How do you maximise the benefit of hybrid working?

2022 has been an interesting year for companies and employees in terms of working remotely. Microsoft published interesting findings in their report, ‘Hybrid Work Is Just Work. Are We Doing It Wrong?’ in September 2022. The technology giant surveyed 20,000 people across 11 countries whilst also analysing data of Microsoft 365 productivity signals.

In response to the pandemic, companies embraced flexible working whereby employees could divide their time between the office and working from home. In the report, Microsoft reported that not everyone agrees on the success of hybrid work. Both employees and employers are divided.

Interestingly 85% of employers have expressed concern as to whether their team is being productive, despite the fact that 87% of employees reporting that they believe themselves to be productive and productivity signals across Microsoft 365 continuing to climb. In the spring of 2022, ‘the number of meetings per week for the average Microsoft Teams user had increased by 153% globally since the pandemic’ Microsoft confirmed. On top of this intense meeting load, users being double booked for meetings increased by 46% in the last year. 42% of meeting participants multi-task during meetings. It is clear that employees are under strain with longer hours worked and an increased number meetings, yet leaders are fearing a loss of productivity.?

It is also important to pose the question as to whether an increased number of meetings booked translates to greater productivity or simply a greater need for communication. If staff are in the office, they may just be able to engage with a co-worker and ask them a quick question, without the need to book out a full meeting slot. The day-to-day communication flow of remote working can be stilted and time consuming. Scheduling face to face meetings in the office can be beneficial for productivity. Some of our clients have chosen to increase office-based working so staff can share the same space, talk about ideas and share information easily and quickly. It is important for clients to get a balance between the remote working and office-based working and how each of the two formats can empower teams to work more efficiently.

As we head into 2023, a clear priority for many businesses will be to strategise how best to work and operate when it comes to productivity. If not, productivity paranoia runs the risk of making hybrid work unsustainable. The attitude needs to shift from whether employees are working enough to focusing on what work should be prioritised. 81% of employees believe that it is important that their managers can offer guidance on working priorities . Yet the Microsoft survey also stated, 31% of employees believe that their managers have given them clear guidance on how best to achieve this through one-on-one feedback sessions.

Helping employees to prioritise their workload whilst working in a hybrid format will empower them to thrive, which in turn will help businesses to flourish. During the pandemic and beyond, RFA has been helping businesses embrace hybrid working operational formats. We work with clients is to help them to review and where possible consolidate their platforms. Using fewer platforms to achieve the same tasks helps staff to carry out work with greater ease and fundamentally be more productive as communication between individuals and teams will be more fluid and frictionless. This requires a review of existing SaaS platforms that are being currently used in the business and understanding what functions they do.

RFA helps businesses to train their teams to understand what tools are available to them and how to use them effectively. Oversight of data and reporting is absolutely essential in a hybrid environment for compliance and regulatory purposes. Making teams aware of aware of policies and procedures is a crucial part of a firm’s overall governance and risk programme. Achieving this culture within a business requires trust and great leadership, and an understanding of what tech should be in play as part of an overall operational strategy.

?Operating in a hybrid format can work, if handled properly and by recognising that working in a hybrid environment requires a different approach. Leaders need to grow and nurture a culture where staff feel empowered to be productive. If you would like to understand how RFA can help you to strategise to do so effectively, feel free to reach out to us.

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