Hybrid working meaning: In a world where people live increasingly active lifestyles, the idea of 9-5 office work attached to a fixed desk and computer screen is seen by many as outdated for most of the day. A modern alternative has emerged: making better use of employees’ time that works best for them.
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If an employee cannot come into the office every day because they have a young family or children to look after, it can be counterproductive to ask them to sit in an empty house from nine to five with no childcare facilities. Many employees can now work at different times of the day, using technology like laptops and smartphones to make the most of their time.
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Businesses benefit by not paying for an office or extra living accommodation for employees, freeing up money that they can plow back into the business instead. This arrangement also means that companies become more accessible to people with disabilities. It is easier for employees to choose when and where to do their work, i.e., not necessarily in traditional working hours or settings.
How to Manage a Hybrid work Environment Successfully
Managing a workforce with no set place of work can be difficult if you don’t have the right policies in place. Employees using technology will need access to software applications, file sharing facilities, and online storage, while remote workers should be made aware of the company’s telephony and e-mail systems as working from home monitoring encompasses the requirement of all of these. It will also be necessary to set out guidelines for business-related social media accounts and how employees should use them.
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Remote workers who do not come into the office should operate under a similar timekeeping policy as those that do, such as clocking in and out and using annual leave. Here are some key points in line with hybrid working principles to consider:
- Agree on an official start and finish time for working hours. Any flexible arrangements to ensure work-life balance for the employees must be agreed upon by both the business and the individual employee beforehand, so everyone knows what to expect from each other. It is also a good idea to decide how often this will be reviewed, as emergencies can disrupt any plans you may have made, and it may be necessary to change some aspects of your arrangement.
- Offer support services such as IT facilities and telephony where necessary. If employees feel they cannot come into the office, they should still have access to priority telephone support services in the event of IT problems or security breaches. Websites provided for workers should contain information about how employees may access IT facilities from home.
- Set guidelines for using social media to discuss business matters. If you feel you must set a policy on this, be as specific as possible about what is and isn’t allowed. For example, don’t ban employees from tweeting about their job or sharing company posts – it could harm your reputation if they do – but make sure that they know not to tweet anything confidential or defamatory about their employer.
- Speak to employees individually about flexible working arrangements and record these conversations in a logbook. This will avoid misunderstandings or disputes later, which can be particularly problematic if an employee changes their mind about how much time they want to spend in the office after starting working remotely.
How to Successfully Switch to a Hybrid Working Model
Many companies still believe that a fully remote working model means productivity will drop, but this is no longer the case. The trick to success with a hybrid work culture is flexibility and trust. Here are some steps to consider when starting:
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- Start small, working out how much time employees spend away from the office before making formal agreements. If someone takes one afternoon off a week to pick their children up from school, don’t require them to formally check-in for this time so long as they are doing the job properly during their allotted hours. Once you have seen what works best at minimal impact on productivity, you can formalize your guidelines.
- Create an online calendar to track when employees are in the office and not. As long as there is transparency, a lack of set hours can be advantageous, giving employees a better work-life balance.
- Establish regular contact with remote workers. Business culture has become less formal in recent years, meaning that it’s perfectly acceptable to give someone a call if you need something done. If this leads to closer working relationships where issues can be dealt with more swiftly, everyone benefits from the arrangement.
- Ensure there is a clear line between business and personal calls when employees make calls from their home phones for work purposes. This will avoid misunderstandings or confusion between employees about how much time people can spend working from home.
- If you have to, offer a financial incentive for anyone agreeing to work fully remote and hire managers who are open-minded enough to entertain the idea in the first place. Just make sure that if an employee doesn’t come into the office, you do not need them to be on-call 24/7 and that their pay reflects this accordingly.
If you want your employees at work but not necessarily restricted by set hours, then don’t forget about telecommuting – it’s still a viable option for many businesses. It is often more cost-effective than keeping satellite offices around the country – or even the world – without decreasing productivity.
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The Bottom Line
Hybrid working is a fast-evolving working style that can help employees and companies achieve higher productivity levels if implemented correctly. By combining the best of both work environments, employees can get more done while still enjoying aspects of their personal life.
