Embrace hybrid working in this new business world
◆ Blanker return-to-office mandates don’t work, says Louise Barnes – address specific issues in your organisation instead
ACEO in one of my previous roles visited every floor of our offices on a Friday afternoon to ask people how they were. A nice touch, but with limited value today in our new era of hybrid and remote working.
Managers are having to find fresh ways to sustain connections with their teams – to check in with home-working individuals so they feel looked after, supported and primed to perform well.
It’s perhaps easy for bosses to assume that all is well with their teams in the virtual workplace. However, the absence of complaints doesn’t always equate to satisfaction and productivity, and a hybrid work environment that’s causing individuals stress is in no-one’s interests. Critically, they need to find authentic ways to ask the question: “How are you doing today?”
It’s why I launched my online business Team HOI: to help leadership teams define a new company culture matching the needs of remote or hybrid working employees in the areas of personal support, performance and productivity.
Hybrid working isn't a new concept, and its benefits have been proven long before the recent workplace transformations. Before the pandemic there were those of us who worked to this structure for a multitude of reasons. I have been hybrid working for 16 years. During that time, I crafted people strategies and remotely managed local and global marketing, talent and integration teams successfully through seismic corporate shifts.
Successful companies move with the times, and in this context they need to discover, define and improve essential modern workplace behaviours so all employees – wherever they are working from – feel valued and motivated.
I’ve already detected a sense of change, with companies increasingly understanding that they need to revive and sustain a culture of collaboration within their teams – that effective communication channels and personalised support are essential.
The launch of Team HOI – the name, incidentally from the concept of organisational health on the inside – has been an exhilarating and fast-paced experience. It’s also one in which I’ve enjoyed some invaluable support through business advisory group The Alternative Board (TAB).
Leadership loneliness can be a thing, but joining peer-to-peer group TAB has exposed me to welcome insights and advice from others in areas ranging from finance to personal growth and professional learning opportunities. I’d also like to think my own corporate experience has equipped me to reciprocate.
That spirit of collaboration very much aligns with our mission at Team HOI, where in our work with clients we advocate the principle that good team communications are fundamental to good individual performance – and need to be a central consideration.
As some employers look to return to how things used to be, many hybrid-working staff will resist, resulting in firms losing valuable talent and a dip in productivity. Addressing specific organisational issues, rather than a blanket return-tooffice mandate can foster a more effective and harmonious work environment. Embracing hybrid working is key to a successful, balanced future.
Louise Barnes, founder of hybrid and remote working support start-up Team HOI