How to make the hybrid workplace work effectively

11 Jun How to make the hybrid workplace work effectively

Introduction

A recent study has shown that 70% of employees are wanting flexible work options to continue once restrictions ease, and 65% are craving more in-person time with their teams. This combination of statistics show that business leaders would be wise to listen to employees and start planning for a hybrid work model.  A move to a hybrid workplace has many of the potential benefits of both remote working and a full-time return to the office. However, this decision should not be taken lightly as there are many factors that must be considered to ensure that this move is effective and sets employees up for success.

Focus on employee wellbeing

One of the key considerations for an effective hybrid workplace strategy is a focus on employee wellbeing. If managed correctly a flexible hybrid working model should increase employee wellbeing through better work-life balance, reduce commuting time and costs and increase motivation and communication. Although there are potentially many wellbeing benefits of hybrid working, business leaders must consider for some employees it will be a difficult adjustment period as many employees will not have been in the office for over a year. A sudden change to their place of work may be stressful and tiring due to a return to commuting, significantly more social contact, and the challenges of a new work-life balance. For business leaders, the best way to manage employee wellbeing is through communication and flexibility. Employees should be involved in the decision of when and how a return to the office will work and specific concerns and anxieties should be addressed.

Leverage technology for collaboration and communication

Technology has played a pivotal role in the move to remote working and will continue to if hybrid working is implemented. The difference will be that technology will have to support a seamless experience regardless of where employees are working. From a hardware perspective this may be using a laptop with a dock in the office so employees can easily carry their device between work and home and not have to unplug cables each time. From a software perspective it is important to utilise Microsoft Teams to its full ability for communication and collaboration. This is especially important if there will be employees working in the same team but in the office on different days to ensure they do not feel disconnected from the rest of the team. It is also important to provide training and support with hybrid working technology as all employees will be relying heavily on these features to enable productivity in the workplace.

Don’t forget security

In March 2020, when the first lockdown was announced, the move to working from home was abrupt and this led to poor security procedures for many companies. Cybercriminals took advantage of this, with cybercrimes increasing by 72% in the first month of lockdown. After a year of working from home many companies have now implemented security policies and procedures to ensure that employees are working securely on their own networks. As there is more time to plan a hybrid workplace security needs to be considered from the start. This may include deploying multi-factor authentication, Windows Virtual Desktops and data not being stored locally so employees stay secure and productive, regardless of where they are working.

It won’t be perfect straight away

Business leaders need to be thoughtful with their implementation of a hybrid working model and consider the research as well as their own employees’ opinions to form a comprehensive framework to set employees up for success. With this being said, just as remote work was a new experience for many over a year ago, hybrid work will be the same, and there will be an adjustment period and issues that require the model to be adjusted to suit each company and individual. Although this adjustment period may be not ideal, business leaders must constantly review and make changes to their hybrid working model to work best for all employees.

The move from remote working to hybrid working if managed correctly has a plethora of benefits and can be the best of both worlds for employees and business leaders alike. To ensure the hybrid workplace works effectively business leaders need to have open communication with employees and ensure that their technology is leveraged to make this move as simple as possible. If you want to find out more on how to optimise your hybrid workplace model or manage your IT and technology strategy to suit hybrid working – get in touch today!