After working from home during 2020, employees want to retain that freedom and flexibility. Organisations need to adapt. That means providing not just wonderful workplaces but also empowering and enabling their talent to work from remote workspaces. For leaders who can make hybrid working ‘work’ for their organisation, the rewards will be significant.
There remains much complexity and uncertainty around the exact nature of work in the wake of COVID-19. But one thing is clear: the future of work is hybrid. Hybrid means employees will work in dispersed working environments. There will no longer be one workplace. There will be many workplaces that form part of an organisation’s property footprint.
Those workplaces could be a CBD office, a hub-and-spoke model with regional and suburban offices, or some other variation. For knowledge workers, who just need a laptop, these spaces could be anywhere. A café. A co-working space. The train. The bedroom.
We now know that employees are the driving force behind the hybrid model. According to PwC’s Hopes and Fears data, some 10% of Australian workers say they wanted to work in an office; but more than three quarters said they want to work in a hybrid world.
Leaders need to show the same flexibility, adaptability and hustle they did during COVID-19 and create the hybrid workplaces their employees now demand.
So how do we make hybrid working work?
Hybrid means that organisations need to reimagine the role of the office, what it looks like, and the experience it offers employees. They need to be thinking about their value proposition to determine what model works best for their property footprint accordingly.
But if employers are to successfully adopt the hybrid model, leaders must consider a series of critical considerations:
Wellbeing
The first is wellbeing. Wellbeing was thrust into the spotlight during COVID-19, and a move to dispersed working environments means wellbeing must remain at the top of the agenda.
A focus on wellbeing pays off. According to PwC’s Changing Places: How hybrid working is rewriting the rule book, every $1 invested in mental health delivered a $2.40 return. Wellbeing is also a priority talent attraction mechanism, and it helps deliver a compelling employee value proposition.
When it comes to wellbeing, leaders shouldn’t lose sight of what worked during COVID-19. That includes getting to know people as human beings, embracing empathy, and checking in regularly with them.
Experience
Leaders may feel the pull to go back to the way things were. They may want to use the same levers and behaviours to inspire and engage their people. But hybrid working requires redefining the employee experience.
Hybrid ways of working are inherently more complex than the traditional office-based model. Digital tools will be essential for helping leaders manage this complexity. But beware the trap of thinking you can take what you did face-to-face and move it online.
Organisations should use the shift to hybrid to consider how they can leverage technology to also uplift their recruitment, onboarding, engagement, and development practices, and tailor this across multiple workplaces and spaces. Think about whay hybrid means for performance measurement, day-to-day communication, team work and collaboration.
When reimagining and implementing these processes, look to your employees for suggestions about how they want to work. Get them to co-create the solutions. Lean in to the unknown and the future of work experience.
Performance
Leaders also need to rethink managing performance across dispersed environments, particularly when they can’t see employees.
First, focus on managing for outcomes, not outputs such as hours spent at the desk or in front of a screen.
Second, clarify KPIs and expectations of employee roles. Are those KPIs mutually understood? Does the employee have the same understanding of that KPI? As far as possible, be specific: big, broad, ambiguous, can’t be measured.
Above all, focus on trust. Performance in a hybrid environment requires a high degree of mutual trust between employer and employee. Micromanagement isn’t going to lead to successful outcomes.
All this means leaders will need to take more of an active role in coaching employees. They will need to be proactive in reaching out, encourage reflection and providing frequent feedback.
Flexibility
Another important consideration is embracing flexibility. Employees are reluctant to give it up after having flexibility during COVID-19. By 2030, up to half the labour market will be Millennials who favour flexibility over remuneration.
When looking into flexibility, consider expectations around core hours that are within industrially acceptable time parameters and how this can be appropriately governed.
While the Fair Work Commission varied many modern awards to allow greater flexibility, these all have an end date unless the Commission further extends them. In other words, flexibility can be limited, so employers need to ensure they comply with the obligations set out in the applicable award.
Leaders also need to consider what flexibility means at the team level. For example, they may need to define some core hours that suit everyone or a consistent day where people are expected to meet in person.
With hybrid working, the key is striking the right balance between employee flexibility and the needs of the organisation while remaining alert to wage compliance risks and obligations.
Investing in leadership
As we know, the future of work is unclear. But COVID-19 made one thing certain: the hybrid work model is here to stay. While not all industries and jobs are suited to hybrid work, for many organisations in industries that allow flexible and remote working, it will become the new normal.
Organisations need to accept that and embrace hybrid. With 33% of CEOs having no plans to change their long-term investments in leadership and talent development over the next three years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, something’s got to give.
If they can focus on the four key factors above – wellbeing, engagement, performance and flexibility – and invest in building the leadership capability to deliver those factors, they will position their organisations as employers of choice and enjoy the productivity and performance benefits that this delivers.
