Hybrid Work Cold Feet
The pandemic opened up a huge window of opportunity for many companies to make the leap from in-office to working from home. Once the dust settled, some declared remote work was there to stay and others called for a hybrid solution to mix home and office. For the few companies that required a full return-to-office who did not require a physical presence to get work done, they more than likely lost some headcount. Because, let’s face it, many of us like to work from home.
The benefits for employees outweighs challenges. Here are just a few:
PROS
- No commute time — save on gas and wasted time in the car
- More flexible work hours — earlier start could mean a lunch break or earlier stop
- Personal multi-tasking — laundry, meals, and school pick-up to name a few
CONS
- Creating a focused space — your home (or others in it) may not be conducive to quiet
- Creating start time and end time boundaries — it is easy to get lost in your day
- Social connections — some of us need humans to make the day more interesting
However, as we roll with this new way of work, companies are struggling to support this hybrid way of work. And when that happens, it is easier to fall back on what we knew rather than making the new ways work better. You don’t have to join the ranks of the few companies who can afford new roles such as “VP of Remote Work” or “Head of People” to focus on hybrid process, tools, and guidance. With a little creativity and leadership, any company can make this happen.
Here are a few of the unique challenges that hybrid and remote companies face that may be giving them cold feet. Stay the course, keep your teams focused, and warm up to the benefits of a hybrid workforce.
Challenge: “Since we went hybrid, we are not seeing the desired results from our work.”
This can be a challenge for any company in-office or remote. Even if you are experiencing a productivity slip, it isn’t necessarily attributed to hybrid work.
The solution is to set clear goals at the team and corporate level and to lean into those goals in every key meeting. Goals are not just for leaders. If your team is fully aware of the goals and how their work affects success, they will have something to work towards and not just show up every day.
Challenge: “Now that we are not in an office, my team and I feel disconnected.”
You can be sitting in an office and still experience this. While there is no water cooler chat, office chatter, or other noise, being connected takes…connection.
The solution is to create opportunities to talk. Add a few minutes to the start of a team meeting. Set up some 1:1’s or small groups. Make it clear whether these meetings are casual or with an agenda so team members can come prepared. And encourage and enable others to create their own meetings and chats when they need to stay more connected too so it doesn’t fall on you to be the social coordinator.
Some may think this means they are having more meetings. On the calendar, that may be true. But if you had scheduled those more impromptu in-office discussions, your past schedules would have looked the same.
Challenge: “Company outings are sadly a thing of the past. It seems impossible to get everyone together these days.”
Unless your company has always been a local shop, this is not a hybrid work issue. For organizations that are scattered across states or countries, this has always been a challenge. How did they make it work pre-pandemic? By investing in opportunities.
The solution here is to be creative. Travel can be expensive but if you plan ahead, you can find fun and affordable locations to host team members. If company-wide is too challenging, you can host by hubs or regions. And if safety is a concern, put on a creative spin and host virtual events with swag and other unique goodies to make the virtual gathering feel just as fun. (A few of your more introverted employees may thank you for this type of event).
Challenge: “We pay for office space that is sitting empty so justifying working from home is getting to be difficult.”
Office space is expensive, no doubt. Having it — just in case — isn’t a great way to blow through a budget. It definitely takes some big conversations whether to keep it or offload it. And for some, getting out of long-term leases or ownership are not an option.
Depending on your situation, some can consider sub-leasing space, hosting external events (for a fee), or adding more in-office incentives (think game rooms, gyms, and other useful perks your employees may like) to entice a more regular presence. There are many options to utilizing the space if it must stay on your fixed cost list.
The key to keeping hybrid-happy employees is to be creative. Remember, you don’t have to do it yourself! Communicate with your leadership and team members to learn what works well for them and meet them where they are so everyone can find a good, affordable, and successful balance to a healthy workplace.
