Managing Risks of a Hybrid Workplace
Photo by Nastuh Abootalebi on Unsplash
One thing is clear about the impact of COVID-19 on the future of work: hybrid work arrangements will be the standard for many organisations, at least in the short term, and possibly for much longer. Despite the enthusiasm surrounding this mix of in-person and remote work, there are equally good reasons why many feel trepidation about the shift.
What is a Hybrid Model Workplace?
The term ‘hybrid working’ is used to describe a work arrangement where employees have the option to work both remotely and in an office. This type of arrangement can offer many benefits to both employers and employees, including increased flexibility, productivity, and creativity.
Does the remote work revolution have a case for change? Even though hybrid working is a great approach to run a team, there are challenges that employers encounter.
The Truth Behind Working Remotely
Here is a list of challenges involved in managing a hybrid workforce and how employers can make it work for their organisations.
1. Connecting a distributed team - When employees lack an in-person's energy to bounce off, collaboration may flow far less between them. This challenge is a multi-faceted one for a hybrid workforce.
What can employers do?
Consider holding meetings remotely wherever possible. Get employees to dial in from their desks and start hosting hybrid meetings instead of having all the in-office personnel attend the meeting together and dial in the remote workers. It can be hard to express your ideas from a laptop when everyone else is there in person. This measure makes sure that everyone has their ideas heard.
2. Decentralising company operations – Most of us are accustomed to thinking of an organisation having a set headquarters. The concept of having your employees work across several locations, from different cities to different countries, is a bit harder to imagine. Managing a hybrid workplace means you will have employees carrying out diverse tasks from an equally diverse number of locations. To facilitate this, it’s important to let go of the notion that HQ is where the most crucial tasks are delivered. Employees need to have quick access to all pertinent information wherever they may be.
What can employers do?
It might make it even harder for your workforce if you rely on email to exchange important documents or information. If you’re predominantly sourcing files from a server that’s based in HQ or still filing paper documents in cabinets, you might be creating a lot more work for your entire team. For practicality, turn to cloud-based operations by enforcing cloud storage and online collaborative documents for your team. If your employees lack the necessary skills to use this technology, the investment will pay for itself quickly in time saved.
3. Keeping tabs on employee wellness - If your employees are struggling with mental or physical wellness, it can be difficult to determine from a surface level. It would be even more challenging to recognise a decline in well-being if you’re not physically in the same location. Discovering the symptoms of a decline in employee engagement, which may include becoming withdrawn and antisocial, can be particularly challenging from a mental health standpoint. Keeping track of these details when you can only see an employee's virtual snapshot is exceedingly difficult. Likewise, monitoring an employee's work-life balance in hybrid teams can be rather tricky.
What can employers do?
Strong relationships between managers and employees can be a powerful remedy for well-being issues. It is sensible that your employees may not admit their struggles in a team meeting but would be more inclined to open up in a private setting. Discussions on mental health should be de-stigmatised, and genuine interest in welfare should be shown.
4. Welcoming new employees without physically meeting them – Managing a remote workforce also means that employees might not physically meet some of their closest teammates. If we were to see it from the viewpoint of a new employee, where their new workplace is disorganised with their onboarding, they might find themselves a bit stuck and unable to ask for assistance from their nearest colleague. By giving your new employee a poor start, you run the danger of losing their interest in the organisation right away.
What can employers do?
Devise a customised online induction for your new employees. In addition to capturing the traditional components of an induction, such as gathering pertinent information, acquainting the new hire with the team, and communicating values, it should provide the incoming employee with a thorough understanding of the organisation's culture and operations without requiring them to physically visit the workplace.
Success does not involve avoiding risk, rather, it requires appropriate management.. A remote workforce can be intimidating for those considering it and challenging for those who have already implemented it. However, the good news is that we are learning quickly where the biggest impediments are and how to minimise and manage them as they come up in this "new normal."