#hybridworking

In one of our recent blogs, we concurred that unless it is imperative for your staff to be physically present at the workplace, professionals are looking for hybrid work models and remote work as a determining factor while accepting and retaining jobs. Hybrid work is the preferred choice of working professionals across almost all demographics. Have you thoroughly comprehended this work model structure? Are you agile enough to support workplace flexibility? Are you equipped with the right tech tools to support this work structure evolution? Efficient management demands a thorough comprehension of the advantages and challenges in order to create solutions and reinforced models that bypass or tackle the obstacles that may hamper the ultimate goal, which is - maximizing productivity. So, let's review some of the benefits of forging a hybrid workforce: Benefits of incorporating a Hybrid Work Model Attracts Better Quality Talent: Why limit candidature to a specific location when you can increase your chances of successful hiring by widening the pool? If you open the doors to hybrid work conditions, you gain access to a better choice of top-notch talent without succumbing to geographical limitations. Improves Retention; Solves Attrition: Professionals have gotten accustomed to remote work and are unwilling to let go of flexible jobs. In fact, studies reveal that previously loyal professionals have also begun job-hunting in an attempt to switch to companies offering flexible working conditions. Maximizes Productivity, thereby Increasing Profitability: Staff that has access to hybrid working have a better work-life balance. Lesser compromising on other fronts means lesser guilt and more peace of mind, all of which contribute to productivity. Moreover, such employees take pride in their contribution and will ensure they give their best in return for your kindness and consideration. Is Extremely Good for the Environment: When you offer hybrid working, you diminish the need to commute regularly, significantly reducing the load on the environment. Besides conserving precious fuel, you also reduce the burden on the city’s infrastructure and transport services. You even consume less power and help reduce the waste of several other resources. It helps you save a good deal of Money: And this happens effortlessly! When you shift to sustainable hybrid working, the cost factor inadvertently reduces. Cloud computing and IoT allow storing and accessing all your work files and documentation from anywhere. You won't need to maintain a colossal office premise any longer. So, you'll be saving big bucks on commercial real estate, rent, office stationery, attendants, power & maintenance bills, etc. Reduce Exposure and Possible Cross-Contamination: The pandemic is not over. We're still in the middle of a global health crisis. Markets have opened up because the world cannot afford the collapse of entire economies. Work must go on. But, we cannot let our guard down. We must continue to take precautions by decreasing exposure to germs and avoiding cross-contamination by maintaining as much social distance as possible. Every employee has a different take on the crisis. Some are not in favor of isolation, while some are paranoid. Hybrid work conditions make it feasible for employees to define their boundaries per their comfort levels. Now let’s consider the disadvantages of a hybrid work model: Disadvantages of incorporating a Hybrid Work Model Limited Access: Professionals working together at the office can easily approach one another for quick and instant clarifications. In addition, documents and files can be shared and explained in person. You don’t have the advantage of constant access when remote work and hybrid work models are involved. Solution: Fortunately, you can easily combat this with the right technology. IoT and cloud computing software have enabled instant access and sharing of work files from any location. This is even better than restricting access to work documents to the office premise alone. Reduced Teamwork: Camaraderie is bound to improve when teams meet daily, resulting in enhanced teamwork. However, when teams work remotely, as in hybrid work models, they have lesser opportunities to interact with each other and form professional bonds. This decreases the chances of employee engagement within teams and may lead to more deficient cooperation and assistance among members, negatively impacting productivity. Solution: Remember that aunt who moved to Victoria? How many times did you visit Australia to stay connected? Ever since social media and free messaging applications arrived, your chances of staying in touch have drastically improved, right? In fact, in all probability, you never intended to plan an entire trip across the seven seas just to drop in and greet Aunt Ida. But now, you can! You can annoyingly disturb her every single day and remind her of your presence if you choose to, correct? The same applies to colleagues. Form a workgroup on one of the vast choices of apps that are easily available, and stay connected with all your team members. Problem solved! You could go a step further and interact with your staff on virtual platforms through virtual gaming and employee engagement activities that promote teamwork and help build professional liaisons. Disconnected Workflows: As work shuttles within teams and across departments, something similar to the game of Chinese whispers takes place, and there may be miscommunication, confusion, and wrong implementation, which results in loss of time and person-hours. Solution: Centralized systems and digital platforms make it possible for teammates to collaborate effortlessly while bringing more transparency within workflows. Encouraging open communication lines will iron out these creases. You can harness the powers of communication tools such as videoconferencing to get team members together to discuss, ideate, resolve, and engage while working remotely. Lower Accountability and Immeasurable Productivity: One has negligible control over the work environment in remote work models. Employees working from home could be doing several other things besides work. They could perhaps be multitasking with parenting duties or entertaining house guests simultaneously. They could be engaging in several different work assignments from other external sources. All of this adversely affects productivity and is difficult to gauge or control. Besides, the environment at an employee’s home may not be conducive to work and productivity. Solution: Today, there is several trusted software available that'll allow you to automate workflows, delegate and sequence processes, monitor & measure timesheets & productivity, manage attendance, and effectively track KPIs. Team leaders must set weekly, monthly, and quarterly plans & goals. Instead of worrying about acquiring a minute-by-minute account of what your staff is doing when they're on company time, it's better to focus on deliverables. It shouldn't matter how they choose to work if they consistently perform well. Monitor and assess work quality, turnover, and dependability instead of physical attendance. Simply showing up at work does not imply that your employees are productive. Instead, reward hard work, effort, delivery, and performance irrespective of the submission location. Be result-oriented; don’t concern yourself with the variables not within your reach. Lack of Company Culture: Regularly attending work allows newer employees to imbibe the work ethics and morals of loyal employees and superiors who have in turn absorbed the work culture from their peers and superiors. Work culture cannot be created in a day; it takes decades and generations of employees' and leadership influence to structure and tame. When staff does not physically report to work, they do not get an opportunity to observe and learn these unwritten codes of conduct. Solution: Company culture may be challenging to instill in 100% remote work models. In hybrid work models, however, these influences are still prominent. Team leaders must engage with fresh recruits and conduct regular team meets so new joiners comprehend the work ethics and company culture. It's essential to foster an inclusive, respectable, and supportive work culture that extends beyond office perimeters for optimum productivity and growth. Right from induction, make it known through several sources, written and informal, that certain acts will not be tolerated and are frowned upon by the company. If you observe closely, one can easily address all the disadvantages of a hybrid work model by leveraging advanced technology. After you weigh the pros and cons, you will find that allowing your workforce to adopt a hybrid work model is, indeed, in your favor. The benefits supersede and outweigh the disadvantages, mainly since open communication and apt technology can easily tackle these negatives. Many companies are somewhat tolerant toward remote work and hybrid work models on a situational and individual case-to-case basis. But, they are afraid of openly admitting it for fear of it becoming a popular demand by the majority. Only upon the insistence of exceptional talent are they willing to accept or succumb to supporting a hybrid workforce. Unfortunately, this creates too much confusion, guilt, and feelings of unfairness and favoritism, thereby splitting good teams. Instead of playing hide-and-seek with your employees, it’s better to openly embrace these work models and clearly define the structure, boundaries, and rules. Then, given the right tech tools and support, you can set up the most productive and efficient flexible workforce without encountering any of the above-mentioned issues. Talk to our experts at Exela HR Solutions today and discover the secrets and techniques that will help you build an infallible workforce! DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws governing the subject matter may change quickly, and Exela cannot guarantee that all the information on this site is current or correct. Should you have specific legal questions about any of the information on this site, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your area.