Editorial
What does a successful hybrid workplace look like?
That may be a tough question to answer today, as some companies try to lure employees back to the office full time on the basis that the work model didn’t, well, work for them. Hybrid work may seem like a utopian concept, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.
A successful hybrid workplace is a combination of flexible experiences, not just for where and when we work, but also with whom, how long and on what we work.
But it’s more than that. Tori Paulman, senior director analyst at Gartner, says a successful hybrid workplace is also one that is built with intentional collaboration and empathy — and individual-based management.
Getting Past the Growing Pains
The rewards of a hybrid workplace are immense, but navigating its intricacies can seem daunting.
Should companies implement official in-office days, or is that putting a dent in the so-called flexibility benefit? Does the work model really support wellbeing, or are remote employees in danger of feeling more isolated? Can revamped processes truly manage to overcome proximity bias?
The answer isn’t a perfect science because the key to unlocking these rewards lies not in the implementation of the work model but in the evaluation of its effectiveness. And that varies by company.
How your employees feel and perform in this new way of working should be the key indicator. And measuring success in a hybrid work model is not much different than other work models, said Lauren Pasquarella Daley, leader of Women and the Future of Work initiative at Catalyst.
Except, she added, “we must be much more intentional with hybrid models to ensure that we are building equitable experiences and using data to iterate on and refine.”
Measuring Hybrid Talent Success
Paulman pointed to some key talent metrics hybrid leaders should keep an eye on to assess the success of their workplace, such as:
- Intent to stay.
- Employee-reported reduced fatigue.
- Performance and productivity (more on that later).
Samantha Julka, founder of DORIS research, added that one indicator of a successful hybrid work strategy is the number of friendships people have at work.
“Put simply; do people consider their coworkers to be their friends?” she asked. “These friendships do not have to be close, but rather care about each other enough to be interested in the coworkers’ lives, such as pets, hobbies, favorite food, the little stuff that builds a relational foundation.”
Sharing information without a clear goal, something that goes into relational work, may not seem important, said Julka. But it strongly correlates to feelings of belonging and happiness at work.
Katy George, senior partner and chief people officer at McKinsey & Company, said one way companies can tap into employee insights is to utilize a continuous listening strategy — “a process driven by people analytics and supported by a people analytics team for capturing employee sentiment in both the short and long terms.”
Through this process, she explained, leaders can monitor the pulse of the organization at the moment and create an ongoing dialogue with employees. “Such a dialogue can engender trust and partnership and can spur long-term improvements to employees’ workplace experiences and performance, as well as companies’ ability to retain top talent.”
Related Article: Conquering the Top 4 Hybrid Work Challenges
Hybrid Productivity Metrics
“There’s a bit of an existential crisis right now in terms of, how can we actually see what’s going on without signaling to our workers and to our employees that we don’t trust them?” said Paulman.
Leaders may want to look at the spectrum of trust at their hybrid organizations, starting at the lowest rung, with companies using employee productivity monitoring tools, up to the highest rung, where leaders support worker flexibility as long as productivity and profitability remain.
But when it comes to measuring this hybrid workplace productivity, Paulman said two key metrics matter: outputs and outcomes. Though businesses are overly reliant on the former and not well enough aware of the latter. The difference?
Output: You published 12 articles in the past quarter.
Outcome: The readers of your articles are 10x more likely to subscribe or read a different article.
Paulman pointed out that companies can ask employees to self-report on performance and productivity as well, comparing that data to measured outputs and outcomes.
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Hybrid Usage Metrics
Another area to collect data on is usage, according to Paulman, who recommends asking questions like:
- How are people using the physical space?
- How are people using the technology available to them at home?
- How many people are logging really late hours?
Julka added that hybrid leaders should also look if employees are being intentional about their working location schedules and acting as resources for one another.
“This can look like changing in-office days to align with collaboration needs, fully including virtual participants in meetings, and if people are taking time to engage in relational work when everyone is remote,” she explained.
Hybrid Inclusion & Equity Metrics
One concern with hybrid work models is equitable access to opportunities for all employees, regardless of how much time they spend remotely or in-office. Companies should monitor opportunities like promotions, project collaborations and decision-making input across employees.
“The most inclusive hybrid work models are intentionally designed and optimized with inclusion and equity at the forefront, giving workers a wide variety of choices in determining where, when and how they work best,” said Daley.
“This sounds straightforward,” she added, “but hybrid work models can be very complex to manage inclusively.”
To ensure an inclusive and equitable hybrid workplace, Daley offered three recommendations:
- Invest in a senior executive. Hire someone who can purposefully lead, promote, refine and drive the hybrid work experience for employees.
- Develop flexible models. Your hybrid work models should “encourage employee choices around work location, scheduling and time-onsite to accommodate the varying life/work needs of your employees.”
- Monitor for bias. Businesses should monitor for and address proximity bias and productivity paranoia — when leaders fear their employees aren’t working effectively — when it happens.
Related Article: DEI Beyond HR: How to Weave Inclusion Into Operations
Hybrid Cost Reduction Metrics
Hybrid work setups can reduce costs in many areas, but how can organizations measure those savings?
The answer, according to Daley, is it depends on the type of hybrid work model. Some companies might keep a physical office or building, while others might redesign that space.
Some factors to consider are cost savings related to reducing:
- Physical building/office space/footprints.
- Energy and physical infrastructure.
- Hiring and turnover costs.
- Lost productivity by maintaining business continuity during disruptive events.
Ultimately, said Paulman, there are a ton of metrics hybrid organizations can look at. “It’s really about pulling the metrics and doing the analysis.”
Wrapping Up: The Art of Evaluating Hybrid Work Success
The office of the future will be a natural place for both physical and virtual interactions, said George.
“In this new working world, successful organizations will deliberately create a flexible culture by developing leaders who foster outcome-oriented performance, trust and togetherness, team engagement and problem-solving.”
Traditional methods, like walking the company floor or chatting at the coffee machine, aren’t as readily available, she added. In a hybrid work environment, technology is what will “bring global capabilities together and create unprecedented levels of collaboration and productivity.”
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