Introducing the latest myCWT product and service enhancements
Building on our digital, omnichannel myCWT platform, our new products and services will simplify travel management for you and your employees – anytime, anywhere, anyhow.
Note: Featured services may not be available in your country at this time. Please reach out to your CWT representative for more details.
Hear from Chief Product Officer, Erica Antony as she shares the key product highlights of 2024, along with the key areas driving innovation.
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2040: Baseline, Boom or Bust
As we enter an era of rapid transformation and unprecedented challenges, it is essential for travel managers, meeting & event planners, and corporate decision-makers to look ahead and frame our current strategic thinking with a clear vision of the future. Business travel and meetings and events (M&E) are poised for significant change over the next decade and a half, driven by a complex interplay of sustainability goals, technological advancements, evolving work models, and geopolitical dynamics.
In this paper to mark the 10th anniversary of our Global Business Travel Forecast, we explore, for the first time, a long-term vision of the future and potential trajectories through three distinct scenarios, each offering insights into how these forces should affect policy-making, budgeting and priorities. By examining these scenarios, we can better understand the diverse possibilities that lie ahead and the strategic imperatives required to thrive in each potential future.
Based on trajectory data analysis and interviews with industry leaders, behaviorists and climate tech founders, this forward-looking approach enables us to anticipate changes, strengthen our strategies, and make informed decisions that align long-term objectives. It is through this lens of foresight and adaptability that we can build resilience, seize opportunities, and navigate the complexities of the future.
We invite you to reflect on the insights presented, and consider how your organization can prepare for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Together we can ensure that travel and meetings remain catalysts for growth, scalability and sustainable practices.
- Scenario development is both an art and a science
- Megatrends Shaping the Future of Business Travel, Meetings and Events
- Sustainability goals the new crux of corporate policy
- Technology Revolutionizes Travel Management
- Modern work models spark new travel patterns
- Changing demographics open doors to new opportunities
- Three Scenarios: Base case, boom and bust
- Future-proofing strategies
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CWT GBTA Global business travel forecast 2025
When it comes to pricing, global business travel has finally reached an enduring, higher baseline. Prices will continue to rise in 2025, but only moderately, so expect a period of normalized growth.
However, this pricing environment, one of marginal gains and price regularity, is fragile. Global leisure travel has now realized a lot of its pent-up demand, while corporate travel has been resurgent, with 2024 edging at preCovid levels.
There are many factors at play, whether its volatile oil prices, labor costs and constraints, inflationary pressures, and geopolitical factors. As this elevated baseline edges upwards, albeit marginally, travel budgets will come under increased scrutiny, especially as travel patterns and attitudes change.
It’s why business travel can’t be viewed in a silo, and the true value to an organization must be fully realized. This forecast can help with those calculations.
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Capitalize on emerging technologies in corporate travel
Technological advancements are accelerating at an unprecedented pace. How will emerging innovations like Generative AI, blockchain, and self-sovereign identity (SSI) transform corporate travel?
BTN and CWT probed global CEOs, travel managers, industry consultants and tech experts on the promises, questions, and expectations these innovations raise and how they are set to reshape traveler experience, cost control and service delivery in corporate travel and events.
Download and discover
- The technologies that will have the greatest impact on corporate travel in the next 2-5 years
- How these emerging technologies are poised to control costs, enhance service and security, and boost efficiency
- The critical challenges, opportunities, risks and roadblocks each innovation raises
- What travel managers, buyers and experts anticipate from these innovations
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Event Horizon: Building a greener future for corporate meetings & events
If you’ve seen The Butterfly Effect, knocked over a chain of dominoes, or frankly done anything, you’ll understand cause and effect. More importantly, you’ll understand that even the smallest action can create a larger ripple. This way of thinking seems more prevalent than ever before.
Whether it’s at an employee, attendee, or enterprise level, the notion of responsibility permeates throughout the business travel and events industries today. For the time being, it seems that this way of thinking isn’t going anywhere.
As businesses aim to adopt more sustainable and responsible practices, the way their employees and customers travel and meet will change. Today, sustainability and responsibility are at the top of the agenda, and we need to respond accordingly.
Although the market is still evolving, the key is providing the data points and information needed so that clients can make informed decisions about how they travel and how they meet, with an understanding of what impact these decisions will have on the environment. Already we are asking venues about their green initiatives in every RFP. In turn, our customers are asking us what we are doing as a business and for their events.
CWT Meetings & Events is placing an emphasis on productive journeys that are centered around our customers. Plus, we aim to focus on integrated travel and meetings solutions to provide efficiency and complete oversight for our customers.
Rachel Lunderborg, Senior Director, Global Process & Technical Services, CWT Meetings & Events shares her vision of what the next five years will bring:
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The outlook for hotel rates and airfares in the months ahead, and how to use AI so it doesn’t use you
If there’s one job harder than being a clairvoyant at a sceptic’s convention it’s being a futurist in these mightily uncertain times.
It’s hard to read an article these days that doesn’t warn us that bots will wipe out entire industries or that the global economy is about to implode. But is there nuance and cause for optimism?
CWT’s Julian Walker talks to Shawn DuBravac, NY Times bestselling author, futurist, economist and analyst for the GBTA CWT Global Business Travel Forecast about the near-term cost of airfares and hotel rates, and how companies and organizations of all sizes can prepare their budgets, and people, for the societal and technological shifts ahead.
Find out:
- Whether travel and event pricing predictions for 2023 are proving accurate halfway through the year.
- The challenges that hotels and airlines face today.
- The big issue on everyone’s lips and how it will change the way we work and travel: Artificial Intelligence.
[buzzsprout episode=’12541035′ player=’true’]
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Beyond the office: What employees want from incentive events
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent in the office or mowing your lawn, said author and adventurer Jack Kerouac, “Climb that damn mountain.”
Turns out that’s exactly what employees want to do. Incentive trips and events have boomed in popularity with no sign of abating soon. According to Pew research 56% of American workers say that company-sponsored trips and events are important to them. In APAC CWT Meetings & Events report 90% of current bookings are for live events, many of them incentives.
One reason they’re so popular is that they offer a break from routine, something we’re all too familiar with coming out of a global pandemic.
Attendees crave the novelty, in-person bonding and brain-boosting benefits of out-of-office experiences. Rewarding sales goals and other performance metrics with the experience of a lifetime helps to boost morale, teamwork and collaboration and engender a greater sense of loyalty. 48% of workers surveyed by Pew say these events make them feel valued by their employer.
Hear from Beau Ballin, Global Head, Market Development, CWT Meetings & Events about the future of incentives:
Image credits: Adobe Stock
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Antengene chooses CWT to consolidate its corporate travel program in Asia Pacific and North America
CWT today announced that it has been appointed by biopharmaceutical company Antengene Corporation Limited (Antengene) as its corporate travel management partner for Asia Pacific and North America, following a competitive two-month RFP process. Founded in Shanghai in 2017, Antengene now has branch offices in 12 locations around the world and is looking to consolidate its travel program as it continues to grow its footprint.
Antengene cited CWT’s unique and transparent subscription pricing model, as well as the innovative myCWT platform which offers the flexibility to plug-in a wide array of online booking tools (OBTs), as the key reasons behind its decision. Antengene has also signed up for CWT’s price optimization solution, which helps travelers get the best airfares and hotel rates available—even after they have booked—yielding greater savings for corporate travel programs.
“Antengene is a great example of the highly innovative companies emerging in Asia’s life-sciences sector, for whom travel remains an important catalyst for growth,” said Akshay Kapoor, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific, CWT. “We are honored that Antengene has chosen CWT as its business travel partner. We have extensive experience in managing the travel requirements of pharma companies, so we are well-positioned to support Antengene in building a best-in-class travel program aligned with its business objectives.”
“As a global biopharmaceutical company, transparency and compliance are critical for our business and essential to building trust with our stakeholders,” said Desiry Qin, Senior Manager, Administration, Antengene. “During the RFP process, CWT demonstrated that it understands and shares this commitment – both in terms of its commercial offer, as well its capabilities in data analysis and reporting. At the same time, we want to design a travel program that supports the well-being of our employees, patients, and business associates, and we believe CWT is the right partner to help us achieve that.”
Over the past 30 years, CWT has supported 70% of the world’s top 100 pharma, biotech and biomedical companies with their business travel and meeting needs, including healthcare professional (HPC), patient, and group travel, strategic meetings management (SMM), reporting and compliance, sustainability, and risk management.
CWT is a leading global partner in business travel, meetings, and events. Operating across six continents, we deliver sustainable, tailored solutions that help organizations connect, engage, and thrive in an evolving world. Our myCWT platform integrates advanced technology with human expertise to simplify travel and enhance traveler and attendee experiences. Extensive global coverage, seamless data integration, AI-driven analytics, and carbon-conscious travel tools enable businesses to optimize their travel and meetings programs while delivering measurable value.
With 150 years of industry experience and a deep commitment to partnership, CWT collaborates with clients to shape the future of business travel and events, making them more efficient, responsible, and impactful.
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One way to the future
Aim
- Schwarzkopf, and their parent company Henkel, has trusted CWT Meetings & Events to manage their global events for more than 20 years
- Originally planned for 2019 and postponed twice, expectations were higher than ever. It had to be a live immersive experience, nothing else would do
- The event had to entertain and exhilarate attendees, as well as inform and leave a lasting impression with the ultimate call to action of increasing digital downloads and online sales
- Develop an innovative and creative conference to showcase the future of beauty
- Raise awareness of the event with a social media marketing campaign, engaging influencers on platforms Instagram and TikTok
- Leverage supplier relationships following two previous event postponements
- Attract and build relationships with 600 Spanish hairdressers
- Exclusive event branding throughout the entire venue
Brief
- Plan an in-person event that presents new product solutions and trends to 600 hairdressers, in a fully digital world
- Source the best venue/hotel and offer the most creative “futuristic” ideas across catering, workshops, and entertainment
- Make use of innovative and new concepts that will help convey the futuristic theme and add a WOW factor
- Manage uncertainties of COVID-19, including renegotiating supplier contracts following two years of postponements
Approach
- CWT Meetings & Events developed the theme and concept of the event, and brought it to life over the duration of the 3-day conference
- CWT M&E proposed a number of venues, with Schwarzkopf selecting Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa in Benidorm, Alicante. A complete buy-out meant that the venue exclusively featured event branding throughout
- The venue’s Asian restaurant was transformed into a fully operational hair salon, immersing attendees in the experience and allowing them to see and use Schwarzkopf’s new products
- For the target demographic of attendees, we recommended providing a mobile app instead of website with QR codes controlling access to workshops and lunches and robots assisting attendees with event questions
- With the futuristic theme in mind, a walking talking robot was programmed to assist with event-related queries, it also mingled and danced with attendees, much to their delight
- We worked with Lumentium table mapping and 3 Michelin star chef Ramon Freixa to deliver an elite gourmet experience which combines technology with haute cuisine to allow food and virtual environments to be enjoyed in total sync
- Managed a last minute change of plan for a 600-person dinner when weather meant that outdoor dining wasn’t an option
- Coordinated additional entertainment including synchronized swimmers, floating dancers in bubbles, a futurist violinist and LED Batucadas
Result
- Feedback from the client that the event and our planning and delivery exceeded all expectations
- High attendee participation and engagement
- Schwarzkopf collated attendee feedback via email and the dedicated app – all was positive
- Schwarzkopf reported an increase in online sales following the event
“Since the close of the event, we have not stopped receiving messages of gratitude and emotion from the clients who attended. They are excited about the whole experience and thank us, not only for the tangible elements that were spectacular, but especially for the constant attention and warmth that was demonstrated at all times by the whole CWT team.”
Elena Garcia Maso
Project Manager Iberia
Henkel Beauty Care Professional -
Boom Time: How flexible talent will build the future of events
Over the last few years, the meetings and events industry was forced into a reactionary mindset. Instead of setting the terms, we’ve had to wait for whatever new change came around the corner and adapt as quickly as possible to keep our heads above water.
Today, however, the masks are off, the industry is back, and people have a renewed excitement about gathering in person once more. Over 2.2 million people attended CWT events in 2022 alone, many of them live events.
CWT Meetings & Events brings people together. It’s at the heart of everything we do – you could say that it’s our business. The exciting part is that now that the dust has settled, we can finally look to shape our own future and direction with a longer lens.
This new era of the meetings and events industry starts with people – particularly our own. Our event planners, for example, must now be confident in hybrid events of any size. This is because today’s events call for a versatile planner that can cater to and facilitate events and meetings with both physical and virtual attendees. In-person meetings and events may be back with a bang, but their virtual counterparts still want a seat at the table. This shift is underpinned by an understanding of existing and new technologies, with the goal of provided the best experience possible.
With this foundation, we can then look to our customers. New models will allow us to offer more flexibility as needs and priorities change. In doing so, we allow room for our customers to change and adapt with the room for us to follow them along this journey to scale their meetings and events programs.
Events have always been about human connection, which is what we have been doing for over 30 years. The future of our industry is exciting, and although we may not know what lies ahead, we’re certainly ready for the journey with our customers.
Hear from Kari Wendel about what lies ahead for CWT Meetings and events:
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CWT publishes ESG report
CWT has published its annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report. The report details progress made on our key priorities in 2022.
2022 marked a decade of unwavering commitment by CWT in this domain, which first began under the name Responsible Business, and which is now structured using the Environmental, Social and Governance framework.
Why is this change important?
As we began our recovery from the conditions that rocked our company, our people, and our industry during the pandemic, it felt necessary and appropriate to revisit the challenges of being a responsible business. The stakes are higher than ever before. This reflection led to some key updates in 2022 related to Governance.
- The CWT Board formed a special committee dedicated to risk management and oversight of environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility matters.
- The principles of ESG were woven into our new 3-year strategy to ensure the sustainability of our business model.
- ESG was functionally aligned with Employee Experience and Culture to maximize the contribution of all three areas in capturing new business, addressing changing customer needs, and attracting and retaining talent.
These changes will ensure we embed ESG more deeply in our decisions, offerings, and behaviors. In doing so it will help us transform our business. ESG at CWT is about more than compliance and risk management, it has become central to the sustainability of our business model.
We also made important progress in the other two pillars of ESG including:
- In the Social sphere, 2022 saw the launch of our first four global Employee Resource Groups and brought gender inclusive capabilities to our traveler profile management system and our corporate email signatures. We also continued campaigning against human trafficking in partnership with ECPAT International by running awareness-raising ads on the myCWT platform over 7.5 million times.
- In the Environmental pillar, CWT Solutions Group launched the ECO framework as part of their consulting services for clients, and we continued to support industry initiatives around sustainable aviation fuel.
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Invest in technology today to empower business travel tomorrow
Predicting the future is something that many have claimed the ability to do, but few have ever actually mastered the art. In days gone by, the stars, various omens, and even remnants of a cuppa have all been used to try and dispel the mist of what lies ahead.
In today’s world, however, we have a rather accurate predictor: technology. This isn’t science fiction or the news that Skynet has finally arrived, but rather an educated guess based on the technology that is being invested in today. The most recent episode of Business Travel on The Fly podcast How to spot the signposts of change in business travel highlighted that the business travel industry is about to undergo an unprecedented level of change.
To meet this change, and prepare ourselves and our travellers in the process, we have turned to technology. “Last year alone, CWT focused on delivering industry leading sustainability solutions to customers, including real time carbon footprint indicators, on-trip connectivity, traveller tracking systems alongside tons of other platform improvements” says Darcy Roessler, Sr. Director Product Operations, Product & Technology, CWT.
These offerings have all been possible through the myCWT platform with the help of smart technologies like AI, but this is only the beginning. Moving forward, investments will also be channelled toward customer business priorities like sustainability, traveller well-being, and inclusivity, enabling a more values-based approach to travel program management.
At the end of the day, it boils down to providing the best user experience possible, that goes beyond simply facilitating travel, but making business travel meaningful and personal too. Our relationship with technology is more intimate than ever before, and as a result, customers are expecting their experience with technology to match – whether it’s with their TMC, ordering fast food, or in their homes. “By continuing to simplify the user experience, maintaining program compliance, and ensuring the lowest possible fares regardless of integrations in the back office (GDS, direct to supplier) to book travel.” Darcy continues.
The last few years have shown us change is not only unavoidable but is often the great disruptor that most start-ups can only dream to emulate. With a customer focus and technology, however, change can be managed. Thanks to things like AI-backed personalisation, you can empower customers to stay in control of how they make and manage their bookings through devices, allowing them to navigate whatever changes may come – provided these are underpinned by the support of a customer-centric TMC.
If you want to navigate change pack up your tarot cards, put away your star charts and cover your crystal balls. Instead look to technology and listen to your customers. Our continued investment in technology that serves our customers is, we believe, the best way to prepare ourselves and our customers for the future.
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3 vital lessons for the meeting planner of the future
The meetings & events industry has been completely reshaped in the past couple of years. During the pandemic, most companies invested in expensive subscriptions to virtual technology platforms to accommodate events that they tried to manage themselves.
There was a myriad of technological solutions to navigate, and at the beginning the experience was poor, and expensive compounded by issues with little understanding of the technical capabilities, cameras, sound and firewalls. This negative experience created a lasting and doubtful relationship to the virtual alternative.
For those who allowed professional support along the way, the transformation to using virtual technology was a lot smoother. Today about 30-40% of our clients include virtual technology in their programs, either as part of their business continuity plans, as a back-up for important events, a or as a natural step in their evolution towards a more sustainable Meetings & Events program.
Meeting planners are famous for their logistics expertise and ability to multitask. Still, they had to adapt and expand their skillset extensively with the arrival of virtual technology. Here are 3 important lessons to learn for meeting planners in a significantly digitized world.
1. Know your audience
We all agree that content is the most important part of an event. When an event switches from in-person to hybrid or virtual, things need to adjust. That starts with setting a clear objective, to really understand your audience, and to follow through. Which narratives will you use, the pace and timing, what data you will use to measure; these are all important to think through to set you up for maximal engagement.
There is a need for a new breed of planners; people that are comfortable with technology, broadcasting, and audiovisual production companies. They need the same multitasking skills, but also bravery when it comes to switchboards and cameras. Finally, they need to be able to guide speakers and participants through a new environment that may be unfamiliar to clients and attendees alike. The use of an event host (Emcee) is very often a great investment.
2. Follow the lead of your attendees
We have entered an era in which attendees can decide on their own agenda and decide accordingly how they want to attend an event. Sometimes it will make sense for them to attend in person and to join virtually on other occasions.
Meeting planners must create an environment that allows all attendees to collaborate and engage, whether they are joining in person or connecting virtually. If you are not confident that you will convey your message effectively when people dial in instead of joining face-to -face, choose an in-person event rather than virtual or even hybrid.
3. Measure wisely
Data is instrumental to measure the return on investment (ROI) of your meeting or event. Meeting planners need to address what data will be measured immediately at the beginning of a project. After setting a clear event objective, find the environment, location and venue that will support this objective. The next step is to invite the right audience who will bring value, contributions and benefit from the meeting or event. Lastly and most importantly, establish how to measure the outcome.
Virtual technology has a real advantage in collecting data points at each step of the project. Data can be captured in the invitation and registration process; logins, clicks, downloads, interactions, comments, or time spent on certain topics that all contribute to an effective outcome.
Visit CWT Meetings & Events
Image credits: Adobe Stock
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CWT announces its 2023 product investment focus and issues $90m of equity to help scale strategic value-enhancing opportunities
CWT today announces its 2023 product investment focus and a capital raise that will help to accelerate growth, expand its competitive advantage, and broaden value for its customers.
“CWT remains extremely well-placed to deliver innovative products and services that address the evolving needs of our clients and their travelers,” said Patrick Andersen, CWT President and Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to driving change for the benefit of all of our customers, suppliers, and partners, we actively prioritize development efforts to deliver the ultimate experience, as we unlock the power of human connection through business travel and meetings.”
Investment in strategic value-enhancing opportunities
CWT recently issued $90m of equity in a private fundraising amongst its shareholders, the net proceeds of which are designed to increase the company’s flexibility to underpin strategic opportunities that will help to accelerate growth, expand its competitive advantage, and broaden value for its customers.
Investment to help underpin user-experience, data & reporting, sustainability and myCWT platform enhancements
This year, CWT will continue expanding the features and functionality of its myCWT platform and increase automation to create an even better user experience. Platform investments will concentrate on enhancements that simplify and provide a more tailored experience for travelers and travel arrangers and harness the value of data through insight solutions for travel managers.
Investments will also be channelled towards customer business priorities like sustainability, traveler well-being, and inclusivity, enabling a more values-based approach to travel program management. Related capabilities introduced in 2022 include real-time carbon footprint indicators, non-binary profile fields, on-trip connectivity, and traveler tracking systems.
Streamlining interactions in the myCWT messaging channel through further application of smart technologies like chat bots and artificial intelligence (AI) for seamless connection of self-service and human connection remains key, along with delivering new savings opportunities via price optimization and broadening access to global new distribution capability (NDC) content.
CWT is a leading global partner in business travel, meetings, and events. Operating across six continents, we deliver sustainable, tailored solutions that help organizations connect, engage, and thrive in an evolving world. Our myCWT platform integrates advanced technology with human expertise to simplify travel and enhance traveler and attendee experiences. Extensive global coverage, seamless data integration, AI-driven analytics, and carbon-conscious travel tools enable businesses to optimize their travel and meetings programs while delivering measurable value.
With 150 years of industry experience and a deep commitment to partnership, CWT collaborates with clients to shape the future of business travel and events, making them more efficient, responsible, and impactful.
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CWT M&E launches new website collaboration tool for event planners and chat support for attendees
CWT Meetings & Events has introduced 2 new solutions to help event organizers create a better attendee experience: a tool that facilitates easy and efficient collaboration with planners for designing event websites; and, chat support for event attendees who need assistance.
A well-designed website is centrally important to the success of an event, allowing the organizer to effectively engage with attendees before, during, and after the event. CWT M&E has extensive experience in this area, having built and supported thousands of websites, ranging from simple surveys through to large, complex sites designed to a client’s specific brand requirements and in multiple languages. However, the design and build process can be laborious for all involved, with a lot of time spent providing feedback, crossover of communication via email and phone, and difficulty in tracking and storing changes.
The new online website collaboration tool offered by CWT M&E greatly streamlines this process. A client can simply look at a web page on their screen, mark up changes and share them with the CWT M&E team at the click of a button. Change requests and task statuses are more easily understood, and actions readily assigned amongst those working on the project. Not only does this increase efficiency and create a better experience for the client, it also frees up time for CWT M&E’s web builders to be more creative and consultative. During a pilot roll-out last year with one of CWT M&E’s global tech clients, the tool helped cut down the time to build event websites by as much as 20-30%.
At the same time, CWT M&E has also added live chat support to its portfolio of attendee engagement and management services. The chat service can be integrated into the event website, providing attendees with another channel to get assistance with their travel arrangements, registration, and other requests, as well as technical support for virtual and hybrid events.
“A great attendee experience starts well before the event itself,” said Rachel Lunderborg, Senior Director, Global Process & Technology, CWT Meetings & Events. “Our new website collaboration tool enables event organizers to create better, fit-for-purpose websites more quickly. Meanwhile, with chat support, attendees are able to get assistance in real-time, when they need it. Both these solutions will help organizers significantly elevate the attendee experience pre-, during, and post-event.”
Both the website collaboration tool and chat support are included in CWT M&E’s standard event planning and management service and are available to customers worldwide at no additional cost.
CWT is a leading global partner in business travel, meetings, and events. Operating across six continents, we deliver sustainable, tailored solutions that help organizations connect, engage, and thrive in an evolving world. Our myCWT platform integrates advanced technology with human expertise to simplify travel and enhance traveler and attendee experiences. Extensive global coverage, seamless data integration, AI-driven analytics, and carbon-conscious travel tools enable businesses to optimize their travel and meetings programs while delivering measurable value.
With 150 years of industry experience and a deep commitment to partnership, CWT collaborates with clients to shape the future of business travel and events, making them more efficient, responsible, and impactful.
CWT Meetings & Events (CWT M&E) is a multi-award-winning global corporate events management service. Representing all industry sectors, CWT M&E delivers comprehensive live, virtual and hybrid event solutions for thousands of customers every year. Ranging from end to end productions of some of the world’s largest and complex global conferences, through to intimate national teambuilding experiences.
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How to navigate the many facets of work flexibility
CWT is delighted to have been named one of the top 100 companies to watch for remote jobs, according to FlexJobs. This announcement is an output of months of hard work at CWT to increase flexibility at work for our 12,000 or so colleagues around the world.
But as soon as I type (or read) the word “flexibility”, that’s when the trouble starts. Media pundits often fall into the trap of looking at flexibility in terms of opposites: home versus office, for example. As if decision-making required picking one over another—and that anything in the middle is an unsatisfactory compromise. Thinking in terms of opposites is dangerous, because unconsciously it pits worldviews and the people who have them against each other. It makes for great headlines but creates division within a workforce.
When it comes to work location, for example, remote work is here to stay. But so is office work. And hybrid work. Because companies need all options. And we have them at CWT. In fact, there are multiple dimensions of work flexibility. Each dimension is an axis with two endpoints. There’s a spatial/location axis of flexibility. There is also a time axis, a work intensity axis, a type of work axis. A labor law axis. A workstyle axis. A seasonal axis. A caregiver axis.
All these dimensions of flexibility can be visualized as a spider or scatter chart. At any given point in someone’s career—or even in a given day—the optimum “flexibility profile” is determined by a wide variety of personal and professional factors, ranging from job responsibilities and individual identity to family situation and country of residence.
The complexity of it all makes your head spin. You’ll hear HR veterans and senior leaders say: “it was so much easier in the old days when things were simpler”. I would posit that they were simpler because they were less inclusive of individual realities. Those days are gone.
Polarizing, headline-grabbing, sweeping generalizations aren’t helpful. Which is why we turned to the very global, multinational nature of our workforce, our business needs, and our culture for answers. Long story short: flexibility is a key component of the employee experience because it correlates closely to two highly prized traits at CWT: inclusion and agility. Inclusion is about creating space for the diverse individualities of our colleagues. Agility is about being able to handle the evolving diversity of our business challenges. It’s a competitive advantage.
CWT’s work requires a complex blend of roles staffed by people with unique flexibility profiles. Increase options for flexibility and you increase inclusion and agility. Flexible work allows access to a more diverse talent pool and leadership pipeline. In a nutshell this is what we are carefully and methodically trying to build at CWT through our Model of Work project that offers a greater level of flexibility in remote, office-based and hybrid working arrangements to a broader range of employees than before the pandemic. What we expect to see are measurable gains in employee engagement, retention and productivity. Flexibility becomes a source of value rather than a source of dispute. Getting there is exciting and challenging, but we firmly believe it’s worth every ounce of sweat.
3 hallmarks of a flexible work culture
I’m a big proponent of having guiding principles to steer the design of complex projects. These 3 have always been top of mind when working on the multiple facets of flexibility at CWT:
- Ditch the dogma. There are lots of personal beliefs about how work should be organized. Favor evidence and experiment over anecdote and Ns of one.
- Build personas. Take inspiration from design thinking. You are building flexibility for real people so use personas to see them as human beings with real needs, thoughts, and goals in addition to their roles on an org chart.
- Be methodical to go fast. Making global decrees without first understanding the art of the possible country by country is a recipe for disaster. Methodically engage local stakeholders to avoid having to roll-back hasty announcement and to ensure equitable outcomes.
- Ditch the dogma. There are lots of personal beliefs about how work should be organized. Favor evidence and experiment over anecdote and Ns of one.