background-image

How to Build a Strong Workforce Model For Hybrid Teams

Hybrid workforce

During 2020, almost every company had switched over to remote work. Professionals in the business world are speaking about remote working and the future of office spaces. From how to properly run a remote team to the challenges of having your employees work from home. 2021 has led to vaccination shots becoming a reality, and now, businesses are speaking about reopening their work. Of course, not everyone is eager to give up the benefits of remote working, which is why there have been talks of a hybrid model.

According To Gallup, data reveals that 33% of Americans are now entirely working from home. What can organizations do to combine remote working with an in-office element at their existing office spaces now that people can start gathering in one place again?

With workplaces slowly starting to respond, companies are discovering that their workforce is not eager to give up working from home. Employees who began working remotely because of COVID-19 overwhelmingly support it and continue to do so. In fact, a study done by Pew Research shows that 54% of workers who can work from home wish to continue doing so. 

That has placed many companies in a bind since many companies can no longer claim to say they can’t operate remotely, but with the current pandemic still impacting society, they cannot ask their workforce to return to the office full-time. One solution that is being talked about by many business leaders is the hybrid model. 

What is a hybrid workforce model?

The hybrid workforce model is something you’ve most likely seen appearing in your newsfeed quite a lot recently. While it may sound like some buzzword being spread around the grapevine, it’s viable to work. Hybrid teams provide a flexible work arrangement that assimilates employees who work in a central location (such as the office), employees who work remotely, and employees who alternate between working off-site and in-office. 

However, unlike the emergency measures undertaken by organizations to have their employees work from home because of COVID-19,  a hybrid workforce model is deliberate for many of them.  A hybrid model is a proactive approach driven by several factors, including retaining top talent, business performance, and the wellbeing of their workforce. 

Although, moving to a hybrid workforce model is a strategic decision that needs serious thinking since it will impact your organization's dynamic and relationships. Making this move involves far more than merely setting up a schedule or splitting the work among remote workers and office workers. Business leaders will need to analyze the benefits, costs, and desired outcomes for their workforce and business. Once a plan has been hashed out that lowers the costs and increases the benefits, they could achieve their goals. 

Variation of the hybrid model

Organizations that decide to implement a hybrid model will vary from each other. Some will concentrate on remaining flexible and supportive of their workforce regardless of the location they work from. Here are some hybrid workplace models that organizations can implement. 

Remote-First

 A remote-first hybrid means that the organization's operations closely mirror those of a fully remote company, with some exceptions. While the majority of employees are working remotely, some of them will not be allowed the same flexibility since their job needs them to have a physical presence. The primary idea behind remote-first is that the organization acts similarly to a remote company with a workforce spread throughout different time zones and collaborating online while ensuring that their productivity is not compromised. 

Office-Occasional

Certain companies are not entirely sold on remote working and are instead eager to return to office life for plenty of reasons. For example, they may not wish to lose money from the unused office space, or they are afraid of being surpassed by their competitors who have managed to return their remote employees to the office environment. Organizations with this type of thinking could set up a hybrid model that is best described as office-occasional. 

The purpose behind this hybrid model is that employees will come into the office a couple of times a week. The policy behind these requirements will depend on the organization. Some of them might have a loose one, while others will set strict guidelines. The idea behind this model is that companies are not entirely remote-first but, instead, have decided to keep the office space and require employees to spend some time working in a said office environment.

Office-First, Remote-allowed

The office-first, remote-allowed model was a standard setup for plenty of businesses before COVID-19. For this model, both office and remote work options are allowed open, but the office is appointed as the primary area for working. The company offers remote working policies to the employees according to the specifications. The model is a standard if the whole leadership team is working from the office as the rest of the company is more than likely to become office-centered as a result. 

Although, the drawback behind this approach is that the remote employees may feel like they are not part of the organization. They also see fewer opportunities for career advancements and recognition from their supervisor. If the company is not able to manage this correctly, it could negatively affect employee engagement, productivity, and retention. 

Structuring your hybrid teams

If you are interested in building a proficient workforce model for your organization, you need to spend some time thinking about how your business can adjust to this model. You can make some changes to your workplace design when your company introduces a hybrid team. Here’s how you can get started on this.

Establish transparent and flexible policies. 

Setting up a hybrid workforce model means implementing flexible work policies according to the company’s requirements. However, take some time to consider what this flexibility will mean for your employees. Will it mean that people can only work for a single day a week from home if they wish to?  Are they able to work from home at any time? Do they need to notify their manager before coming to work? So on and so on. 

What Does the Workplace Look Like in the Post-COVID Era? Watch our on-demand  webinar to find out from HR experts >>

To prevent any mismanagement from occurring, you need to clarify the workplace policies once you’ve begun your hybrid model. It’s one of the first things you should do to ensure the message reaches all of your employees. Statistics have shown that around 49% of employees consider remote working policies to be critical during the job searching process.  If a company is interested in attracting some of the best talents around, they need to ensure both clarity and transparency when it comes to their flexible work policies. 

Educate your workforce on the hybrid model

It’s crucial to take some time and teach your employees the ins and out of hybrid work. They need to understand that work-life is going to be different for employees in on-site and off-site systems. Teach them about the challenges their colleagues will face when experiencing this model. That way, they will better understand each other and boost collaborations. 

For instance, your office working employees need to understand that your remote employees are taking breaks more frequently since they need to handle personal responsibilities. Hence, your field staff will not become annoyed and frustrated if a remote worker is unreachable during specific periods.

Support your workers

To manage your hybrid teams efficiently, you need to set aside some time to interact more with the employees. They should take this time to share news or even conduct some team-building activities to foster mutual understanding and respect for each other. With proper communication systems in place, managers can conduct socially distanced meetings with employees who come into the office and one-on-one conference calls with remote workers. The session can help managers find out any problems that employees are dealing with and make adjustments to the new work model. Managers can take this time to curb them accordingly.  

Furthermore, managers need to ensure their employees are motivated throughout this entire experience. Managers need to drive their hybrid team through meaning and purpose. The employees need to connect their tasks to a greater sense of what the organization is trying to accomplish to uphold productivity and engagement. 

Invest in tools and technology 

Companies adopting a hybrid workforce model need to ensure they have the appropriate tools and technology for their hybrid teams. The organization may need to invest in automating their workflow, reconfiguring their office spaces, and digitizing their information systems. Communication is essential between your employees since it ensures a smooth workflow and excellent team culture. 

Hybrid teams will have a challenging time communicating with each other because of the distance between them. That causes relationships to become difficult or strain, which is terrible since they need to work together as a team. You need to make sure that everyone in your group can engage in video calls without any issues with the tool. Communication tools like Zoom can help conduct meetings with your entire team or one-on-one calls. 

Productivity tools are another section you want to ensure your organization has invested in. If the manager is coming into the office frequently, it’s easier for them to become closer to their on-site members instead of the remote employees. It can cause them to believe that their on-site employees are working much harder since they have the perfect view of them working in real-time. That leads to the manager handing out a positive review during performance appraisal meetings. However, this could cause the remote employees to not receive favorable reviews since the manager is unaware of how productive they are.

Fortunately, there are tools out there that can measure a remote team’s productivity. Tools such as LinkHCM can assist you with checking in on your teams to ensure those who are working off-site are putting in the time required of them. Keeping track of your workforce can be a challenging feat, especially as your company grows. With the massive talent pool opening by integrating a hybrid team, keeping track of your employees requires extra assistance from power tools. That is why you need to have a tool like LinkHCM to improve your organization's productivity and efficiency. 

Asynchronous communication 

Since communication technology is something that needs to be relied on for a hybrid team to work, you can also take advantage of the asynchronous form of communication. Essentially, asynchronous communication allows you to communicate with your hybrid team without expecting them to respond immediately. You send your off-site team member all of the information they need to know, and they will go over it during their own time. 

Off-site employees can then send questions back or offer status updates later on without everyone required to stay online 24/7. Managers can encourage their employees to send over their updates once they are done for the day. The system is an excellent way to help workers adjust to these changes since it allows everyone to go on uninterrupted without needing to stress over remaining connected all the time. Everyone can easily continue going about their business with no worries. Managers also receive better employee outputs and fewer surprises with this system. Plus, they won’t need to micromanage to remain on top of project milestones. 

Ensure equal opportunity

Off-site workers tend to have fewer career and development opportunities and tend to feel passed over compared to their office counterparts. When introducing a hybrid team, you need to ensure that physical space does not have more power over the virtual one. Remote employees must be granted the same personal and professional development, even if it means needing to rework leadership meetings, relying on new tools, or modifying the reporting process. 

Invite everyone occasionally to team building activities

It’s easier for your on-site employees to take breaks together and chat over things that help them develop bongs. However, in the case of your off-site team, it can be more challenging, and their relationship won’t be as strong with their on-site or remote team members. Managers need to bring all of their hybrid team members together and encourage them to hang out in team-building activities during these gatherings. That way, they develop a robust and sustainable relationship with one another, improving team collaboration and productivity. 

Conclusion

Hybrid teams are becoming more acceptable for many organizations. With the pandemic slowing down and employees showing interest in working from home, these models are going to become adopted more frequently. If you are one of the many businesses adopting a hybrid workforce model, make sure to use the information provided here to your advantage. 

New call-to-action

Leave a Comment