Hybrid work leaders should analyze both the job perspective and employee perspective of their hybrid work arrangement for their teams.
After doing so, they can combine both those analyses and develop some hybrid model options.
Here are three tips hybrid work leaders should consider when analyzing a hybrid work arrangement
Before we dive in, a quick note: As you think through your strategy, start by analyzing your own team’s hybrid work model first (i.e., your direct reports) before moving on to the rest of the organization.
For example, if you’re a second-level leader, start by analyzing your management team first, and then move on to analyzing your managers’ teams.
This helps your managers model their assessments after your approach. As a side note, all your analysis will be iterative, and you will ultimately have to follow your company’s hybrid plans (i.e., your leader’s plan and their leader’s plan) and plug into them to ensure consistency. However, when you are starting out, it’s a good idea to analyze your team first because that’s the team you have the most insights and control over.
Tip #1: Avoid a “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach
As you analyze your team, keep in mind that what works for Team A or Individual A might be different than what works for Team B or Individual B. That’s okay. You’re not going to have one solution that covers everyone equally.
Look at your organization’s structure and think about where individuals and teams fit (leverage the hybrid work model chart). Some teams could work from the main office or satellite office during set office hours because the individuals within that team need to work synchronously and frequently meet face-to-face.
Other teams or individuals might be more flexible on working from anywhere and at any time because there are no policy-restrictive issues, and the team works mostly asynchronously. So avoid forcing a “one-size-fits-all” solution for your entire team or organization.
Tip #2: Consider Multiple Options for Hybrid Work
Think through multiple options that work for your job and employee requirements.
Here are a few things to consider.
Weekly/ Monthly/ Quarterly/ Yearly Plans
What will your hybrid model look like on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis? You don’t need to have an arrangement for each timescale, but it’s worth the effort to think through all of them. For example, your weekly plan could be that the team will work three days from the office and two days from home. Your quarterly plan might be that the team will have a three-day off-site in a satellite office for the entire department. And your yearly plan could be that the whole company will get together in the office at an off-site location for a week.
Potential Employee Exceptions
How will you handle employees with special circumstances who need to spend more time remotely than other team members? For example, if your weekly team plan is Monday to Wednesday from the office and Thursday and Friday from home, but one employee has to be a primary caregiver to an elderly parent at home on Wednesdays, how will you address that exception? Will they be able to skip that day altogether? Or would they make it up by showing up to the office to work with another team on Thursday? Those exceptions should be considered part of your plan so that you remain fair to that employee and others.
Flexible Workplace Opportunities
What are some potential flexible work opportunities that are available for team members who are local to each other? For example, if you have a group of eight employees who all live close to each other but are a two-hour commute from the office, does it make sense to offer them a closer co-working space option that you can lease for three days a week and save some costs on your main office real estate?
Future Hiring Plans
Finally, how will your future hiring plans change because of your hybrid work model? As you analyze your hybrid work arrangements, take advantage of the opportunity to reimagine how you hire going forward. Given that your hybrid model allows for more flexibility, you could open your talent pool to multiple geographies, and this could give you a huge competitive advantage because you’ll be able to hire people who weren’t previously considered due to their location.
As you consider all these options, avoid making any final decisions at this point because you’ll be soliciting feedback later on during the planning phase, and things might change based on the responses you get.
Tip #3: Analyze All Implications and Costs
As you assess your different options, consider the implications on your business and employees from a tax, labor law, company policy, and compliance perspective.
For example, how does tax liability factor in when someone is working most of their time in a different state or country than the location of the main office? How do labor laws affect your hybrid hiring plans? Those implications are critical because in some cases, a specific law or policy might make one of your options unfeasible.
In addition to those implications, you should also analyze all your costs, including your potential savings and investments.
Your savings could include your real estate costs and utility bills. For example, if you reduce your office size from three floors to two floors, how much money will you save on rent and electricity bills?
Your investments could include costs such as home offices, technology and security infrastructure, flexible locations, and satellite offices. For example, you might offer a stipend for employees to spend on their home office equipment such as chairs and desks. You might also invest in your digital infrastructure to ensure your team doesn’t run into technical bandwidth or cybersecurity issues. You could also invest in flexible shared workplaces as a monthly recurring cost.
The idea is to make sure you analyze all those costs and implications for every hybrid model option before moving on to the planning phase.
This is an excerpt from my latest book: Hybrid Work Management: How to Manage a Hybrid Team in the New Workplace
