Hybrid Work 101: Find the best model for your business

Employees benefit from remote work in various ways, including increased productivity and cost savings. Despite this, many businesses still see the benefit of keeping a team on-site. Most workers are okay with returning to the office in some capacity if companies make the appropriate adjustments.

What ought your business do? Should you adopt a hybrid working paradigm, bring everyone back to the office, or let your staff continue working from home? Let's find out.

What is the difference between hybrid and remote working models?

Hybrid and remote working models are often mentioned together. However, remote work is performed from a location other than the office, such as from home. When you deploy a remote workforce, your employees can work from any location and on a more flexible schedule. Unsurprisingly, many modern employees, especially those from younger generations, find this to be excellent.

The hybrid model combines many work settings. A hybrid team typically spends long hours in the office and from home. Your particular approach will entirely depend on what suits your circumstances, objectives, and team best.

Hybrid work and types of hybrid workers

Although not new, the hybrid working approach has gained popularity recently. Many modern workforces want (and expect) this setting to be there for the foreseeable future, especially as more businesses provide hybrid choices to their employees. In fact, according to 66% of business executives, they're inclined to change their organizational structure to support hybrid work.

Many people desire the best of both worlds regarding their staff. 74% of workers prefer flexible remote work choices, and 67% want more in-person collaboration and engagement after the pandemic. Point? For long-term success, businesses must adopt and use this new working paradigm.

The majority of businesses today use five main hybrid working methods. Some businesses combine these models, while others utilize them as a foundation for their own models.

Four groups comprise the majority of hybrid employees; the traditionalists, adaptors, soloists, and cultural employees.

Hybrid work models

A successful company must find the right work environment for its employees. Consider the work environment, the timetable, and the roles and duties of the employees when deciding which model is appropriate for your team.

Remote-first

The remote-first (also known as "at-will") model is one of the most well-liked employment models. Under this arrangement, employees can prioritize remote work while still conducting on-site work in offices and coworking spaces. Your team members can stay at home or come into the office when working remotely first.

For instance, a person who is more productive at home can choose between coming into the office and staying at home to work. Other employees may freely visit the workplace if they flourish there. In essence, this strategy enables staff to operate in an atmosphere that maximizes workforce productivity.

By implementing the remote-first strategy, you're essentially communicating to your team that you have faith in them by allowing them to select where they work. Your team's morale may improve due to the trust in your workers.

However, the remote-first model has numerous difficulties. For instance, you risk having too many employees enter the office simultaneously, endangering social distance protocols.

Additionally, having too many unexpected visitors at once might make the office feel crowded, which is an issue if your physical workspace has been reduced. The remote-first paradigm requires careful team management as a result.

Office-first

Team members may work remotely or in the office under both office-first and remote-first hybrid working models. In an office-first paradigm, employees need to be more present in the physical workplace.

This architecture is simpler to implement and manage because fewer digital or protocol changes are required. Other than adjusting a few aspects of your workplace procedures (such as office attendance), you can continue with your regular workday.

This can be the best working arrangement if your business depends on teamwork to be productive. It offers greater flexibility than a conventional approach while providing teams with all the tools they need to perform tasks and projects.

Additionally, the office-first approach is the only workable hybrid option for many businesses. For instance, you will require on-site staff if you own a manufacturing or construction company. Conversely, the office-first paradigm can backfire if your company depends on individual and digital production or if you have a remote staff.

Scheduled and synchronized hybrid models

Two choices for schedule-based work are scheduled and synchronized models. These models allocate particular days for on-site and remote work to your staff. A schedule-based method works effectively when trying to keep your office from becoming too crowded.

One department might work in the virtual office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, while other teams might come in on Thursdays and Fridays, for instance. Alternatively, you can switch the days to suit your team's dynamics.

For their employees, several businesses are experimenting with short-term work. The adoption of a four-day workweek has been credited with increasing productivity by corporate behemoths like Unilever and Microsoft.

Designated teams

You can base your facility on staff assignments with the "designated teams" hybrid working model, assigning some teams to work full-time and others remotely. This can be the best organizational setup if your company needs specialized staff to be present on-site at all times.

Imagine that you manage a plant and rely on daily safety inspections. Specific personnel must be there daily, but sales representatives and administrative staff can work remotely.

By using this technique, you can reduce your spending on electricity and other overhead costs while improving staff productivity. However, the designated teams approach could disconnect remote and on-site workers. Remote workers may find it annoying that their local counterparts are interacting with supervisors and finding out about new prospects.

Advantages of hybrid working

Allowing remote workers to work involves accessing local and international talent. To ensure you only choose people with excellent skills, you might be extra picky during the hiring process.

Your company may continue to run even while your physical offices are closed if you have team members working in several time zones. Working from home or the office maximizes team output and retains remote workers.

The decrease in overhead is one of the advantages of a hybrid working paradigm that is most obvious. Since fewer people are working there, you may move into a smaller office and save money on rent and utilities.

Disadvantages of hybrid working

Working remotely has numerous advantages, but it also breeds isolation and a sense of separation from the on-site staff. Even though it can be helpful, a time zone difference can present management issues if your business depends on frequent contact.

It would help if you communicated more while managing a remote team. You may use messaging applications, video calls, and emails to communicate with your remote staff. This demands excellent communication skills and regular check-ins on both ends.

Additionally, merely for their proximity to the management, your on-site staff may be given preferential treatment or additional advancement prospects.