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Hybrid work becomes permanent. Find out how CrossKnowledge can help your employees and managers thrive in this new work environment, while maintaining a strong corporate culture.
Until now reserved for the technology and creative sectors, the expression ” hybrid work has entered common parlance like the terms “FFP2” and “containment” popularized by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hybrid work refers to a mode of operation where employees divide their time between face-to-face and remote. It has now established itself in many companies.
The employees seem to find their accounts there. According to one Gartner study75% of hybrid workers have shown themselves to be more and more attached to this model since the emergence of the pandemic.
For many companies, this shift to a fundamentally different way of working presents structural and strategic challenges that can be addressed through learning and development (L&D) programs aimed more specifically at managers. Indeed, the latter find themselves in the front line for the successful adoption of these new work practices.
The positive points
How is hybrid working different from remote working? Employees work a certain number of days in the office. This work organization represents an undeniable opportunity, provided it is well managed.
The hybrid model is clearly the preferred model for employees. According to one Accenture study on the future of work published in 2021, 83% of workers worldwide support it.
Here are its main advantages in terms of personnel and organization:
- Quality of life : Workers are often happiest when they are free to spend more time with their families or enjoying their hobbies. It also makes it easier for them to manage their personal responsibilities, such as childcare.
- Productivity : It is well known, a happy employee is a productive employee. Plus, by reducing commute times and office interruptions, he can focus more on his work.
- Collaboration : Days at the office are rarer and this is accompanied by a greater commitment in terms of collaborative work. Isolation is also reduced, which helps foster better team relationships.
- Costs : By reducing travel costs, employees save money. On the business side, office occupancy and operating costs are reduced, which also represents a financial gain.
- Security : The Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet. It is essential to remain cautious by minimizing contacts in the office. To deliver the benefits of hybrid working consistently across the business, it is essential to properly train managers for this transition. While the formation of global teams remains important, the organization of work primarily concerns the managers who are responsible for the implementation of hybrid work and its long-term success.
The negative points
Hybrid work offers many advantages but it can also raise fears. Poor planning and communication can be detrimental to work organization and corporate personnel.
Here are the main potential drawbacks:
- Confidence : Away from the office, trust is difficult to maintain. It is therefore essential to trust the employees about the work carried out. And that employees can count on managers for support.
- Stress : Working from home can blur the line between private and professional life, which can be a source of stress or even burnout. Set clear expectations and well-defined processes to keep your teams healthy.
- Isolation : Employees may feel isolated if key team members are not available at the same time. Schedules for networking and collaboration must be well defined, to prevent the proverb “Out of sight, out of mind” from becoming a reality.*
- reliance on technology : For it to work properly, hybrid work must be effective regardless of geographical location. It’s important to make sure teams can connect easily, whether in the office or away.
Solving these problems often involves revising the procedures already in place. For example, the possibility of modifying the layout of the offices, to include spaces for sharing and collaboration, in order to best facilitate the transition between the office and the home.
However, the best way to reconcile these two ways of working is to make your teams more agile and resilient. This is precisely where L&D capabilities can come in handy.
L&D Capabilities for Efficient Hybrid Working
To maximize the benefits of the hybrid working model, the L&D service should be reconfigured to accommodate flexible working practices.
It is necessary :
- identifier,
- plan,
- develop the skills to be reinforced in order to better master this new environment.
Knowing that the key skills include:
- increased confidence,
- stress management,
- Communication,
- effective and engaging meeting planning,
- team motivation and collaboration.
A well-planned learning and development program can help you overcome many of the potential challenges posed by hybrid working. For example, establishing a corporate culture focused on results rather than time spent can be effective in reducing stress and the risk of burnout.
The success of these training programs depends on a good balance of learning between face-to-face and remote mode and the use of appropriate technologies. Thus, participants will be able to apply what they have learned in this emerging professional context.
The L&D department must offer specific training to managers to support them in adopting this new way of working. In particular, they must learn to strengthen collaboration, develop team activities and build interpersonal relationships to strengthen overall cohesion.
For the L&D message to be effective, it is essential to ensure that it is disseminated consistently within the company. Conflicting messages and unclear rules lead to confusion.
Taking your teams’ feedback into account is also a crucial point, in order to guarantee their adherence to the program.
What’s next for your business?
It’s a certainty: hybrid work is becoming a sustainable practice. The question is not whether you will adopt it or not, but how. If you miss it, you expose yourself to unpleasant surprises in terms of staff well-being, productivity, recruitment and turnover.
Managers and HRDs must now find the right balance between face-to-face and distance learning to better manage the organization of work and teams. An adaptation that will involve an in-depth transformation of the company’s processes.
To achieve this, the development of a well-thought-out training and development strategy supported by each stakeholder will be necessary to guarantee the development of the teams in this new working model.
Find out how CrossKnowledge can help your employees and managers thrive in this new work environment, while maintaining a strong corporate culture.
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