The pandemic changed a lot of things about our world. One of them was office work. It did so by introducing remote and hybrid work models. Businesses discovered the magic of flexibility and how productive it was for them. However, as the pandemic ended and every one of us got vaccinated, we were only left with remote or in-office models.
Both of these models have their fair share of challenges. However, the hybrid work model is a middle ground between these two. The hybrid model allows the employees the flexibility to work from the office or remotely. In some cases, companies allot some days as remote and others as office days, while in others, employees can choose the days freely.
I adopted the hybrid model for my team at the beginning of 2023. I discovered there are some cons as well besides the apparent benefits.
If you are looking to shift to the hybrid working model, then you should be aware of both, the good and the bad.
Challenges of the Hybrid Work Model
In my experience, I faced certain challenges with my team as we shifted to the Hybrid work model. It did not come as a shock. I didn’t find them to be very major as I was able to solve them with proper planning.
Communication
Communication is the key to the success of a hybrid work culture. However, it is a skill that not many people have. If a remote employee lacks communication skills, it will impact their collaboration. This will cause their performance to suffer. Where communication as a skill was not a problem, a patchy internet connection was. It was a major reason that would hinder communication between the team.
To combat that, I organized virtual training on communication as a skill for all my remote employees. Beyond that, I also ensured every remote employee had high-speed internet like Spectrum. It has good residential plans and has a variety of payment options. Employees can even contact Spectrum servicio al cliente from their workstations if they are too busy.
Employee Engagement
Since a hybrid work model has two different types of employees; therefore, it becomes difficult to properly engage them. This needs balance so that none of the employees feel left out. Engagement is crucial for employee morale and if it is not properly addressed, then productivity might plummet. It is challenging to ensure that all of the employees feel heard and recognize they are part of the team.
To solve this challenge, I would regularly check in with employees through standups, one-on-ones, and surveys to make them feel a part of the team.
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Proximity Bias
It is natural for in-office employees to feel more connected to each other than their remote colleagues. Similarly, managers also develop better bonds with the team they see in person. But this does not mean the proximity bias should go unchecked. Otherwise, it can harm the company culture and remote employees might end up losing their trust in the leadership.
In my case, one of my best employees left as she felt disengaged and faced no professional growth. To address this, I incorporated performance metrics to fairly track employee contributions. Moreover, my teams also took training to get their hybrid teams in sync.
Benefits of the Hybrid Work Model
Despite hitting a few roadblocks in the beginning, the hybrid work model turned out to be pretty beneficial for my team. Here are a few of them.
Increased Productivity
The hybrid work model is pretty flexible and a change of work environments is pretty refreshing. This results in increased employee efficiency. Employees end up taking ownership and balancing their workloads better. In-house jobs are not for everyone, so every employee gets to choose the environment that is favorable to them. As a result, I found my employees to be more proactive in completing their tasks.
Reduced Operating Costs
This was one of my main motivations for adopting the hybrid work model. Office space rent is a major overhead in these times of inflation. By offering hybrid work, I was able to cut down majorly on rent and office maintenance costs.
A Global Team
The hybrid work model allows access to talent from around the world. A diverse workforce means better team performance and happier clients. To add to that, a global workforce also means a variety of fresh perspectives, resulting in more innovation.
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Improved Trust
Trust is super important for a productive team and going hybrid, allowed my employees to have a better relationship with their managers. This also gets rid of micromanagement, which is counterproductive. Employees end up with more autonomy, which improves their retention.
Employee Wellbeing
The flexibility of a hybrid work setup allows employees to work as they can. Everyone has obligations and going hybrid allowed my team to have a better work-life balance. Some saved up a lot of commute time, while others got to spend more time with their families. This drastically improved their mental and physical well-being and made them more productive.
A hybrid work setting comes with its pros and cons but the good thing is that these cons are easily manageable. There is no denying that the hybrid work model is better for employee productivity. By switching to a hybrid work model, you can easily make a success-driven team.