How to Manage A Hybrid Workforce
With the impact of the pandemic, the hybrid working model has become the new normal compared to traditional full-time office working. The concept of a ‘hybrid workforce’ was born to refer to both remote-working and office-based employees. While hybrid working can reduce operational costs for companies and the risk of employees being infected, it still faces a number of challenges. In addition to work policy and workflow adjustments, how to manage a hybrid workforce is also a very important issue.
A hybrid workforce can offer many advantages to a company, such as the ability to hire people who meet the company's needs at any time and the ability to recruit talent on a global basis. But all of this is based on a company’s being able to manage a hybrid workforce well, i.e., treating both office-based and telecommuting employees equally.
Here are six things you need to keep in mind if you want to manage a hybrid workforce well.
1.Define the goals of hybrid work
Successful hybrid work models are clear about their work goals. Companies need to be clear with all employees, especially those who work remotely, about the tasks and deadlines. The company can hold regular weekly video conferences to bring the hybrid workforce together to discuss projects and report on progress so that each employee is aware of their work goals at all times.
2.Maintain regular and honest work communication
Regular communication is critical to keeping remote employees engaged and motivated. In a hybrid work model, companies want to know the real progress of each task, so they need to ensure a certain pace of communication with employees, and employees need to honestly tell the company the current status of completion, rather than deliberately hide the fake for fear of being criticized by the company. Only when both parties participate in the communication in a frank manner will the company and the employee trust each other.
3.Establishing the right hybrid work strategy
To ensure that employees who work remotely and those who work in the office are treated equally, companies need to create the right hybrid work strategy for the situation. The company needs to clearly establish rules about how attendance is assessed, how long breaks are taken, how equipment is provided, and the proportional distribution between home and office. Companies can update these hybrid work strategies in the employee handbook to ensure that every employee has access to them.
4.Take steps to ensure remote employees don't feel left out
Employers who are always in the office may not realize that they will treat remote and in-office employees differently because it is easier to build connections if people can see each other at work every day. So to make sure employees who work from home don't feel left out, companies can take these 3 steps.
1.Internal communication via video conferencing allows home-based employees to participate in decision-making.
2.Live broadcast of office-based events (business meetings or training sessions) for the benefit of home-based employees.
3.Avoid spontaneous office team dinners and notify every mixed employee of each event in advance.
5.Adjusting indicators for assessing work content
Companies need to determine how to evaluate employee performance based on different job objectives. Forward-thinking companies have started to adopt flexible performance evaluation rules instead of rigidly monitoring employees' working hours only. This is a better way to motivate employees rather than working inefficiently for the full time required to meet the assessment.
6.Focus on the mental health of the hybrid workforce
The pandemic has greatly affected our work and lives, and the stress caused by this uncertainty has made the mental health of employees a concern. The company can provide some mental health help to the employees so that they can get the right guidance. Companies can also organize monthly team gatherings to promote face-to-face interaction and build a better rapport among hybrid employees. Team cohesion will help improve workplace harmony, and bonding with colleagues will help improve the well-being of remote employees.