Businesses – of all types – have clearly faced unprecedented challenges over the past 18 months. But as we, hopefully, enter into a post-Covid world, one of the main challenges will be deciding on which of the changes made in the last year and a half should remain in place and which (if any) should revert to traditional structures. Most notably, there is the question of employees and the makeup of the modern office.
Back when the pandemic had just hit, there was a rush for some businesses, particularly tech companies, to claim that WFH (work from home) culture could be extended long after it was safe to have employees back in the office again. Facebook, Amazon and Google were among the more notable companies to offer staff such conditions. This was backed up by industry experts, who were keen to herald remote working as a new normal.
And yet, 18 months later, much of this brave new remote working world feels premature. Amazon and Google have already rescinded some of the ultra-flexible conditions they made in 2020. Goldman Sachs’ UK boss called the recently called remote working culture an “aberration”. And while Facebook has claimed it still wants to provide the option of remote work for those who can, it is clear that some of the wheels on the WFH bandwagon are wobbling.
There are numerous reasons as to why employers and, crucially, employees have a more lukewarm attitude to remote working. Some claim that face to face meetings better relations, and that can be beneficial for employees seeking promotion. Others contend that working with others is simply better for morale and employee well-being.
90% of businesses looking to implement hybrid models
Nevertheless, there is a growing sense among some that we can have the best of both worlds – hybrid work patterns. A recent study by McKinsey Insights has claimed that 90% of companies (based on a range of industries and geographies) want to implement hybrid models of working in their post-pandemic plans.
But there is a crucial line contained within McKinsey’s report, namely that “most organizations have only begun to think through and articulate the specifics of how to carry out a more permanent mix of remote and on-site working for all roles that aren’t essential to perform on-site.”. This gets to the heart of the matter: For all the tubthumping over a new dawn of remote or hybrid working, nobody has really had time to consider the options fully.
Such seismic changes to office culture do not usually happen so quickly. If we could choose something comparable – if it is indeed possible – we could look at removing typewriters and typists from offices and replacing them with computers. But that was gradual, slowly evolving across the decades of the 1980s and 1990s. This is sudden in relative terms, and that creates unique challenges.
If companies are to embrace this hybrid model, the correct procedures must be put in place for the benefit of staff and the overall business – but what are they? That’s a tricky question, particularly because there have been remarkably few studies done on remote working culture pre-pandemic. But we have some clues as to what will help.
Equipping staff with the right tools is, of course, essential, but it’s also important not to go overboard. The WSJ recently published a report on how firms are overspending on a glut of technology solutions that are not truly necessary for a new hybrid culture. In a sense, companies are panicking about hybrid work and overcompensating.
Equip staff with collaborative tools
Instead of purchasing several products, it’s worth considering all-in-one solutions. Spike, an email app that offers instant messaging for business, video conferencing, file sharing, as well as a host of productivity tools, is a good place to start. Think of it as something that takes the best bits from Slack, Outlook, Teams and WhatsApp, and you’ll get an idea of what it can do.
The point of using tools like Spike is not just the cost-effectiveness, but the gains in efficiency and productivity (and security) by having everything under one application. It creates a digital office environment, fostering the right levels of collaboration and connectivity between those in the office and those at home.
Getting that virtual office into shape might take a bit of time to fine-tune it to your business’s particular needs. Do you really need to make a video call each day? Or will an email do? Should you be instructing employees to log-in at set hours? Or perhaps give them the flexibility to develop their own work patterns?
From Forbes to Inc.com to the WSJ, you’ll find lots of expert articles right now explaining the best practices for hybrid working. But in truth, beyond the fundamentals, each business will have esoteric choices to make to create a model that works for them.
We should, at this point, address security questions with hybrid work models. Several major reports have emerged over the last 18 months, highlighting that cybercriminals deliberately target remote workers. It’s imperative that businesses implement the same level of security that would be found in the office when workers complete tasks at home.
But again, when it comes to security, there is a balance to be struck between taking risks and overcompensating. Basic rules on cybersecurity can help just as much as expensive software, such as educating employees on the risk of public Wi-Fi networks.
Inclusive environments should be fostered
When you read think pieces that tell you how to prepare your business for a hybrid future, they tend to delve into almost clichéd statements like “put workers first”, “create an inclusive environment”, “equalize employee experience”, and so on. But, while broad and open to interpretation, there is some wisdom in these statements.
It is well understood that colleagues who know each other can communicate better, and that works across all verticals in the office. Many employees who gained a job in the last 18 months may have not yet met their colleagues in person, and the same goes for employers getting to know their employees personally. There should, then, be more effort in fostering inclusive environments for the benefit of the business, even if there is an assumption that these things will happen eventually.
Again, fostering inclusive environments comes back to using the right communication tools, although perhaps not relying on them fully. Concepts like virtual coffees or other team-building exercises might seem a bit awkward, particularly at first, but they can help with morale, employee well-being and, yes, even productivity.
We could perhaps break down the challenges of implementing hybrid work into four main areas:
Identify – Acknowledge that having employees working remotely (at least some of the time) poses unique challenges that must be overcome and that some level of trial and error is necessary.
Equip – Providing your employees with the right tools for collaboration is imperative, but remember that there is no need to overspend. Efficiency and productivity can disappear when there are too many ‘solutions’.
Include – Some of your employees will be happy working alone, whereas others will miss the interaction of the physical office. Find a balance here and drink that virtual cup of coffee on occasion.
Educate – For some employees, remote working will feel normal, but it will be a shock to the system for others. Educating employees (and management) on security, collaborative techniques, time management, and so on can pay dividends.
Conclusion
We mentioned earlier that several major corporations have backtracked on remote working, and we also stated that very few comprehensive studies had been carried out on WFH before the pandemic. There is a rush to carry out those studies right now, but there is also a rush to claim a certain model offers the best way forward.
The truth is, we do not yet fully understand the perfect hybrid work procedures. Even beyond things like productivity and efficiency, which can be easily measured, there are questions around employee mental health that might take years to understand.
A successful hybrid office will be evolutionary, and employers should give themselves the flexibility to tweak and adapt further down the line.
