The foundation for a hybrid workplace

Many companies have their sights set on becoming a hybrid workplace—a mix of in-office and remote options—for employees. The flexible workplace may be a silver lining of the pandemic, but before a company can transform the workplace, a solid foundation must be established. In a recent blog post, we shared organizational change management best practices when working with organizations to establish a hybrid workplace. In this discussion, we take a closer look at key foundational elements, upon which a sustainable hybrid workplace can then be built. 

Mindsets 

What mindsets, or guiding principles, will be used when defining the hybrid workplace model? Establishing three or four overarching mindsets can provide guidelines that help decision-making for the new ways of working. These mindsets should be in line with a company’s culture and help to achieve the broader vision of the hybrid workplace for the organization. An example of a mindset is to default to simple. When things start to get too complex while establishing ways of working, defaulting to simple can help bring the team back to home base. This mindset was used with a recent client when reviewing an existing expense policy that reimbursed senior VPs for high-speed internet. In a hybrid workplace where everyone works from home, the company had to decide if they would expand the high-speed internet reimbursement for all employees. Or should employees get a stipend or be reimbursed up to a certain amount? Recalling a mindset of default to simple helped this organization avoid overcomplicating the hybrid workplace model and facilitated the decision-making process.  

Company policies 

What company policies need to be revisited or created in order to align with the organizational change of becoming a hybrid workplace? Many areas of the organization will be impacted by the new ways of working. A key example of a policy that will require updates is a company’s policy around pay. Many companies have tiers that dictate how much they will pay a person based on several things, one of which being location. If employees only have to come into the office once a month, how will an employee’s salary be determined if they live in California vs. Idaho—two areas with very different cost of living? Should the company opt for a national pay policy?  

Another policy that may require updating is employee leave—should employees get the same amount of paid time off, even though flexible work has been introduced? All of these, and more, are questions that companies will have to answer when establishing a hybrid workplace.   

Etiquette and norms 

How will the organization’s etiquette and norms be informed by the hybrid workplace policies?  For example, how will all-hands meetings take place in a hybrid workplace—will there be a dial-in? How can those that are dialing-in to the meeting feel included and not like an afterthought? Or consider if the organization adopts a policy where employees are required in the office two days a week. Will it be the norm for team members to be in the office on the same days of the week? Will meetings be scheduled on certain days of the week to avoid being in the office with back-to-back calls? While the company policies are likely the first thing that an organization will have to update when transitioning to a hybrid workplace, the etiquette and norms will illustrate how the policies are interpreted and supported by employees.    

The best organizations will be intentional about how employees use their time together—the right balance of keeping the culture alive and encouraging human connection, while still offering flexibility and asynchronous work. After all, if people are still going into the office to have back-to-back calls, then the organization has missed the boat. As Change Practitioners, we can help organizations by advising that a foundation must be laid to support and sustain the transformation to a hybrid workplace and providing best practices to help employees be more purposeful with their face-to-face time in the office.  

Contact ChangeStaffing for guidance on managing the transition to a hybrid workplace and adopting new ways of working. 

A very special thank you to Dan Rost, management consultant specializing in Strategy and Change, for his thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.  

Written by Kylette Harrison