The desire for hybrid working is strong in today’s workforce. Overwhelmingly so. Figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) show that 86% of employees want a choice in where they work. However, successfully balancing the needs of your people against the needs of your business requires some serious cultural and strategic adjustments to work effectively for everyone.

At ABSTRACT, we’ve supported many organisations to successfully adapt to hybrid working. Here are some of the key tips for success we’ve picked up along the way.

Empower people to choose where they work.

While it’s tempting to prescribe a set number of days in the office, this can quickly become a source of contention. A better strategy is to give your people the freedom to choose where they would prefer to work. Trust their judgement, and they’ll likely reward you by making the right call on where they work best for different tasks – whether that’s at home, on the road, or in the office.

Rethink KPIs.

The nature of hybrid working, where line managers may not even see their team for days or weeks at a time, requires rethinking what productivity means. This is why it’s best to focus on the outcomes people produce, rather than their outputs. By focussing on results, rather than the volume of tasks someone completes, you create a fairer and more useful metric for assessing all your people, wherever they’re based.

After all, the evidence is already overwhelming that remote workers are putting their hours in - and often more. A study by the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) showed that 65% of employees reported higher productivity while at home. And in a study by Microsoft on UK hybrid working patterns, they found 30% of people increased their hours when working remotely.

Build connections.

Arrange set days where all members of a team are in the office at the same time. Whether that’s a weekly or monthly event, make sure your line managers can set time aside for team building and bonding activities. It’s a great way to build morale, and connect your people with their colleagues and your company culture.

Loneliness and the long-distance worker.

We touched on this in a recent blog. Isolation and loneliness have a damaging effect on people’s mental health and can strike whether someone is working from home, or working in the office. How you manage this issue is going to have a real impact on how your organisation adapts to hybrid working.

This is why building connections is so important. Beyond team days, finding ways to celebrate birthdays, life events and personal or professional successes can go a long way to helping people feel a greater sense of belonging.

The practical side of hybrid working.

What tools do your people need to do their jobs effectively? Do they have the appropriate level of internet connectivity and broadband security? When it comes to onboarding, do you have everything in place to ensure your new hires will be able to connect with the rest of your team and hit the ground running? Being there for your people, by couriering kit to their homes, and rolling out a welcome pack that makes them feel part of your business – even if they’ve never been to the office – is critical. Not just for ensuring they can work securely and productively, but for morale too.

Effective hybrid working requires giving your people the freedom to choose and trusting them to make the right choices. If you’re looking to finesse your transition to hybrid, then ABSTRACT can help – get in touch today.