4 important considerations when finalising your hybrid work policy

With the rise in hybrid working, many companies are finding that they need to update their company policies to reflect changing employee demands. While it's important to ensure an element of freedom is afforded to staff, this shouldn't mean taking a laissez-faire approach to implementation.

There are some important considerations you should keep in mind when crafting a hybrid working policy. But don't worry, we've done some of the work for you and compiled a list of the four key things any employer should take into account when it comes to delivering flexibility.

If you haven't been keeping an eye on the news over the past 18 months, the hybrid working phenomenon might have gone over your head. But by now, we're probably all pretty familiar with this new buzzword.

Hybrid working is a style of work that allows employees to choose where (and sometimes when) they work best. This could be at home, the head office, or at a 'third space', for example a coworking space, a hotel, or a business centre closer to where they live.

Hybrid working can come in many forms. Your company might choose to follow a 'Remote First' model, allocating employees a budget to book into local office spaces (like the ones we list on NearU) in the absence of permanent real estate. Or you might adopt a 'hub-and-spoke' system, whereby employees come into the head office for 2 days a week and spend the other 3 working from wherever suits them best. It can all seem pretty confusing, which is why we've compiled a list of resources detailing everything you need to know about hybrid working, so you don't have to spend hours googling for yourself.

We know we're pretty biased when it comes to answering this question - but luckily, the nature of hybrid working means that there doesn't have to be a downside. The potential benefits you could unlock by implementing a hybrid working policy are enormous. Here are just a few you can expect...

But ultimately, you'll be providing staff with what they really want - flexibility. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened us up to a new style of working. While it's clear we won't be working-from-home permanently, many employees have enjoyed the freedom that forgoing the daily commute has offered them.

According to recent research by Microsoft, more than two-thirds of UK staff want flexible work to stay - and for some, not having flexibility could be a dealbreaker. One study by EY found that half of 2,000 workers surveyed would quit if denied the option to work flexibly. So while there are undoubtedly monetary and sustainability benefits to be had, hybrid working could be a must if employers hope to retain their workforces.

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid working, so there's plenty of creative freedom to be had when designing your company's policy. But in our experience, there are a few important considerations to take into account to get the best solution for your staff.

Certain people are more suited to certain environments. For example, someone working in a technology-focussed role where their equipment setup is very specific might prefer to work from a fully-kitted out home office, while someone in sales might like the collaboration of being in the office.

Ultimately, you should be giving your staff the choice in where they work, because they know best. But it doesn't have to be as simple as home or the head office. The rise of third workplaces since the COVID-19 pandemic means that there are tons of flexible offices popping up all over the world. At NearU, we specialise in putting diverse workspaces at your staff's fingertips - so if they're looking to inject a bit of variety into where they work, they can do so by simply downloading our app, then searching, booking, and working.

One thing that working-from-home has lacked throughout the pandemic is the ability to have a casual conversation with your colleagues. While some firms have adopted controversial methods to encourage constant communication (like this particular case where a boss demanded employees stay on Zoom all day), it doesn't have to be quite so 'Big Brother'.

Professor Raj Choudhury, Harvard Scholar and expert on working-from-anywhere, highlighted the importance of engineering virtual water-coolers. This could mean organising specific non-work related interactions between staff of all levels, mirroring the kind of run-in you might have had with your boss on your way to the kitchen, or with a colleague as you passed their desk. Socialisation has been proven to boost employee mood and, in turn, productivity, whilst also making them feel part of a wider company culture, something which can be challenging in an increasingly digital world. In fact, we believe in this concept so much that we even created a podcast all about it.

The technology you provide your hybrid workers should be flexible enough to suit different work styles and meet their individual needs. There are a variety of tools that hybrid workers may find useful for keeping in touch with managers and other team members, whether it's through messaging platforms, like Slack, or an online file sharing system, like Notion.

These kinds of tools also allow hybrid employees to easily access documents from outside the main office if they need them one evening or on the weekend. However the use of these tools must be balanced with face-to-face time, whether that's being physically in-person or hopping on a video call once a week.

Whereas in a traditional office space workers can feel expected to be at or near their desk at all times, hybrid working makes that impossible. So managing how teams work has to change. A simple, but effective, change can be to focus on outcomes. The hybrid worker can focus on getting the job done, without being limited by a certain time they need to have spent at their desk.

This might be easier said than done, since proximity bias has reigned supreme for the past century; but it's important for employers to understand that more time in the office does not equal increased productivity.

Still need more guidance when it comes to hybrid working? Check out our resources page, or get in touch with our Sales team if you'd like to know more about how NearU can help you craft a hybrid working policy that suits your needs.