Is your organization ready for hybrid work? If not, you’re not alone. Poly’s recent research found that just 37 percent of respondents who planned to implement a long-term hybrid work model are fully prepared with a strategy ready to go. 

 This isn’t a surprise. After all, we’ve never seen such a fundamental, long-term change in how and where we work. When the pandemic first started two years ago, IT Leaders had to react on the spot to maintain business continuity when teams were first forced to work from home. In most cases, the technology solutions rolled out were short-term solutions, intended to help remote workers get by until everyone could return to the regular office environment. 

Now that we’ve arrived fully in the era of hybrid work, IT teams and business leaders need a well-planned strategy to enable employees to be effective and productive working, no matter where the work is getting done.  

CHART YOUR OWN COURSE 

Because we’ve never lived through such drastic changes there’s no playbook or road map. You can’t reach out to your peers who’ve successfully made this transition, because we’re all still sorting it out. And since your organization is one of a kind, with specific challenges and advantages, you need to plot your own unique strategy.  

 Navigating the transition to supporting hybrid teams is a complex undertaking, so it makes sense to start with some key considerations: 

How hybrid will your company be? Will everybody be in the office four days a week and remote on Friday? Or can employees come into the office on two days each week that they choose? Or does everyone only have to come in on the day of the monthly all-hands meeting and are otherwise free to work where they choose? Are there set hours during the day when everyone must be online and available, regardless of their location? 

What will your office look like? Is the office your traditional office, or will you also have co-working spaces or hubs where remote workers can gather? And when employees are in these workspaces, how will they work? Will desks be assigned, or will they be hot desks that workers will need to reserve? What kinds of collaboration spaces do you need to create? Do you need more conference rooms or more huddle spaces? 

How will you support your remote workers? With the perception that they need to be “always on” is a common complaint, how will you help them balance productivity and well-being? Can you provide them with an equality of presence with employees in the office? 

There are many moving parts and the picture is changing rapidly. While this can seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. 

TWELVE CONSIDERATIONS TO NAVIGATING HYBRID WORKING 

While hybrid working remains a largely unmapped territory, some guideposts are emerging as experts from a variety of disciplines consider its challenges, explore their impact on organizations, and provide insights for planning how your business moves forward. 

To help you navigate this journey to hybrid working, Poly has partnered with Worktech Academy on a white paper that incorporates insights and original research into twelve key considerations to help you develop a strategy tailored to your business.  We examine the contours of the emerging hybrid work landscape and chart some of the pivotal decision points and dichotomies that you face en route to making a successful transition. 

This is just the first step in our rolling program to create new thinking, define the main challenges, and explore emerging opportunities around hybrid working. Start by downloading The Journey to Hybrid Working: Twelve Considerations, then stay tuned as we continue to develop insights into the new corporate landscape for hybrid work.