With overwhelming change agendas, cost pressures and retention challenges, ‘making do’ with your hybrid work approach may feel like the only option.
However, the tangible benefits that can be reaped from a great hybrid working approach are well researched, such as attraction and retention of talent, productivity and financial wellbeing for employees.
The cost in time and budget to refresh your hybrid approach is minimal in comparison to the gains.
Here are some negative and positive signs that will help you decide whether it’s worth some attention.
Negative signs that your hybrid work approach needs refreshing
| Features | What people are saying |
| Top-down mandate An approach that focuses solely on number of days in the office, that has had little or no involvement from employees in its design. | X days in the office is not enough/ too much. I don’t understand why this is our approach. |
| One size fits all Every team has to follow the same pattern of days in the office. | It makes no sense for our team do work this way, what we do is completely different from X team. |
| Time in the office is not curated People come into the office and do the same type of work that they do when they’re at home. | When I go into the office we all just sit in meetings – we may as well do them from home. |
| No structured training People are learning to work in a hybrid way organically. | Online meetings are so frustrating – they’re not well runManagers avoid having the difficult conversations. |
| Everyone is ‘making do’ No structured way of assessing the impact of hybrid working and how to improve it. | I guess it’s just the way it is. |
The tangible benefits that can be reaped from a great hybrid working approach are well researched
Positive signs that your hybrid work approach is working
| Features | What people are saying |
| Guiding principles A small set of guiding principles for hybrid working have been developed with input from employees and people managers. | I understand our organisation’s approach to hybrid working and why we’ve chosen it. |
| Tailored to teams Teams use the guiding principles to establish a hybrid approach for their team, appropriate for the type of work they do. | Our team has an approach that’s appropriate for what we do. |
| ‘Commute-worthy’ experiences Time spent in the office or at offsites is worth the journey. It is used for activities that really benefit from being in-person, such as building new relationships, tacit learning, reconnecting to strategy. | I get a lot out of the time we spend together in-person. |
| Training and development Everyone who needs it has access to, and is encouraged to, develop skills that are critical for working well remotely. For example, conversations leading to decisions and outcomes, running effective and inclusive on-line meetings. | Performance is managed really well – we’re productive, we’re supported, nobody is ‘coasting’ and nobody is ‘drowning’. |
| Regular review and learn Teams and the organisation gather high-quality data to assess the impact of hybrid working and how it can be improved. | We’ve adapted our approach over the years – people’s situations change so we make sure it’s still working for all. |
If you want to be on the front-foot as an employer of choice … you may want to refresh your approach
Does progressive mean hybrid?
Now that more than three-quarters (83%) of organisations allow hybrid working through either formal or informal arrangements, it is likely that the most progressive organisations will turn their attention to making hybrid working a force for good, rather than ‘making do’.
If you want to be on the front-foot as an employer of choice, with a productive and healthy workforce, you may want to refresh your approach too.
If you enjoyed this article, why not read: Home, office or hybrid? You’re asking the wrong question?
