We love hybrid working! Not only are employees valuing hybrid work options, multiple surveys, including that by Microsoft, show that during the pandemic a shift occurred in employee’s expectations. Employees are looking to have flexibility and the option to work from home to support a better work-life balance, but are they being enabled to do so? Employers that we work alongside, trying to shift back to pre-pandemic styles of working, are finding lack of employee engagement. In this new era, to be an attractive employer it really isn’t all about tangible Reward but these intangibles.
The new way of working is however raising questions for leaders. Are they confident their employees are being productive, and do they have confidence the team is productive?
For leaders to build that confidence in their teams and to ensure employees have a positive experience, implementing hybrid work, our organisational recommendations are below:
Ensure your culture embraces hybrid working
Communicate expectations of office working clearly - how many days a week, when, where
Deal with resistance, how will non-compliance be managed
Ensure your Job Descriptions are updated to focus on achievements, outputs, and contributions rather than tasks
Equip your team with technology to support inclusive hybrid meetings
Create opportunities for progression and matrix working
Provide dedicated support to your managers:
Training in how to manage hybrid teams
Survey your Managers to hear their opinions and concerns
Is there support for hybrid working?
Will managers enforce hybrid working?
Enable team dedicated days in the office to facilitate collaborative working, for example, working / sitting together
Think about changing incentives and rewards to team based
Provide your managers with skills development
Ensure performance reviews and job descriptions support managers to look at outcomes, achievements and not simply ‘to dos’
Provide support to employees:
Ensure work patterns facilitate meeting with team colleagues and managers on ‘office’ days
Give clear communications from the organisation about hybrid working and consequences
Make sure to understand their preferred method of communication from line managers
Support managers to empower their employees
Employee / manager conversations should move work forward, focus on what’s important to prioritise work
Catch up calls are meaningful
Given all the changes occurring, we have found some of the data and information shared through these different resources helpful for the organisation we work with and you may too:
Microsoft conducted a survey in 2022 titled ‘Hybrid Work Is Just Work’ which can be read here
The Salary and Organisational Culture Report 2021 Found that 95 per cent of respondents said they would want flexible working such as the option to work from home
At CM HR Consulting we are a hybrid team, and we continue to work with organisations who are embracing hybrid working and seeing the positive impact on talent attraction and retention.
Feel free to reach out to our team if you have questions, and we'll be happy to support.