will involve questions such as: How are we going to work together in the future? Which values will we prioritize? And which skills will we need to serve our customers even better?”
What’s more, the experience that we have gained so far will help us to facilitate the planned relocation of the Hamburg offices to HafenCity in early 2026. “Now we can design the building to meet our needs right from the start,” Uta says. “The now-completed ‘New Work’ project was a good school for this, as it taught us what we would like to do differently.”
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