EXPERT EYE

Joint CEO, Absolute Solutions Group

Dan Marshall is joint CEO of the Absolute Solutions Group, a leading group of North West Recruitment companies with the HQ based in Crewe and serving Cheshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire. Here he offers tips on hybrid working and returning to the office. With so much disruption from the pandemic, people’s expectations around work, how they fulfil their role, and how they reconcile work and domestic responsibilities may have changed dramatically. This is an ideal time for employers to think more creatively about effective ways of working, and harness more agile and flexible working practices to meet individuals’ changing expectations. At the heart of any company’s plans should be a commitment to support flexible, remote and hybrid working where possible. With recent surveys suggesting that over half of workers would like to retain a mix of working at home and their workplace, and three quarters expect employers to offer it, you should be thinking about your approach or policy toward hybrid working. Before the pandemic, 65% of employers either did not offer regular working from home at all or offered it to 10% or less of their workforce. After the crisis, that 65% is expected to fall dramatically to 35% and this will be offered much wider to employees than ever before, representing a significant shift in ways of working, which business leaders will need to prepare for. Employees now expect more home working and hybrid working and employers now trust their employees much more, aided by proof that meetings can be conducted effectively using technologies such as Teams and Zoom. In theory, this saves hours of wasted time driving around the country to the ‘old school’ face to face meeting! While some employees may want to work from home all the time after the pandemic, most would prefer a balance where they are in the office for some of the week and at home for the remainder. This has led to the use of a relatively new term: hybrid working. Many organisations are now considering what ‘hybrid’ means for them, how they might meet this new employee demand, and what will need to be in place in order for these new ways of working to be effective. For most organisations, the introduction of hybrid working will require a significant culture shift and establishing new ways of working and associated policies and practices. We can learn some lessons from working from home during the pandemic. However, in some ways hybrid working will make greater demands of managers and organisations than the urgent shift to total remote working. Why hybrid working? The significant interest in more flexible forms of working, and hybrid working in particular, have created new employee expectations and desires. Organisations who do not support flexible forms of working may therefore risk increased employee turnover, reduced employee engagement and limitations on the ability to attract talent in the future. What are the benefits of hybrid working? Despite the many complexities and challenges of living and working through the global pandemic, employees have still identified many benefits from working from home, for both them and their organisation. These benefits include a better work–life balance, greater ability to focus with fewer distractions, more time for family and friends, saved commuting time and costs, IT upskilling and higher levels of motivation. Other benefits of flexible working include savings on office space, higher levels of employee job satisfaction and reduced absence rates. Top Tips for Hybrid working  Determine if there are any roles that should be prioritised for return to the workplace. Are there traditional ‘office’ roles that could be predominately home based?  Calculate safe office occupancy levels in order to maintain social distancing.  Encourage and support every manager to have a oneto-one return meeting with every employee, where a key focus is on health, safety and well-being. This is especially important for those who have been furloughed and may not have been in the workplace for some time.  Identify any employees who need to continue to work from home in the short term, for example, because they remain vulnerable, have ongoing health conditions or are undertaking caring responsibilities.  Establish and communicate a plan for when employees will work from the office and when they will work from home.  Consult with employees on plans for returning to the workplace and encourage them to raise questions or concerns.  Make sure that your working environment – meeting rooms and communal areas such as kitchens – follow social distancing guidelines and have robust cleaning routines.  Consider whether you really need a face-to-face meeting at work or whether technology such as Zoom or Teams might suffice?  With the return of furloughed staff, and for some businesses, hopefully, now needing to recruit and fuel growth post-pandemic, we believe that employers have a fantastic opportunity to attract top talent and maintain high levels of staff morale and satisfaction.

There are other significant savings to be had in terms of travel time, expenses, vehicles and premises whilst increasing revenue and profitability. We encourage employers to review their hybrid working practices and embrace the expected new way of working that your employees will demand and expect.