Optimizing a Hybrid Work Environment for a Positive Employee Experience

Sia Partners shares 5 golden rules to maximize the employee experience and foster retention in a hybrid work environment.

As employees, we all have expectations regarding our organization, our immediate supervisor, human resources, our colleagues, and our work. The pandemic has shown no mercy; we are all feeling the impact on our health, both psychological and physical. As the line between work and personal life is thinner than ever, this translates into an important self-reflection for employees, including the following: why should I stay?

As many are being courted by other organizations,?it is becoming more and more difficult to resist the temptation of jumping ship in search of a better work life harmony.

In this context, where attracting and retaining talents are parts of our daily challenges, we must, now more than ever, ensure that we take concrete actions to foster a positive experience for our employees. This challenge only magnifies the already difficult constraints put forward by the global pandemic, the return to the office and the hybrid work environment.

It is time to act to stay relevant in this ever-evolving labour market. Sia Partners offers five (5) golden rules to follow for a successful transition; the need to act now has never been so palpable.

Golden rule 1: Have a clear positioning

Uncertainty often contributes to a feeling of discomfort: indeed, the need for security constitutes the basis of Maslow's pyramid. It can be destabilizing to consider returning to the office in person. If, in addition to this stress, an organization is slow to take a position on the return-to-work terms and conditions, this negative feeling will only increase.

Over the past several months, our living and working habits have changed significantly. From the perspective of sound management around this transformation, a clear positioning will reassure employees and allow everyone to prepare for this new reality.

Here are a few practices you can put in place to ensure a clear positioning:

• Regularly communicate with employees about your expectations related to their office attendance. Remember: one approach may not work for everyone, be flexible by offering multiple options;
• Provide a reasonable amount of time for employees before implementing a return-to-work or hybrid work policy. Give them time to adjust their habits and routines and clearly identify the “why” behind it;
• Don't let the rumors get out! Be sure to address the positioning quickly, to avoid any ambiguity or uncertainty. Encourage your managers to take the pulse of their team(s), or have an online platform for confidential feedback and questions;
• Keep it as simple as possible. Our experiences with clients have shown that the simplest models are the most successful.

Golden Rule 2: Reinforce Rather Than Force

No one likes to be forced or have a decision imposed on them. Employees prefer to be involved and considered in the choices. That said, an interesting approach to ensure a smooth return to the office is to rely on positive reinforcement, to avoid forcing employees to come back to the office, but rather offering them incentives to do so. To identify the appropriate incentives, using Design Thinking could be a great opportunity, especially since this is a perfect time to be imaginative and innovative!

Here are a few practices you can implement to encourage office attendance:?

• Set up incentives to create excitement around coming back to work at the office: Have offices been vacant for several months? Take time to clean up the place and to provide employees with a pleasant environment; Offer treats (sweets, coffee, boxed lunches, etc.) ; Organize fun, unifying activities to remind people of the benefits of being persent (while adhering to health measures, of course).
• Encourage value-added office attendance: Having to travel to the office only to end up doing virtual meetings is likely to turn people off. Instead, encourage your employees to come back to the office for collaborative activities, or when the rest of their team is present as well. We have seen many organizations targeting specific days of the week where members of a given team were encouraged to come to the office.?
• Be empathetic: Reassure your employees by being understanding about the disorienting nature of returning to the office and accept that the first few days in the workplace may be less productive.
• Be open to needs, no matter how diverse they are: Train your managers about accommodation requests and the appropriate approaches to take. Plan for different possible scenarios and related actions to take. Managers need support and clarity too!

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Golden Rule 3: Be Ready to Adapt

Time will not necessarily make things better! Since the return to the office is a major change, a good practice is to equip and support the members of the organization to make this transition more fluid and pleasant.

Here are some ideas for developing your support initiatives:

• Coach managers on how their role should change in a hybrid management environment. Performance appraisals, employee onboarding, recognition, professional development and many other aspects of their management responsibilities are likely to take on a completely different form;
• Utilize technology to support hybrid meetings and provide the necessary training. As an example, consider reviewing your video conferencing systems and tools in the workspaces, so that those who connect remotely are not left behind;
• Share best practices and make training available on the topic. Consider training or micro-learning on remote team management, time management, psychological health first aid at work, managing difficult conversations virtually, how to create an engaging employee or candidate experience in hybrid mode, etc.
• Update and promote your HR service offering. The pandemic has brought about changes to work and personal life. In this context, it is important to remind your employees of the resources available to them (e.g., the Employee Assistance Program, benefits, their HR partner, etc.) and to update your HR service offering to this new reality!

Golden Rule 4: Update your Practices to Optimize the Quality of Work Life (QoWL)

Quality of work life (QoWL) is a factor that has a significant influence on the attraction, retention, engagement and performance of employees. This heightened awareness on the subject has been precipitated by the pandemic, which has highlighted the need for QoWL, as proven by the Ontario government's new law on the right to disconnect.

Here are some examples of actions to take to update your QoWL practices:

• Set up a quality of work life committee, to identify opportunities and implement them, with minimal governance. This committee is different from your workplace health and safety committee, though complementary. Make sure you have a diverse membership and equip your members to act as ambassadors and your executives, as champions.
• Survey your employees. How do they define QoWL? What actions would provide quick wins and solutions in their perspective? What possible initiatives around their QoWL would have the most influence on their well-being? Some organizations are now opting for ongoing, dynamic consultation to achieve this.
• Benchmark best practices in the marketplace. Reach out to organizations in your industry to discuss with them the practices they have in place to foster QWL. This can serve as inspiration when you get to the stage of putting together your action plan. However, make sure that the policies and practices you put in place are consistent with employees' expectations, and with the particularities and constraints of your organization (industry, schedules, nature of work, etc.). Eventually, why not create an exchange network between professionals? After all, we all face similar issues. In fact, feel free to join our bimonthly discussion groups: https://www.sia-partners.com/en/trending-insights/live-hr-d

Stay tuned for our next article to learn more about updating your organizational QWL practices.        

Golden Rule 5: Integrate Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Principles

Numerous studies from the Harvard Business Review show that flexible work can have the effect of disrupting work-family harmony. Indeed, working from home can sometimes make it difficult to set boundaries. Another finding is that women take on more domestic responsibilities when working from home, while men tend to prioritize their work activities (Ibarra, Gillard, Chamorro-Premuzic, 2020).

On the other hand, employees with more sustained office presence are likely to have more informal information and conversations. This reality may disadvantage those working remotely and thus, cause issues around equity and inclusion.

Here are some practices to promote equity and inclusion in this context:

• Be vigilant and assess how this new reality may impact the various demographics of your workforce. A short pulse survey can give you a sense of the perceived experience week after week. Keep this survey as brief as possible, and why not use emoticons to make it more user-friendly?

• The choice to be in the office more frequently should not influence the perception of an employee's performance, or involvement, nor the mechanisms for recognition, appreciation, reward, and promotion. Knowing that this is part of our unconscious bias, raise awareness and remind managers and senior leaders of this risk.
• Haven't reviewed your performance management system in a while? Be sure to update it and remove criteria that may no longer be relevant, such as punctuality or frequency of attendance at work. Encourage a contribution and outcome-based approach to performance appraisals;
• Ensure that office attendance expectations are clear, unambiguous and fair, to represent all members of your organization;
• When hosting team events, be sure to allow for virtual participation to include those who are working from home, or offer alternatives.

In conclusion, it is utopian to think that the return to work can be done in the same conditions as before the pandemic. Many changes have taken place since then, and organizations must adapt and evolve to remain competitive.

With the number of departures increasing, why wait to revisit your internal practices? Don't underestimate the power of clear, well-publicized communication based on listening to your people.

Would you like to go further in your reflection or simply be accompanied in this change? Why stop here? Let's continue the conversation. Click here to chat with us.

Authors

• Audrey-Ann Lavoie, CPHR, M.Sc., HR & Transformation Consultant, Sia Partners
• Stephanie Racine, PROSCI, M.Sc., HR & Transformation Consultant, Sia Partners
• In collaboration with: Eric Beaudoin, CHRE, CHE, MHA, Senior Director, HR & Transformation, Sia Partners