And while many pundits and HR experts are rushing to explain its origins, there remains the simple fact that work has changed. Rules around office mandates, and even offices themselves, are being adapted to a new breed of workers who want flexibility, control, and safety. Employers who provide greater flexibility could gain a major advantage in the talent war. According to Otto Verhage, COO of recruitment tool TestGorilla: “A greater number of applicants will be looking for hybrid working in the wake of Covid-19: it’s been proven that the economy won’t fall apart if people work from home part-time, and some employees who had never previously worked flexibly have seen how beneficial it can be.” But, while this new way of flexible working is good for individuals, it could spell trouble for teams and companies that fail to adjust, and lose talent as a result. Research shows that 65% of employees feel less connected to their coworkers. “People are losing their attachment to their team, their peers, and their company. The purpose of a workplace is to bring people together to remind them of the mission, the culture, and the values of a company, and be surrounded by other people that believe the same thing,” says Larry Gadea, CEO and Founder of workplace platform Envoy. It’s clear employees want flexibility but also need the right incentives to stay for the long haul — so how can companies get the best of both worlds? We had a chat with the founders of Envoy and TestGorilla to find out.
Make office time about collaboration and team building
For Gadea, team building moments should be purposely programmed into your organization. Less time in the office means that time is more valuable, and should be first and foremost used for collaboration and team bonding. “Getting teams together for more than zero days a week is very important,” Gadea tells TNW. It’s also about employee wellbeing. In the vast majority of workplace surveys that have come out during the pandemic, the thing people missed most was the informal chats with colleagues. In many cases, this led to detachment from the team and the company. In extreme cases, this led to feelings of loneliness and depression.
Spend more time on onboarding
While some will have talent jumping ship left and right, for others it’ll be a golden opportunity to snatch up experienced talent looking for work that suits their lifestyle. Always keeping an eye on the latest job market trends, Verhage and his team at Test Gorilla have seen how this is reshaping recruitment efforts: This is helping candidates to quickly filter through and discard job opportunities, but it also opens employers up to a much wider pool of talent: However, while the potential for free and flexible work arrangements may be a great tool for attracting talent, actually keeping that talent is another story. Without a connection to the team or a company’s mission, the difference between one remote job and another is simply down to a difference in paycheck. A study by Better Up found that a stronger sense of belonging can lead to a 56% increase in job performance, 75% reduction in sick days, and a 50% lower turnover risk. For Verhage, the key to fostering a sense of belonging amongst remote and hybrid employees is having a strong onboarding process in place. As he explained, at TestGorilla, they have a full remote program in place to welcome new hires into their team:
Make it easy for teams to schedule in-office time
Two of the biggest challenges companies face with hybrid work are how to provide employees the flexibility of coming to the office when they need to, and how to provide them with the right tools when they’re there. We arrange get-to-know-you calls with relevant colleagues, invite new joiners to online socials and ask them to create introduction videos, so that their colleagues get to know them quickly too. As more teams turn to flexible working, more companies are replacing permanent desks with hot desks that can be reserved in advance. Hotdesking, the sharing of desks, can provide significant savings on office space for those who decide to downsize, but can also come with headaches for managers and individuals who want to schedule in team building time. One of the biggest pain points for employees is making the effort to commute in and showing up to an empty office. According to Gadea: Another common challenge businesses today are facing as they reopen is how to keep workers safe. A survey by Envoy found 43% of office workers, either hybrid or full-time, are more worried about exposure to and transmission of Covid than remote workers. For employees of color, 21% lose sleep over it compared to just 11% of their white coworkers. Envoy Protect is a solution that allows employees to get an overview of who is working in the office and when so they can sync work schedules and optimize time in the office. They can also reserve workspace and, most importantly, certify health status. Users can upload proof of vaccination, a weekly negative Covid test, or a daily health check. While the uncertainty of flexible work schedules may hold some companies back, the beauty of this new way of working is that it gives your company more flexibility to adapt in uncertain times — and today there’s nothing more important than that. In truth, the not-so-secret secret to flexible work strategies is simply being flexible enough to experiment and find out what works best for your team.
