The challenge
When the COVID-19 crisis broke out in March 2020, most employees at the Agentschap Maritieme Dienstverlening & Kust (MDK) suddenly found themselves working full-time from home. The agency’s management drew lessons from this experience and decided to fully embrace “place- and time-independent work” (PTIW) for all roles that could accommodate it. They wanted to take a leading role within the Flemish Government. brainmove was tasked with guiding MDK through this transition.
Our approach
brainmove developed a tailored action plan for MDK and began by drafting a new PTOW (place- and time-independent work) policy. We provided expert advice based on our own expertise, applicable regulations, and sector experience. A new internal policy was developed and validated by the management.
Next, the entire organization needed to implement this new policy. brainmove facilitated an informational session where the framework of the policy was presented, and its impact on team operations was explained. Employees gained insight into the organization’s vision and future direction. We then held discussions with employees, addressing questions and clarifying decisions. We created an extensive Q&A to help employees understand how the new policy would affect their specific situation.
brainmove also facilitated focus groups where experiences with remote collaboration were shared. We explored what was working well and identified areas for improvement. Topics such as availability, trust, work-life balance, and output-based work were discussed.
Additionally, we developed a customized PTIW scan for MDK. Within the framework of the organization’s values, various behavioral indicators were outlined. The scan could be used to evaluate the success of remote collaboration in consultation with teams and make adjustments where necessary.
The result
The results from the PTIW scan were used to develop a concrete action plan for each team. Through these actions, they were able to refine the team’s maturity and optimize remote collaboration.
A targeted leadership program was implemented to support managers in the execution of this plan.