As more countries ease or lift COVID restrictions, a hybrid work model is becoming common. Many firms want to return to their physical offices, but they also realize the benefits of remote working. As a result, more companies combine remote working and onsite work.
Generally, the hybrid work model isn’t only about choosing whether to work from offices or homes. It’s also about achieving the best possible work-life balance for employees. In addition, it’s a productive approach to keep every stakeholder satisfied.
Transitioning to a hybrid work model isn’t easy and requires proper planning. However, once you plan it right, you’ll enjoy all the perks of a hybrid work model, such as increased productivity, better collaboration, and high employee satisfaction.
If you’re thinking about implementing a hybrid work model in your company, here are the ways for a successful transition:
1. Have a Plan
Before you decide to move to a hybrid work model and rent the best office space in Sydney
, it’s crucial to have a clear transition plan. When everything is ready, share it with everyone in your company.
No matter how your firm operates and the direction you want to take, your plan must determine which employees will work in the office or from home. Typically, this decision may vary depending on your team’s preferences or needs.
For security purposes, it’s essential to monitor who will work in your office to:
- Welcome them in the best possible way;
- Dedicate certain areas to every team;
- Avoid overcrowding; and
- Establish some health protocols to keep your office space clean and safe.
2. Focus On Creating A Clear Communication Structure
When it comes to hybrid working, communication is the key to success. The teams’ efficiency, fast delivery of projects, the company’s productivity, and performance quality depend on the communication level implied between employees. Without proactive and efficient communication, your company may break apart.
Even in physical working environments where everybody meets each other regularly, no company will survive without effective communication. Let alone a hybrid working environment where employees interact with one another remotely.
As a company owner, it’s your primary duty to ensure that everyone is involved in conversations and the entire team is in touch with the key people within the organization. This way, you can ensure that all your employees will be on the same page.
Having a clear communication structure might be a daunting task, but it’s worth it. To achieve this, work on a few configurations to ensure that the team is supervised, supported, and facilitated at all times.
For instance, if you make a template workspace for your clients, teams, and projects, you may set up a membership policy at the template level. With this, you can quickly include the right employees in the teams created from that template.
3. Keep Your Employees’ Preferences And Needs In Mind
To alleviate the not-so-good sides of remote work, you should understand its impact on your employees’ productivity and engagement. Since employee collaboration is a common downside of remote work, it’s wise to understand the disadvantages of physically separated employees. Therefore, understanding the nature of work and the preferences of every employee can make a difference to the success of transitioning to a hybrid work model.
4. Ensure A Healthy Setup At The Office And At Home
A hybrid work model is only effective when your employees adapt to it positively and healthily. Once you find that they can’t get the job done in a certain amount of time, whether at the office or home, their workspace might be the problem.
While setting up a workspace at home may seem expensive and daunting, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Before investing in various tools or company services, focus on what matters first. Some of the necessary items to consider are:
- Ergonomic chair
- Desk
- Mouse and keyboard
- Monitor
When your employees have those essentials, you can be assured that they’ll do a great job daily. To level up their desk experience, it’s also an excellent idea to suggest the best seat cushions and other decors increase their productivity.
5. Ask For Feedback Frequently
A hybrid work model requires effective employee listening efforts. Besides, their feedback is crucial to understanding the impact of this type of working environment on your employees’ engagement, productivity, collaboration, motivation, and well-being.
That’s why companies across the globe are doing employee surveys regularly. While they used to do yearly employee engagement surveys, others collected daily feedback.
However, most employers struggle to get feedback from their employees, particularly frontline and field workers. Luckily, by using the best and right technology available in the market, you can quickly reach your employees at the right time with the right content to get valuable feedback.
6. Consider Introducing New Benefits
Due to the emergence of a hybrid work model, employers have to rethink their company’s benefits to the employees. While travel expenses and car allowance used to be excellent perks, they don’t apply to most employees. Therefore, consider looking for other relevant perks for your employees.
For example, you can offer compensation for the electricity and internet expenses. Your company may even provide office supplies and provide mental health services.
Top Benefits Of Transitioning To A Hybrid Work Model
Flexibility for both employers and employees is one of the primary benefits of transitioning to a hybrid work model. If you’re still undecided on whether or not to consider a hybrid work model, here are some of the advantages of doing so:
• Increased Productivity
A hybrid work model doesn’t only offer flexibility but also empowers employees to work to their strengths, which may lead to increased productivity. By promoting remote work as an excellent alternative to completing tasks in the office, teams may find an outstanding balance of collaboration and creativity. Employees who need silence and peace to focus or those who thrive in an office can have the chance to choose when and where to work to ensure productivity.
• Boost Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is an essential aspect of a healthy working environment. It minimizes stress and helps prevent burnout, negatively affecting employees’ well-being and resulting in physical ailments such as heart problems, chronic aches, and hypertension. When this happens, it may increase your company’s expenses on healthcare, lower productivity, increase turnover rate, and lose incredible talents.
A company that focuses on work-life balance doesn’t only lessen its overhead costs but also helps maintain a more productive and much healthier workforce. By transitioning to a hybrid work model, it allows employees to enjoy their life and work better by having an option to work in the office or remotely.
For instance, when employees prefer to work from home, they can structure their day to use their break time for various things such as going to a doctor’s appointment and dropping off children at school. It enables them to stay on top of their daily life, resulting in improved focus when working.
• Improved Relationships And Collaboration
Unlike remote work, a hybrid work model enables physical collaboration and communication, which is beneficial for building an effective team. As a result, it improves work relationships and collaboration between employees. Moreover, every in-person conversation during meetings can provide opportunities for knowledge sharing, mentorship, and other essential professional relationships.
• More Continuous Learning Opportunities
Another overlooked and crucial aspect of a hybrid work model is that it provides employees more opportunities for continuous learning outside their typical work environment. Keep in mind that some employees want to achieve things other than their work.
It means that they’re working a part of their work schedule from their office, and they may use their remaining time to achieve their personal development goals while working from home. When done effectively and regularly, it can result in better growth and job performance.
• Improved Employee-Employer Trust
One of the most challenging to foster yet critical aspects of an efficient work environment is trust between employees and employers. A hybrid work model can help employers gain their employees’ trust by showing that they’re just as productive when working in the office or remotely.
The flexibility that comes with a hybrid work model may also boost staff loyalty by making employees feel empowered by management to complete their responsibilities on their terms. Suppose employers allow employees the freedom to balance work with personal errands and the task they need to do during work hours. In that case, employees will feel more comfortable working with the company.
Most employees more likely respect such organizations because they don’t feel like they’re being watched. The management may also benefit from this because they don’t need to spend time checking in on their employees or micromanaging them.
Furthermore, employees who feel respected and trusted often stay engaged with the company for many years and stay engaged at work. A low turnover rate has significant benefits, such as hiring, recruiting, lower sourcing and training costs, better employee skill sets and knowledge, etc. All of these contribute to your company’s success.
Final Thoughts
Companies have to carefully plan and time the transition to a hybrid work model and provide support to all employees throughout the process. If possible, get your employees’ feedback and address their concerns to show that you care for them. This won’t only increase their motivation, but it may also give them more reasons to stay with your company.
