Is your company equipped to handle hybrid work? You are not alone if not. After all, there has never been such a profound, long-lasting change in where and how we operate. IT leaders had to move quickly to protect business continuity when teams were first required to work from home when the pandemic first started two years ago. The technology solutions implemented were typically temporary ones, meant to get remote workers by until everyone could return to the typical office setting.
The era of hybrid work is completely arrived, and IT teams and business leaders need a well-thought-out strategy to enable workers to work effectively and efficiently wherever the job is being done.
Plan your own path!
There is no playbook or road map because such profound shifts have never been experienced by us. We're all still figuring things out, so you can't call out to your peers who have made the move effectively. Additionally, because each company is unique and faces a variety of benefits and disadvantages, you must develop a strategy that is entirely your own.
It makes useful to start with some important considerations because navigating the move to supporting hybrid teams is a challenging task:
Your company will be how hybrid? Will employees work from home on Fridays and in the office the other three days? Or are workers allowed to choose which two days of the week they want to come into the office? Or is everyone free to work wherever they like and simply need to report in for the monthly all-hands meeting? Are there specific times of the day when everyone, wherever they are, must be online and available?
How will your office be organized? Do you plan to have co-working areas or hubs where remote workers can congregate in addition to your typical office? How will workers function in these areas when they are present? Will employees be required to reserve hot desks or will they be assigned workstations? What types of cooperation places must be built? Do you require extra huddle areas or conference rooms?
How will you provide for your remote employees? How will you assist them in striking a balance between their perceived need to be "always on" and their well-being when this view is a prevalent complaint? Can you provide them the same presence in the office as other employees?
There are numerous moving elements, and the situation is always shifting. Although it can seem too much to handle, it needn't be.