The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered the way the work world functions. As we begin to establish a “new normal” for various aspects of post-pandemic life, it has become clear that many of the changes to the work world forced on us by the pandemic are here to stay. While many companies are starting to bring their team back into the office, a hybrid work model is becoming more commonly adopted than a full-time remote or full-time in-office model.
There are many benefits to implementing a hybrid work model at your company, but there are also certain challenges that must be navigated to ensure your team is set up for success. The more effectively you identify and address these challenges, the more likely your business will thrive in a hybrid work model over the next few years.
When all employees are in the office, communication is easy. All coworkers are just a few steps away and can easily be engaged in a brief conversation if you need to ask a question, clarify expectations or follow up on changes in procedures. When companies transitioned to fully remote work in early 2020, technology became critical to the ability to maintain strong lines of communication. Tools such as Zoom and Slack became the go-to methods for coworkers to interact with each other.
While these technology tools will remain crucial to success in a hybrid format, offices must make sure that their in-house video conferencing systems and procedures are fully equipped to meet the needs of this type of environment:
Building a strong culture is critical to the success of any organization. While establishing your company culture is most difficult in a fully remote setting, there are still challenges posed by a hybrid format. If employees come to the office on different days of the week, certain people may have greater in-person levels of interaction with some coworkers than others. This can create an imbalance in the types of relationships being built among your team.
Your company’s leaders will need to figure out ways to ensure your culture is built in a way that fosters success in both in-office and remote settings. Teamwork and camaraderie must be cultivated in a way that allows for deeper connections in both settings. In addition, policies, expectations and procedures must be handled similarly for remote and in-office situations. Finally, new employees must be provided with an opportunity to become integrated into your company culture to the same level as existing employees who were present when the entire team was in the office full time.
Some employees are naturally more productive in the office, while others tend to work better in a remote setting where there are fewer distractions. When employees spend all of their time in one of these environments, they’re able to develop a rhythm and routine that optimizes their productivity in that setting. With a hybrid model, employees are constantly shifting back and forth between a setting that facilitates optimal productivity and one that isn’t as ideally suited to optimal productivity.
How will you support your team to ensure they are able to adjust to these different work environments in a seamless manner that minimizes the impact on their productivity? A flexible approach will be needed to ensure each employee’s unique needs are being met.
Fostering a collaborative work environment can be more challenging in hybrid formats where some employees are face to face while other team members are contributing remotely on a particular day. This creates a greater need for strong coordination by team leaders to ensure all employees collaborating on a project remain involved, engaged and up to date on the latest developments.
Hybrid work environments require employees to have two functional workstations – one at the office and one at home. In order to maximize productivity during remote working days, your team will need to have all necessary gear to do their job properly as well as access to all files and resources they may need.
When formulating your hybrid work policy, it’s critical to think through what you need to provide to your employees to ensure they are successful in their remote working environment:
The challenges discussed above can have a significant impact on your employees’ experience and their ability to do their job properly. Therefore, failing to think through effective solutions that meet the specific needs of your business can have a devastating impact on your company’s success. It can be helpful to work with a third-party HR consultant who can help you navigate these challenges. At PassioHR, we have you covered.
PassioHR is a full service human resources consulting and employee engagement firm dedicated to helping your business achieve its goals and thrive over time. We’ve worked with businesses of all sizes in a wide range of industries who have grappled with the challenges of developing an effective hybrid work model. This experience gives us the perspective to guide you through this process to create the optimal policies for your business and your team.
Our exclusive Elevated Engagement Plus™ Approach has been designed to help you create a more successful and inspired organization. As part of this unique approach to HR consulting, we spend a great deal of time learning about your business to ensure the solutions we recommend align with your culture and organizational goals. By developing a thorough understanding of your workforce dynamic and the unique challenges they face, we can guide you towards a customized hybrid work model that sets your team up for success.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
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