The Secrets of Successful Hybrid Working in Your Business

25 Jun The Secrets of Successful Hybrid Working in Your Business

Hybrid working is here to stay, with 23% of businesses intending to keep it as a permanent model in 2022 (rising to over 50% in the information or communication industries). Ideas on hybrid working have solidified over the past few years and more and more businesses are adopting hybrid working as a formal model based on their experience. 

For hybrid to work properly, it’s important to be intentional about the systems and processes you have in place for project management, security, communication and collaboration. Here’s what you need to consider.  

What is a Hybrid Workplace Model 

The definition of hybrid working differs from one place to another, but essentially it consists of balancing time spent in the office with remote working whether that be at home, coworking spaces or satellite offices. It’s important to be intentional about what each role in your workplace does and how they are expected to work to ensure clarity, accountability and purpose.   

Some businesses have flexible working hours although it may be necessary to be in the office for a particular amount of time on set days or for specific purposes. How you set up your hybrid working strategy will depend on your own particular needs.   

Why adopt a hybrid model? 

Going back to a full-time office workplace model just doesn’t make sense for many businesses and is often met with employee resistance. Similarly, few in the workforce want to work entirely remotely as found in a recent survey where only 5% of respondents said they would prefer to work remotely every day. 

Both businesses and workers have seen benefits from a different way of working and are keen to continue. For many, where the work is done is less important than it used to be as many roles are not really dependent on location or physically being in the same room as other people.   

Collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams are now the norm, enabling business objectives to continue to be met and community and collaboration to continue seamlessly.   

What Benefits does Hybrid Working Bring? 

Hybrid working has rocketed in the past couple of years and several unexpected benefits have been experienced.  Despite concerns from certain areas, hybrid working has been found to increase productivity and this amount has increased more since 2020 as it has continued.   

The statistics on increased productivity speak for themselves: 

• 78% of hybrid workers reported improved work-life balance 
• 52% found they completed tasks quicker than when based in the office fulltime  
• 53% reported fewer distractions 

Businesses have also found they have a greater resource pool available as employees no longer need to be geographically local which widens the talent pool when recruiting.  

Reduced time and space in the office have led to reduced overheads for many through a reduced need for space, office supplies, utilities and miscellaneous costs, etc. 

Staff loyalty and well-being have improved.  Staff retention is likely to increase as people get to choose how they live their life more and many are finding more time to exercise or look after their wellbeing. Reducing physical contact in an enclosed space may also reduce the chances of infectious illnesses passing through the business, such as covid. 

Things to Consider for Hybrid Working 

Collaboration tools 

The Microsoft 365 suite including Microsoft Teams has collaboration built-in as standard and continues to blaze the trail ahead. Microsoft provides real-time collaboration through shared, organised folders with Sharepoint, Teams or OneDrive and multiple communication methods including messaging, meeting rooms, video and voice calls. 

Cloud-based systems 

Ensuring your business is cloud-based where possible enables people to share information wherever they are, providing they have an internet connection.  Not only that, cloud-based solutions and data backup give you peace of mind that your data is safe with automatic security updates and provide business continuity should anything happen to a physical location. 

Security 

Security is even more important with remote working so keeping anti-virus up to date and having the appropriate encryption and security on your systems prevents hackers from stealing your data and impacting your business financially. See related: HYBRID WORKING IS HERE TO STAY – HOW TO EMBRACE HYBRID WORKING FOR THE FUTURE 

It’s important to partner with an IT Services Provider who understands your business and how it works in today’s environment.   

With over 25 years’ worth of experience, Transpeed delivers expert IT support and technology services to ensure your business gets the best from its technology. 

Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business increase its productivity and stay safe through hybrid working.