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by Matthew Boccia
Due to the pandemic, the infrastructure for conducting business online has advanced by about 10 years. People are able to work from anywhere in the world with very little resistance. There are many people who do not wish to ever return to an office, especially not five days a week. So, since you can produce the same work from the comfort of your own home, surely it is a no-brainer to stay remote forever, right? Wrong, I would argue that while working from home has its perks, the experience of working in person is what preserves the great work culture at IBM and has set them apart for so many years.
After graduating from college in 2020, I started at IBM in August. Being totally remote from the beginning of your career, you really have nothing to compare it to. I would say it reminded me most of taking an online class. The life of the IBM consultant pre-pandemic was a thing of the past. You could only piece it together through some of the stories passed down from your senior team members. I am currently staffed on an AMI implementation project and have been since March 2021. I was finally granted the opportunity to travel to the client site in late September up in Maine. I had no idea what to expect, considering we were one of the first teams to start traveling again post-pandemic. I have now been traveling to this client site every two to three weeks for the past seven months, and the experience has totally changed my perspective on the culture of IBM and the consulting industry.
One major difference about being on-site is the ability to connect with the client. Many times, meetings were camera optional and I had not seen what many members of the client team look like. After spending time conversing with people on-site, I noticed that it resulted in an increase in production and a change in attitude. People tend to go the extra mile once they can associate a human being with the work rather than just being another name on the screen. One of our primary responsibilities as consultants is to have a thorough understanding of our client’s needs. Building those relationships and establishing trust are essential to understanding a client’s pain points.
There is a famous quote, “look good, feel good”, which I believe holds true in business. Especially after being cooped up in the house during covid, I found that traveling, dressing up, and physically going in to work mentally puts me in a good place to start my day. You are representing the IBM brand, and looking the part with your coworkers gives me a sense of pride. The feelings from things like this are near impossible to replicate over virtual meetings. Additionally, experiencing a new place is exciting. I had never been to Maine before, and it was a great opportunity to explore the food and culture of the city we were in( I had my first lobster roll and it was amazing!).
Something else I noticed was a significant increase in team productivity. I found that roadblocks are extinguished faster when a team can sit in the same room and talk things out. For example, solving defects with a whole team of vendors is much easier than trying to find time in everyone’s schedules to meet which is often very difficult. Additionally, having the ability to utilize resources in person makes a big difference. Setting up scenarios and making alterations in person is much more efficient than putting in a data request to a client and having them complete it in their free time.
I would say probably my favorite part about traveling on-site is how much I’ve learned about the culture at IBM. I have gotten so much closer with the IBM team on my project over the past seven months. The project leads have done a great job in promoting a sense of family and inclusivity. We try to coordinate a full team dinner at least once during the week when we travel on-site. Throughout these weeks in person, you have those extra side conversations you don’t get online, like when you are driving into the office, going out to dinner, or waiting at the airport together. It is here that you learn about each other, tips for navigating the waters at IBM, and just general insight about what others have learned over the years. People have tried to keep that culture going with things like virtual happy hours, games, and holiday parties, but it just doesn’t compare to the connections you are able to develop in person.
I am not trying to say it is necessary to be in person every week(sometimes it’s nice to work in your slippers and for others to be around their kids!). But, I believe that some form of in-person work is critical to keeping the culture at IBM as great as it is!
