Prologue
McKinsey’s “The State of Organizations 2023” summarises an annual survey of some 2,500 CEOs, suggesting a list of the most prescient topics facing businesses today – channeling the market sentiment so to speak.
Since subjects covered are something AVDO deal with every day, expanding upon how to avoid the pitfalls was an opportunity too tempting to pass up. To not rival the original treatise in length, we’ve tried to stay laconic – the reader will have to imagine my prose delivered with confidence and charm.
With that in mind, pour yourself a tall glass of soda / a cup of hōjicha and let’s dive in.
Emil
Why hybrid is likely to stay
Whether we like it or not, sensationalist headlines notwithstanding, at least for the medium and large enterprises in the developed markets, hybrid work is here to stay. Zoom may have called its staff back to the office, but for two days a week. Jamie Dimon may be a home-working sceptic, but, according to Deloitte, up to 66% of the US financial executives would quit rather than fully return to their (presumably pretty nice) offices. Like with most COVID shifts, the lockdowns simply accelerated a trend in motion for decades. Objectively, one can see why, over time, fighting hybrid is a losing battle.
#1: Hybrid increases the talent pool
While not as transformational as fully remote work, that offers access to new pools of talent in hitherto unavailable parts of the country (and other countries), hybrid still attracts previously underutilised workers whose needs aren’t suited to traditional working models (e.g. those, caring for young children).
#2: Hybrid is cheaper
According to research, fully remote work produces savings in exchange for up to 10% loss in productivity. Hybrid, on the other hand, seems to offer all the flavour without any of the calories – saving budgets for both – employers and employees – to no net effect on productivity.
#3: Employees like it
#4: Younger businesses like it
According to the recent (US-focused) research, 82% of companies founded in the 21st century offer some degree of work location flexibility. Businesses launched fully remote during COVID are also likely to have both – the structure to sustain (mostly) remote collaboration and a different perspective on whether a physical office is required to successfully run a company.
#5: It becomes progressively easier
The delta between what one can do in an office vs. at home continues to shrink. Employees can safely access company data, collaborate on reports and generally stay in the workflow loop wherever they are. High speed internet and video conference apps are not exact substitutes to live meetings, but are – in most cases – sufficient.
Thus, the question is not whether to go hybrid (provided your business model allows it), but rather – how to leverage hybrid work to benefit from potential savings, while attracting and keeping top talent.
Back to McKinsey data
Assuming you could give hybrid a go, here are the challenges you’re most likely to face
- Managers miss the day-to-day oversight
- Potential for two-tier system where on-site workers are valued more because they’re observable
- Blurred boundaries between work and life in hybrid – out-of-hours communications can create disquieting uncertainty for the receiver
And this is McKinsey’s advice on how to deal with them
- Be purposeful about where people work
- Reset performance expectations – focus on deliverables, not time spent working
- Create clear communication protocols, e.g. agree using certain channels only at certain times and have agreed-upon response times
- Test and learn, admit to failures or experiments that weren’t well received
Our 2¢
Obviously, hybrid work is not for everyone. Surgeons, policemen, factory workers and pilots will probably travel to work for some time. Most consultants will still meet clients face-to-face and most designers will still get together around a table for creative reviews. With that out of the way…
#1: Check your systems
Successful hybrid work requires strong management practices. Strong management is impossible without efficient processes. Efficient processes rely on an efficient (and agile) company structure. An efficient company structure is rooted in a clear strategy.
Thus, hybrid work highlights organisational deficiencies, making it a dangerous experiment for disorganised teams. On the positive note, its considerable benefits provide an incentive to take care of the basics.
#2: Check your culture
Structure and processes allow teams to efficiently function remotely. Organisational culture keeps them engaged when no-one is watching. Dispose of sentimental platitudes, a functioning organisational culture is an exercise in precision and honesty; its rules are a combination of trust and clearly articulated expectations.
Look at it this way – if you think your team couldn’t go hybrid, it may be worth asking “why?” If it’s because you don’t trust your people or have no structures of responsibility – consider addressing those issues as swiftly as possible.
#3: Check your controls
Few organisations can function without control. To be on the safe side, let’s assume yours can’t either. There are no universal rules to setting up controls as, say, businesses organised as EMCs would have fundamentally different approach to the matter than more centralised operations.
However, it is generally advised to focus on outcomes, not hours spent. Set up a grid of check-points, if permissible – loose enough to allow flexibility, but frequent enough – at least in the beginning, when the approach is new to everyone and guidance is likely to be required.
#4: Physical isn’t dead
If you could have an office, consider what you may require it for? What tasks would benefit from physical interactions? What environment would be best suited to support those tasks?
If you’re firmly against office work, one thing physical proximity is certainly great for is bringing people together in a considered way to build connections. Notice the qualifier – simply bringing a bunch of remote workers to one location and letting nature take its course is a very risky strategy.
Coda
Whether we like it or not, hybrid work is likely to remain a trend because it saves money on both sides of the pay check, expands talent pool for employers and offers considerable value to employees. If at all possible, it would seem practical to investigate what going hybrid would mean for your team. Even if it turns out to be not for you, the exploration itself may identify issues that would otherwise remain unnoticed; perhaps – fatally so.
