Hybrid working is the new employment currency
Gone are the days of traditional perks in the workplace – 28 days holiday, paid sick days, dress down Fridays. Now, both existing and prospective employees want more from their role and company culture. With the pandemic accelerating the ‘work from home’ trend, it is clear that employees enjoy this flexibility within their workplace.
Acceleration of Remote Working
With businesses plunged into lockdown for months, employers were forced to adapt quickly in order to ensure business continuity by transitioning to remote working. At first, for many, this was a novelty and a far cry from the normal working day.
Over the past year, employees have proved that they can get the same job done at home just as well as they could within the office. Continuing the hybrid way of working is seen as a win-win for employees and employers, creating further trust and flexibility for both. Employers will need to adapt fast or they’ll get left behind. The future of work is flexible and if you want to attract and retain top talent, you should offer some kind of flexibility in employee work schedules to suit their personal lives.
Work-Life Balance
If businesses continue to adopt a hybrid working model, they’re putting their employees’ wellbeing firmly at the centre of the business. Keeping pandemic processes such as flexi-working empowers employees to adapt around their work-life balance. Employees could then also have the incentive to bank hours which could see them finish early on a Friday.
But, for a hybrid model to work, the focus needs to be on creating the most productive environment that is split across the home and the office to suit both employer and employee. It is time for leaders to rethink performance metrics – it is about the outputs that your employees are giving.
The New Normal
The pandemic will soon play out, but hybrid working has a permanent place in the employment mix. Approaching this less like an interim response to the pandemic, and more like an opportunity, will enhance your organisation. With a hybrid structure in place, internal teams will have access to remote-ready talent and hiring decisions can now be based on talent rather than geography. Employee outlook has changed over the last year and businesses that won’t adapt run the risk of losing their talent to other businesses that meet employees personal and professional goals.
At Neo PR, we recognise the importance of providing employees with a working environment and culture that is suitable to both their needs and those of the business. If you’re interested in joining the team and benefitting from a flexible hybrid working approach, email your CV to prworks@neopr.co.uk
