As vaccination plans continue, the time to return to the office seems to be getting closer, but not for everyone and not in the same way as before. What is emerging in many companies is a hybrid model: employees will be able to carry out tasks remotely, reducing commuting time and allowing for a better balance between their professional and personal life. At the same time,the office, will become thenerve center of innovation, collaboration, networking, coaching, and socialization.
This new hybrid way of working means, for company managers, having to face a series of new organizational challenges which many have never had to face before.
Given these upcoming difficulties, it is of fundamental importance for management to learn how to communicate correctly with remote workers since an incorrect approach, protracted over time, could lead to a talent drain. Companies must act proactively to prevent this from happening, providing their middle managers with training courses and tools that support remote communication and collaboration.
Until now, countless companies have acted as if hybrid work was a temporary phenomenon, without considering that the majority of the workforce is thrilled by the possibility of combining remote and office work.
According to a study carried out by the Harvard Business School about 80% of workers do not want to return to the office full-time. Taking this trend into account, team managers need to understand that their remote workforce management will last for a long time. It means that they will need to be very clear when asking the team for goals, align the teamwork and entrust it fairly, ensure frequent and inclusive meetings, and implement communication.
But while the data shows that this shift to hybrid work is positively perceived by employees, around 68% of executives believe their people should work in the office at least three times a week. They feel that human connections are not the same in the virtual workplace.
The simple adoption of technological tools such as Slack and Zoom is not enough to allow a company to become an effective hybrid organization.
Starting from March 2020, the work of team managers has changed completely. And the changes will continue. Companies will need to change from the core. After changing the design of the offices, the management must prepare to review its company culture..
It is necessary to take some actions as soon as possible, anticipating the times and not letting oneself be caught unprepared:
Managers will need to invest in training courses and tutors for their employees so that everyone can adapt to this new hybrid environment.
Part of the 1 to 1 meetings to be scheduled should be regarding this topic.
Managers must strive to become the best possible leaders to support teams during this transition to hybrid work.
Managers should work hand in hand with coaches who specialize in remote/hybrid management.
It is necessary to adopt specific software for managing and listening to employees.
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