Insights: Hybrid Working – The New Normal?

20 Jul

23rd March 2020 everything changed. Lockdown 1! Panic! Confusion! Concern!

Reality hit. Plans to roll-out core management skills as planned didn’t seem possible. I had to change my mindset and go online. As well as business coaching and training sessions, I also grappled with my own team’s engagement, communication, objective-setting, and performance reviews, believing that the show must go on!!

It was terrifying and exciting. Exciting because I saw then that a ‘new’ normal was born.

Employees now expect flexible (Hybrid) working

Claire Mcartney, senior policy adviser, CIPD reports that in 2021 two thirds of employer’s post COVID-19 plan to introduce/extend hybrid working practices in the next 12 months. This is as a direct result of the ‘new’ normal brought about by COVID-19 innovations. Note that employers have chosen ‘hybrid’ (office and remote) and not fully remote. It is important to understand employees still value time face to face with colleagues. Gallup finds that those who work 100% remotely or 0% remotely can be actively disengaged with their work. There is a sweet spot of working remotely 3 or 4 days a week.

Why should I care?

In Gallup’s fantastic reference book ‘It’s the manager’ it is said that job hunters are now more than ever seeking jobs that ‘fit their lifestyle’ (In other words, where they feel in charge of their own time and lives) through flexible ‘hybrid’ working practices. This cannot be a soundbite on a job ad, it must be a meaningful part of your company reality. Remember, your company reality is now more transparent than ever (see your own Glassdoor company review). Ask yourself does your workplace reality live up to your job ads and are your managers equipped to create this reality? There is really no excuse for companies to fall behind on this ‘hybrid’ working journey (technology enables this) but have your managers fallen back on old habits when implementing the ‘new’ normal post COVID-19?

Role of the line manager

A new set of management skills are needed to address the challenges and opportunities of this ‘new’ hybrid normal post COVID-19.

There are seven skill areas a ‘hybrid’ team manager must focus on:

Establishing new ways of working in the team
Engaging the team
Establishing effective communication channels and cadence
Implementing remote performance management processes
Supporting fairness across the team
Focusing on equality, diversity, and inclusion
Keeping an eye on team resilience & well-being

We know that in 2022 there is a tight labour market (Employees resigning in 2022: Survey highlights 'great resignation' not over (personneltoday.com) and that if your employee doesn’t get the company reality, they were promised at interview, they will resign and move to a company that better fits their lifestyle expectations. But don’t panic! There are things your managers can learn to do to manage and retain employees in this ‘new’ normal, if like me, they are willing to change their mindset and behaviour as I did way back on 23rd March 2020.