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Many employers are hearing from employees who have the option to work from home that they prefer a hybrid approach -even post-pandemic. Hybrid work, however, may require a unique outlook and implementation depending on the organization’s needs. Many business leaders are navigating the transition to hybrid work. As Robert Kennedy, Health and Welfare Practice Leader for Fidelity Investments Workplace Consulting, shares, “employees want some control, not to come to work and be tethered to a desk. Giving them control over their schedule plays a role in their overall well-being. Work is a social determinant of health.”
As companies try to adapt to allow more flexibility while maintaining productivity, the Chamber recently hosted the Future of Work: Designing a Sustainable Hybrid Workforce & Workplace, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, to hear best practices from leaders shaping the region’s future.
Employers are creating incentives for employees to come into the office, and one incentive employers should consider is reframing the relationship to the office and experience at work. <a href=https://bostonchamber-my.sharepoint.com/personal/lcohen_bostonchamber_com/Documents/Attachments/Future%20of%20Work_%20Designing%20a%20Sustainable%20Hybrid%20Workforce%20and%20Workplace%20Recap.docx#_msocom_1 class=msocomanchor id=_anchor_1 language=JavaScript name=_msoanchor_1 ]<hz1]
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Daren Bascomb, Managing Director at Proverb, recently relocated his agency to an office in the South End. He shared an interesting perspective of thinking about the office “as a service.” While he believes hybrid work is here to stay and the whole team may not be in the office each day, he acknowledges that his team enjoys being around each other and that some work is more easily done in person than virtually. Bringing folks together helps them feel connected. The office has things employees want to come to be a part of: proximity to restaurants, grocery stores, and an outdoor courtyard, to name a few. The office creates an experience that is hard to replicate at home. Proverb is also very mindful about how space is utilized, assigning less fixed space (through its “hoteling” approach) so that there is the flexibility to do other things (like adding a lounge or walk stations on treadmills).
Jim Linehan, Vice President of Financial Services at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, shares that for their company, “adding libraries, patios, coffee bars, cornhole, and other activities to their office helps to make sure people have interactions they used to have.”
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For some employees who prefer working at a distance, the challenge is to maintain the company culture and create an environment that is as rewarding as in-person work. Technology plays a significant role in this and enables business continuity in a hybrid work model in general. Jim Linehan points out that his organization has had a robust work-from-home program for over a decade, and while they had channels like VPN, helpdesk, and desktop services in place, the tech to enable hybrid work takes things to the next level. Organizations should pick a standard platform and create “rules of engagement” – like having a “camera on during meeting policy” to ensure folks are engaged and contributing how they would in person. Jim noted that being able to see everyone and polling people through the tools to get real feedback without “group think pollution” makes meetings more productive virtually than they might have been in person.
In addition to scheduled meetings, casual interactions are also, in some cases, easier in hybrid models as employees could “conceivably go a month or two without bumping into a colleague in the office, but there is more collaboration in a hybrid environment” Robert Kennedy says.
And as Sarah Evans, Chief Human Resource Officer at Ocean Spray, adds, “in a hybrid work environment, you can’t get the technology wrong. Especially during onboarding for new employees, it is critical to determine the technical requirements of each employee and determine when they will obtain the tech prior to their start date.”
Creating culture “at a distance” is difficult, and in today’s workforce, talent is harder than ever to attract and retain. Organizations need to ensure the employee expectations are met in order to retain the talent. Sarah Evans encourages organizations to look at their practices and consider: “do you have a well-articulated culture (spoken or unspoken) and how do you deliver against or for that?”
No matter how organizations design their hybrid workforces, ensuring objectivity in evaluating which roles can be accommodated remotely is critical. As Sarah Evans shares, “build a framework of which roles are capable of being done full-time or not, ensuring that it is about the work and not the individual.” Robert Kennedy urges companies to think about why in-person work is important, “because the role requires it, or because that’s what we’ve already done” and whether in-person work is actually required.
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