THIS is a hot topic for every business at the minute – how and when to ease back to the office, and how to develop policies for making hybrid-working a success.
It’s a difficult task, given that there is no ‘correct’ answer; it’s a matter of making decisions that are right for your organisation, and recognising that as circumstances change, the policies will also have to adapt.
To help form your thinking and discussions, here are a few topics for you and your team to consider.
Define success criteria – What would make hybrid working a success for your business and your people? Describe the ‘ideal’ and that will provide you an end-goal to work towards.
Agree principles – Rather than putting pressure on yourself to design perfect solutions and policies, why not agree guiding principles first? These can provide the guardrails; within which you may experiment over the coming months. Principles might be that ‘everyone works flexibly’, or ‘working patterns support business, stakeholder, and employees’
Harmonise needs – Encourage all employees and managers to consider the needs of the individual employee, the team, and the organisation. All are important, and any solution should satisfy all three.
Consult and communicate – The key to making any change effective is to listen to the people doing the work, understand their perspectives, and clearly communicate the rationale for decisions. People will respond positively if their views have been asked for, considered, and they have a degree of control over their working patterns, to make hybrid work for everyone.
