Develop
| New Hybrid Ways of Working
Working for Your People & Your Customers Before COVID19 most companies would have said that hybrid ways of working were impossible due to the services we deliver, regulations, or various other reasons. Fast-forward to May 2021, and there are a lot of examples of effective flexible, or hybrid ways of working taking place in many companies. Forced change has increased the rate of transformation and proved that we can offer flexibility and has helped to change the old ways of working as there was no option but to transform. We’ve learned all kinds of things because we had to, and now, we have innovation, flexibility, and more creativity in the way we work. Before we make any changes to our working structure, we need to seriously consider our people by engaging them to find out what they would prefer and at the same time managing their expectations to make the most of this. Remember though, not everyone can work from home, or wants to, so any solution needs to take this into consideration to ensure inclusivity.
Engaged organisations consistently outperform organisations that are not engaging their people by 202%:
It is all about our People Now, it is about looking after the stakeholders before the shareholders to develop new hybrid ways of working. You must find out how your people are and develop an understanding of how they are doing emotionally. We can do this by getting up close and personal with them, by carrying out one to one interviews, focus groups, surveys and asking for their help in determining what the future of work could look like. This is not about assuming anything, it is about asking, listening, and then testing out ideas until eventually we reach a workable solution. Creating new project teams with responsibility to deliver what matters and what works for our people and our customers. There are some great examples out there already and the CIPD have said that of 2,000 employers surveyed 63% intended to boost hybrid ways of working.
Our Organisation Story This is a critical time in our organisations as we figure out what is the best way to achieve these new hybrid ways of working. What does success look like for our organisation? At last, we can drop the silo mentality and become a more connected organisation with our people understanding the contribution and accomplishments of each team leading them to work on how they can contribute to our overall success. It is time to rewrite “Our Organisation Story” and be proud of what we are achieving as we all work together in the same direction. Communication is a key part of this by asking what we need to know to make the best decisions and trusting in the same. It is something that we all need to improve on, and the message needs to be clear and consistent to ensure everyone knows that the work they are doing matters in delivering success. According to Gallup engaged organisations deliver increased productivity, work quality, retain top talent and increase their bottom line.
What do we do next? We need to get moving on our planning of what our new hybrid ways of working will look like as there is a risk that we could lose the best parts if we delay any longer. Leave the nostalgia of the good old days and what we used to do behind and power forward into an exciting future filled with engaged and committed people working towards success of our organisation, because now we know we can. Liz Hoskin CMgr FCMI: Positive Qualities Ltd are Business Insight Specialists. 13
15 Email: liz@positivequalities.co.uk Website: www.positivequalities.co.uk
