Hybrid working is here to stay

Hybrid working is a model of work that combines a traditional physical workplace with the option for employees to work from home. The ratio between traditional and remote work varies depending on the nature of the work, the organisational policies, and the requirements of the staff. 

With an enormous shift in the way we work prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, interest in hybrid working has increased exponentially. Where organisations may previously have been reluctant to let their staff work remotely, momentum is now gathering for this to be allowed in some capacity. Hybrid working represents the coming together of both worlds, and offers a more workable compromise than a fully work from home model.

As this momentum continues to build, world-leading companies like Reddit, Twitter, and the Bank of  England are adopting the hybrid working model. A burgeoning range of software is becoming available, designed to make the transition possible, and those businesses willing to make the transition (or at least consider it) stand to enjoy a suite of benefits.

In this piece, we’ll explore all aspects of hybrid working. The goal is to give an overview of the model to businesses considering transitioning to it, and to facilitate a well-informed decision.

Hybrid working in 2022

To fully grasp the appeal of hybrid working to employers and employees alike, you need only look at the statistics. An array of thought leaders, from the Office for National Statistics through to brands like Accenture and media outlets like Forbes, carry out regular research into opinions around the work model, and they reveal an interesting picture:

• There is demand amongst employees to work from home at least some of the time
• This demand arises from perceived or experienced benefits
• There is wariness amongst employers, but some see the benefits
• There are practical considerations, but employees are aware of them
• Both sides stand to benefit from having the conversation
• Not every industry is suited to hybrid working
• Hybrid working tends to be more prevalent in higher-paid roles
• Hybrid working is more common in certain age brackets
• There are viable routes to hybrid working for businesses who want them

In our deep dive into the state of hybrid working in 2022 we look at the statistics underpinning each of the points above, including the breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks perceived on both sides of the employment coin.

The benefits of hybrid working

Information about the perception of hybrid helps to set the scene, but from a practical standpoint, it’s knowledge of the benefits and drawbacks that are most useful for an organisation deciding whether or not to move towards a hybrid model.

The take-home is this: there are plenty of benefits of hybrid working.

In our blog post exploring the benefits we look at each of the following:

• Improved work-life balance: employees spend less time commuting and have more control over their workplace, correlating with improved mood and reduced stress.

• Lower risk of isolation: this was especially pertinent during lockdown when people were at risk of being lonely at home, but is still relevant when comparing hybrid to a full work from home model.

• Lower overheads: organisations have the option to downsize their office space as fewer employees spend all their time at the office.

• Reduce spend on commute: removing the need to commute every day can save employees a huge amount of money over time, addressing another common source of stress.

• Less employee downtime: if someone is too contagious to come into the office but feels well enough to work, they can work from home and avoid the loss of productivity associated with sick leave.

• Opens up a wider talent pool: you can recruit from further afield if employees aren’t expected to be in the office all the time, broadening the range and depth of the talent pool.

• Environmental benefits: fewer commutes, a smaller office to keep warm and well-lit, and less travel for meetings all add up to a much-reduced carbon footprint.

This list isn’t exhaustive, either. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is one of many industry bodies to write about the benefits.

And the drawbacks

There are, of course, drawbacks to consider. No model of work is perfect, and hybrid brings its own challenges that organisations need to keep in mind. Our blog post goes into a few of these in more detail:

• A higher risk of burnout: employees can work at home when they’re feeling unwell and have fewer opportunities to converse with their colleagues face to face: factors which may cause drift toward burnout if left unaddressed. 

• Scheduling can be tricky: with people working in various locations it’s trickier to get everyone in the same room, and this can make planning more difficult.

• Project management is trickier, too: with multiple people working on the same project from different locations, careful planning becomes paramount to prevent confusion or duplication of work.

Each of the drawbacks above is manageable with cloud-based software that can be accessed by employees from wherever they decide to work, and the organisations who implement the right solutions are the ones who stand to benefit most from hybrid working.

The best tools for hybrid working

A successful transition to hybrid requires adoption of technology designed to address pain points and streamline processes. We’ve written in detail about the best tools for hybrid working, and to summarise, these are some of the key features that software needs to deliver:

• Time and attendance tracking: to encourage better work life balance, and to record time allocation for tasks regardless of staff location

• Staff location recording: to facilitate collaboration by giving visibility of location for all employees, and to record this information for reporting purposes later

• Leave and sickness management: to empower employees to manage their own absences and give full organisational visibility on these absences

• Project resource management: to further facilitate collaboration and more efficient completion of work by giving synchronised visibility to project status to everyone involved

• Company document management: to reduce financial and logistical overheads by streamlining internal process, and ensuring documents remain synchronised wherever and whenever they’re accessed

• Onboarding: to streamline the recruitment process by allowing remote onboarding of staff who live further afield

• Reporting: to give instant insights into all manner of metrics, contributing to improved decision making and possible reductions in overheads as a result

How to make the transition to hybrid

There are many reasons to make the transition to hybrid. Some organisation are inspired  by the prospective improvements in employee wellbeing; others more so by the opportunity to reduce overheads and widen the net for recruitment. Whatever mixture of factors motivates your business to consider moving towards this model, there are practical considerations to keep in mind.

• Ensure company records are up to date and ready for transfer: it may be the case that your business currently stores records in a non-digitised format, or via a digital system that is outdated and incompatible with newer tools. Smooth hybrid working relies on easy access to synchronised records, so these need to be readied for the transition.

• Consolidate documents and identify the most recent versions: as with records, documents need to be standardised in the transition to hybrid. Company document management software lets organisations maintain one true version of each document, but to get to this point you need to have that version identified internally and ready to go.

• Organise absence data: moving away from paper and complex spreadsheets and towards a synchronised software-based solution offers increased organisation and reporting, but to make the transition you need to make sure existing absence data for the relevant period is carried across.

• Review your onboarding process: companies who onboard new members of staff in person are able to streamline this process and offer it remotely to new hires from further afield. Transitioning to hybrid is a great opportunity to review these processes, ensure they’re up to date, make any required changes, and ensure these are consistent across in-person and online versions.

• Establish KPIs: utilising cloud based software for hybrid gives your organisation access to a large, centralised pool of data, from which powerful and actionable insights can be extracted and reported on. Having a clear idea of which metrics you want to track gives you the power to collect and report on these from the outset.
• Connect new and existing systems: Appogee HR software can integrate with powerful software packages like Office 365, Xero, Google Workspace and others, meaning that transitioning to hybrid doesn’t require a clean slate or a fresh start. Getting things ready and integrating them together early on is recommended however, to let you hit the ground running and minimise disruption.

Hybrid working FAQs

In this guide we’ve addressed some of the most pertinent considerations around transitioning to hybrid working, but it’s likely you still have questions. Below we’ve answered some frequently asked questions about hybrid working, and if you have any others you can contact our team.

How can we track employees working remotely?

For smooth hybrid working you’ll want visibility on what your employees are doing, and where they’re doing it from. Appogee HR software offers multiple ways to do this:

• Time tracking tools give granular insights on the time your employees are spending on projects, both billable and non-billable, as well as real-time insights into whether they’re working, on-break, or done for the day. 

• Staff location tracking tools let you see who’s working from where, as well as giving capacity information for workspaces, meeting rooms and more.

• Checklists and notifications enable an organisation to guide its employees to and through tasks that need completing, wherever the employee is working. Notifications let them know something needs doing, and checklists provide visibility on competition status.

How can we set fair rules for employees working remotely?

Hybrid working relies on a delicate balance of trust in your employees to do their work, and tracking to ensure this trust isn’t violated. Some organisations are tempted to micromanage every aspect of remote work by taking screenshots every five minutes, counting mouse clicks and so on.  But in truth, this usually does more harm than good.

Setting fair rules for employees working remotely is best done as the result of dialogue, especially when transitioning to hybrid. Talk to your employees about their experience, gauge what’s realistic through goal setting and reviews, and tailor your remote working policies accordingly.

How can we manage staff who work from home?

The theory of management doesn’t change in a remote environment, but the process might. Clear goals, ongoing review and guidance and adaptability are still the objective: all of which are facilitated by goal management software and advanced performance management software.