Recreate Your (Now Hybrid) Organization in the Image of Your Employees
Organizations are having to do a complete rethink when it comes to recruitment, retention and employee management in a hybrid work environment. While some forecast a full return to “normal” in the weeks and months ahead, many if not most others are grappling with what “normal” will actually look like. The commonality is that this is new territory.
Chris Dyer, Consultant, Best-Selling Author, and a WorkTango webinar guest cautions: “If you think returning is a must, ask why. There are jobs that require someone to be in a certain place at a certain time. But, if you are returning out of habit, to appease a senior leader, or out of fear … the future of work is about to pass you by.” Download the webinar slides here.
His reasoning?
More than half of employees responding to a recent McKinsey study say their preference going forward is to work from home for three or more days a week.
The same study tells us that if there’s insufficient flexibility some 30% of employees say they’re likely to switch jobs if they have to return to fully on-site work.
Another study involving research from more than 2,000 knowledge workers and 500 HR directors in large U.S. corporations and mid-market businesses also tells us that in future job searches 86% of knowledge workers will look for a new position that offers “complete flexible hours and location.”
So, if leadership’s vision at your organization is to carry on business as usual, buckle in for an exodus of talent unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.
Inspiring Workplaces checked in with 101 top influencers for insights and advice around fusion-style work environments. One of those is WorkTango’s own Rob Catalano. A return to the office isn’t by any means returning back to “normal,” Catalano says. “Your strategy today shouldn’t be about ‘returning to work’ but rather a strategic narrative towards a remote/hybrid workplace to attract and retain talent that have this new expectation of an employer. Embrace remote/hybrid work.”
What does a remote/hybrid work model look like?
That’s the beauty in all of this. Every organization now has the opportunity to recreate itself in the image of its employees. To do this, deploy a return to work readiness survey offered for free by WorkTango. A compelling observation identified in the McKinsey report is that having more than 20% of the workforce working remotely three to five days a week is as productive as if they were working at the office. Increased efficiency however, also comes with the threat of burnout. A modernization of policies and practices is a recommendation of Catalano’s to help people establish and stick to work boundaries. A reconsideration of productivity, performance and employee sentiment measurements is also inevitable. Conventional metrics no longer apply in environments described by Inspiring Workplaces as being inclusive of:- People who never plan to return to the office full time
- Cases where remote work doesn’t work
- Industries that require collaboration or work that must be done on-site
- Employees who don’t have a comfortable working environment at home
- People whose mental health has suffered from the blurred lines between work and home