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The Strengths of a Handshake Culture

The Strengths of a Handshake Culture

Last updated on: May 6, 2025 at 11:54 am by Gleb Tsipursky

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The Strengths of a Handshake Culture 2025-05-06T11:54:49-04:00 Gleb Tsipursky

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Handshake Culture

In an era dominated by digital interactions, some companies still hold steadfast to the traditional values of face-to-face communication. O’Neil Franso, Corporate VP of HR at H.W. Kaufman Group, a multinational insurance parent company, shared how their “handshake culture” integrates with the modern hybrid work model when I interviewed him.

Embracing Hybrid Work Without Losing Personal Touch

Franso emphasizes H.W. Kaufman Group’s dedication to maintaining personal interactions with clients, a principle they call “handshake culture.” Before the pandemic, the company didn’t practice much remote work. However, COVID-19 forced a shift, and they had to adapt quickly.

“We believe in a handshake culture, meaning face-to-face interactions with our clients. COVID-19 forced us to embrace remote work and navigate a hybrid schedule,” Franso explains. Initially, the company expected to revert to in-person work after the pandemic. However, they soon recognized the benefits of hybrid work, which now plays a crucial role in their operations.

“We emphasize the value of being in person but also recognize the quality that comes from allowing people the flexibility to work from home,” Franso adds. This flexibility has proven essential for attracting and retaining talent, ensuring a better work-life balance, and maintaining productivity.

Attracting Talent Beyond Geographic Boundaries

One of the significant advantages of hybrid work for H.W. Kaufman Group has been the ability to attract talent irrespective of location. “Remote work allows us to get the talent regardless of location,” Franso says. This flexibility enables the company to find the right people for the job, even if they are not based in major metropolitan areas.

By leveraging remote work, the company has found success in reducing the need for frequent travel, thus enhancing productivity. “It allows people to travel more and accomplish business targets that we otherwise wouldn’t if we were chained to our physical desks,” Franso notes.

Flexibility as a Tool for Employee Well-being

The shift to hybrid work has also brought numerous benefits to employees. “Flexibility allows a better work-life balance, helping us attract and retain talent and manage burnout,” Franso says. Employees can avoid lengthy commutes, stay closer to their children, and work at their peak productivity without distractions.

Interestingly, this flexibility has also resonated with clients who face similar challenges. Franso shares that clients appreciate the alignment in working hours, often engaging with employees late at night when both parties are working from home. This shared experience has fostered stronger connections and enhanced client relationships.

Investing in Physical Spaces for Collaborative Work

Unlike some companies that have reduced their real estate footprint, H.W. Kaufman Group has taken a different approach. They invest in creating better physical spaces to meet the diverse needs of their employees. “We’re furnishing fantastic physical spaces for our people, recognizing that most employees want to come into the office at least part of the time,” Franso explains.

The emphasis on in-person interaction supports collaboration, osmosis, and training, enhancing the overall client experience. “It wasn’t about saving money on real estate. In fact, we probably ended up investing more to create better spaces for people to come in,” Franso says.

Addressing Managerial Challenges in a Hybrid Environment

The transition to hybrid work has not been without challenges, particularly for managers adapting to new styles of supervision. “Understanding the needs of our people and managers and then creating common ground is probably the biggest challenge,” Franso acknowledges.

To address this, H.W. Kaufman Group encourages more frequent one-on-ones and video meetings with cameras on to facilitate effective communication. “The most meaningful communication is nonverbal—facial expressions, body language. You can’t get that in a chat or text message,” Franso explains. Video meetings help replicate the in-person experience, allowing for better performance evaluation and feedback.

Supporting Junior Employees Through Structured Mentorship

For junior employees, who often need more exposure to experienced colleagues, the company emphasizes in-office interactions. “Our less experienced employees and newer employees are asking for more days in the office to learn and overhear conversations,” Franso says.

H.W. Kaufman Group has implemented buddy programs and continuous mentorship beyond initial onboarding. Managers are trained to understand the type of mentorship needed and either provide it themselves or assign a team member. “We find that when you assign mentors during onboarding, they become lifelong collaborators,” Franso notes.

The Future of Flexible Work

Looking ahead, H.W. Kaufman Group sees the future of flexible work as fluid and evolving. “It requires active management, research, trial and error, and flexibility to adapt to changing business needs,” Franso explains. The company remains committed to creating schedules that fit their business objectives and stakeholder needs.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It requires work, commitment, and grit,” Franso concludes, highlighting the importance of finding the right talent aligned with this mindset.

In a world where remote work is becoming the norm, H.W. Kaufman Group’s handshake culture offers a balanced approach, integrating the best of both in-person and remote work to foster strong client relationships and employee well-being. The focus on balancing employee experience with client needs reflects a theme I always emphasize with my clients when helping them overcome the frustrations of implementing hybrid work models, and I’ll be citing Franso’s words as a great example of how to achieve such balance.

Key Take-Away

H.W. Kaufman Group blends traditional face-to-face interactions with hybrid work, emphasizing flexibility, employee well-being, and strong client connections. Their focus on mentorship, collaboration, and adapting workspaces fosters talent retention and productivity…>Click to tweet

Image credit: Kaboompics.com/pexels

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI for Innovative and Effective Content Creation. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.

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About Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

Known as the Disaster Avoidance Expert, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is on a mission to protect leaders from dangerous judgment errors known as cognitive biases, which devastate bottom lines and bring down high-flying careers. His expertise and passion is developing the most effective and profitable decision-making strategies, based on pragmatic business experience and cutting-edge behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience, to empower leaders to avoid business disasters and maximize their bottom lines. You can learn more here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/glebtsipursky/ The bestselling author of several books, Dr. Tsipursky is best known for his national bestseller on avoiding disasters and achieving success in business and other life areas, The Truth Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide. His next book, Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters, is forthcoming with Career Press in November 2019. It’s the first book to focus on cognitive biases in business leadership and reveal how leaders can overcome these dangerous judgment errors effectively. After that he’s publishing The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships with New Harbinger in April 2020, the first book to focus on cognitive biases in professional and personal relationships and illustrate how we can defeat these dangerous judgment errors in our relationships. See more information here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/author-page/ Dr. Tsipursky’s cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 400 articles he published and over 350 interviews he gave to popular venues that include Fast Company, CBS News, Time, Scientific American, Psychology Today, The Conversation, Business Insider, Government Executive, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Inc. Magazine, and many others, as you can see here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/media/ Dr. Tsipursky's expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, speaking, and training for businesses and nonprofits. He serves as the CEO of the boutique consulting, coaching, and training firm Disaster Avoidance Experts, which uses a proprietary methodology based on groundbreaking research to help leaders and organizations maximize their bottom lines by addressing potential threats, seizing unexpected opportunities, and resolving persistent personnel problems. His clients include Aflac, Balance Employment Assistance Provider, Edison Welding Institute, Fifth Third Bank, Honda, IBM, International Coaches Federation, Ohio Hospitals Association, National Association of Women Business Owners, Sentinel Real Estate, The Society for Human Resource Management, RealManage, The Columbus Foundation, Vistage, Wells Fargo, the World Wildlife Fund, and over a hundred others who achieve outstanding client results. You can learn more about that here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/about Dr. Tsipursky also has a strong research and teaching background in behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience with over 15 years in academia, including 7 years as a professor at the Ohio State University and before that a Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His dozens of peer-reviewed academic publications include journals such as Behavior and Social Issues, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, and International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy. His civic service includes over 4 years as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Intentional Insights, an educational nonprofit advocating for research-based decision-making in all life areas. He also co-founded the Pro-Truth Pledge, a civic project to promote truthfulness and integrity for individual professionals and leaders in the same way that the Better Business Bureau serves as a commitment for businesses. He serves on the Advisory Board of Canonical Debate Lab and Planet Purpose, and is on the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed journal Behavior and Social Issues. A highly in-demand international speaker, Dr. Tsipursky has over two decades of professional speaking experience across North America, Europe, and Australia. He gets top marks from audiences for his highly facilitative, interactive, and humor-filled speaking style and the way he thoroughly customizes speeches for diverse audiences. Meeting planners describe Dr. Tsipursky as "very relatable," as "a snap to work with," and as someone who "does everything that you would want a speaker to do." Drawing on best practices in adult learning, his programs address the wide spectrum of diverse learning styles, as attested by enthusiastic client testimonials and references. He regularly shares the stage with prominent leaders, for example recently speaking on a roundtable panel with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Elhadj As Sy, Chancellor of Austria Brigitte Bierlein, CEO of Penguin Random House Markus Dohle, and billionaire philanthropist and Chair of the Bertelsmann Management Company Liz Mohn. You can learn more about his speaking and see videos here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/speaking/ Dr. Tsipursky earned his PhD in the History of Behavioral Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011, his M.A. at Harvard University in 2004, and his B.A. at New York University in 2002. He lives in and travels from Columbus, OH. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, hiking, and playing with his two cats, and most importantly, he makes sure to spend abundant quality time with his wife to avoid disasters in his personal life. Learn more about him at https://DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/GlebTsipursky, contact him at Gleb[at]DisasterAvoidanceExperts[dot]com, follow him on Instagram @dr_gleb_tsipursky and Twitter @gleb_tsipursky. Most importantly, help yourself avoid disasters and maximize success, and get a free copy of the “Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace,” by signing up for his free Wise Decision Maker Course at https:// DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/Subscribe You can read more about the author here.

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