What do I mean by hybrid working? Providing the flexibility in a role to conduct it wherever and whenever whilst maintaining the quality and qualities of output that is expected from the business and its customer.
There’s some huge scope in there and clearly, each business will have its measure of quality, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. In some respects – that’s the answer, the business needs to adapt to providing solutions and alternatives in achieving the output.
Can we agree that not all jobs or roles are suitable for any type of hybrid working? This is a fact some people aren’t going to enjoy and some are in complete denial about when I happen to talk about the subject. Sometimes no change is the right decision.
Some roles just don’t / won’t translate to offering a true hybrid working situation; they don’t offer the best result for the team, the business, the customer. And this I think should be a focus for all concerned, it’s the output, the result that matters.
Not at the cost of anything, but it’s significant enough – if the result and output isn’t the right quality then there will be no demand for it…and the role/job may not exist in future. If you’ve heard from me before, you’ll know I’m a great believer in the process and the procedure being a priority, as getting this right gives greater certainty to the outcome.
So what could this procedure/process/working model now look like for allowing the greatest flexibility whilst maintaining the qualities of output and service we’ve come to expect? Let’s not forget, we’re (generally speaking) consumers as well as providers – so we sit on both sides of this discussion.
A few things for consideration
- Businesses should acknowledge they are technology-enabled and embrace this
- Leaders should take the time to understand how their teams do their jobs
- Staff should be encouraged to share what works, and doesn’t, in their roles – feedback is critical in any role and business
- Technology should be evaluated to see if it can eliminate pain points, increase efficiency and efficacy
- Support (equipment funding for example) could be available if a team member wishes to set up an office from home
- Encourage use of work hubs if this reduces a commute; or use of temporary work locations to provide focus time away from open-plan offices or busy home environments
- Maybe plan team social events in and out of working hours. I think it’s fair to say people appreciate people probably more than they ever did. Now is a great time to strengthen bonds especially when encouraging more flexible working practices.
- Where feasible maintain an office presence where people who don’t want or cannot work from home have a work home; you may also want to continue to host customers and suppliers on occasion
I think my first point in the list is key and that is the business truly acknowledging and embracing the fact they are technology-enabled, not just dependent. Technology, digital information technology specifically, opens new doors every second of the day.
We almost need to rip up the rule book, tear down how we used to do things and rebuild to see how they can be improved upon by the use of modern technologies – those from within the last 5-10 years not just the last 40.
As for action, with customers I’ve worked with we’ve seen the benefit in taking on the following
- Understanding roles with RACI matrix and cross-functional diagrams
- Creating / updating service architecture documents for these roles/functions aligned to technologies currently in use
- Creating/updating technology architecture documents to visualise what components sit where and where data flows and resides
- Cross-reference service and technology architectures – you’ll understand complexity then and start to tease out where things can be simplified
- Analyse outputs from roles and understand the qualities you need from those outputs
- Evaluate the marketplace for technology solutions for interim and long term benefit – and don’t forget to acknowledge the shortcomings especially for chosen solutions in the interim
- Draw up interim plans for change, pilot within the business and communicate heavily – encourage the team to be part of the driving force of change not just along for the ride
- Create a concise strategy that everyone can understand the values of
This is a heavy subject that’s quite popular in respect of a ‘post-COVID’ 1, however isn’t a unique scenario and these challenges and responses are the very things that have kept organisations evolving and competitive in their market, or created entirely new markets to work in!
How is your business going to evolve?
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1 Incidentally I don’t think is a thing, I believe we’ll manage this like we manage other illness and disease; efforts will be made to prioritise and/or eradicate based on numerous factors)