Embracing the hybrid workplace and creating equal opportunities for employees

If you want to attract and keep high performing team members, the remote work option is likely a necessity, and not just an emergency measure or a luxury.  A silver lining from this pandemic is that finally many managers and businesses have realized that work can be done from home. 

There is still much to do to permanently change mindsets about working from home (“WFH”). Companies that saw WFH as temporary and planning to have everyone back to the office full time risk losing staff, including some of their top performers.   

I remember my time in the corporate world before the pandemic. I was asked many times why I allowed my team to work from home a couple of times a week if they wanted. Other departments didn’t have this luxury. Well, I was a fan because it allowed my team to really focus on deadlines and for a couple of days, dispense with a long commute and take care of things they needed to. The team was more productive and happier. Not everyone shared this view. I remember in one of our town hall meetings, someone commented: “On Fridays, the Marketing Team is nowhere to be found”. This sparked a fun idea in me, and I told my team that next Halloween we should all work from home and put up ghost decorations at our work desks. Anyway, due to the pandemic we all had to work from home.  At that point most teams were nowhere to be found in the office!

Now as firms turn their minds to work after the pandemic, we hear concerns that remote workers will miss out and have more difficulty getting promoted. It was already difficult for women and visible minorities before the pandemic. A survey by Ten Spot revealed 88% of employees want hybrid work, but 47% worry it will Impact promotion & career opportunities. In fact, this message is actively making the rounds by senior management at some companies who want their staff back full time.

The mentality that you need to have office “face time all the time” needs to change, and that’s where a successful hybrid model comes in. This really could be a win-win. Managers need to evaluate performance based on what a team member and the team accomplishes both in and out of the office. It’s all about results and not where they work from. 

How can we address this employee fear of career advancement if WFH a couple of days?

By senior management doing the right thing! By not only allowing hybrid work but actually supporting it. Here are some tips for senior management:

1. Get Employee feedback before rolling out any plans

The biggest mistake companies can make is to roll out a plan without any input from employees. Survey your people to understand their concerns and preferences. Always seek to understand before seeking to be understood. 

Create a committee of representatives from each department so employees see that they will have a say in this new era of hybrid workplace. This will bring teams together and they will be more willing to understand your concerns.

2. Executives, senior leaders, and middle managers (basically all leaders) should make sure they’re working remotely at least a couple of times a week

When leaders also work remotely it sends the signal that the hybrid model is truly embraced. 

3. Review pay and promotions in your company to ensure you don’t have a gap between remote and in-office team members

Be proactive, ask the question from HR to make sure there is equity in terms of pay and promotions. 

4. Technology and policies should default for remote work 

Team members should be able to collaborate in real time, no matter where they are. Companies that want to widen their hiring pool and allow remote work should conduct interviews remotely. Investments should be made in online learning tools. Instead of resisting the change, organizations would be better off working harder to improve their remote work policies and capabilities. 

In this new era, offices will become more and more a place for teams to get together and collaborate, celebrate and be social. For those significant periods of time where individuals are working alone, there is no attraction for them to face a long commute only to be confined in a workstation. As things evolve it’s useful to remember that there won’t be a finish line. This pandemic has taught us organizations need to be adaptable and recognize they won’t have all the answers. But what they can do is provide consistent communication and guidelines so everyone in the organization to feel stability and equity.

How has it been for you? Do you have to go back to the office full time? Or are you working in a hybrid workplace environment? Or maybe full time WFH? I'd love to hear your stories.