4 steps to optimize a hybrid work environment

Work is no longer a place. It’s an activity that can and does happen anywhere. As such, it’s given rise to hybrid work, which combines the collaborative atmosphere offices provide with the perks of working remotely. This model gives employees flexibility in their workdays and better work-life balance.

It also has the potential to positively affect diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to McKinsey. That’s because underrepresented groups are the most likely to desire flexibility, the 2022 Future Forum Pulse Summer Snapshot reveals. By race or ethnicity, the report identifies Americans who prefer hybrid or fully remote work as:

• 88% Asian/Asian American

• 83% Black

• 81% Hispanic/Latinx

• 79% White

A flexible or hybrid work environment fosters inclusion. And an inclusive company culture is seven times more likely to be rated high-performing by its employees, McKinsey finds. Let’s explore four ways your organization can effectively manage a flexible work environment.

1. Maximize the potential of hybrid work

Hybrid work isn’t going away. Managing it requires a fresh approach to project management. Traditional, project-based delivery methods fail to meet today’s business needs. The key to success is aligning investments to business value, but how?

Watch our Hybrid work management webinar to find out how forming teams around products can facilitate favorable outcomes. Adopting a product-centric rather than project-based delivery method can help you identify and overcome bottlenecks to focus on providing the highest customer value.

2. Put employees first

The employee experience directly affects the customer experience, so it makes good business sense for organizations to prioritize their employees. Do your employees have the resources they need to do their best work? Empower them at every touch point, from onboarding all the way through offboarding.

In Reimagine the workplace and support the hybrid workforce, leaders from NielsenIQ and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs discuss various aspects of hybrid work. Gain insights on the future of the workplace, real estate management, and employee productivity.

3. Connect people, places, and technology

Keeping employees connected while enabling their flexibility can be a challenge. They rely on you to provide the services they need, whether they’re navigating an office space, collaborating with co-workers, or looking for answers to questions. And they want seamless experiences both virtually and in person.

Empowering your hybrid workforce requires transparency to effectively nurture people and increase employee engagement. Get tips from human resources innovation partner Leapgen and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

4. Plan for success

A winning hybrid work strategy at any organization comes down to the policies and practices in place. In Hybrid work: Planning for what comes next, HR industry leader Josh Bersin shares findings from his The Hybrid Work Playbook to help inform organizational policies.

You’ll learn how companies are redesigning their workspaces, the significance of employee feedback, how to help managers of remote and hybrid teams, and ways to upskill workers.

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