Office reopening plans are well under way, and the world of work is returning to a semblance of normality.
Normality in 2022 is significantly different to the world of work in 2020. There has been a fundamental shift in staff attitudes particularly amongst knowledge workers.
In order to thrive organizations need to make three significant changes.
Flexible working
As a recent Gartner webinar* discovered, flexible working is becoming a key weapon in the fight against talent attrition with 57% of poll respondents offering more flexibility for knowledge workers to choose work hours and days.
Hybrid working is here to stay and is pivotal in talent retention.
Improve internal recruiting
The Gartner study also found that workers were moving because for several key reasons including:
In response organizations are offering:
The move to hybrid working presents a number of key challenges for executive leaders to make it a success.
Amongst the many strategic challenges that face when managing a hybrid workforce by far the most significant is that of adjusting the current culture to support a hybrid workforce.
Other significant factors include:
How technology helps
Technology can support the necessary step changes required in a number of key areas:
Driving intentional meetings – meeting spaces will become hubs for training, mentoring and internal events. In short, they will be more intentional.
With fewer trips to the office and the fragmentation of staff, meetings are becoming harder to organise so a robust meeting room booking software solution is necessary. Outlook integration ensures that everyone stays on the same page.
Driving video conference adoption – the success of hybrid working is driven by the adoption of video conferencing.
Going forward, organizations are making video meetings the default to create a fair experience for remote employees.
Integration with platforms such as Teams and Zoom is key to driving a seamless and efficient video meeting experience.
Creating a collaborative environment – hybrid working presents a number of key challenges for collaboration.
Desk booking software based on floorplans and mobile booking apps makes it a cinch for staff to find and book a desk when they plan to visit the office.
An extra dimension is being able to do a colleague search – creating certainty in these uncertain times. Staff can see at a glance when their managers are available for valuable face to face mentoring.
Staff wellbeing – with mask and vaccine mandates becoming less strictly enforced it is still imperative that staff remain safe.
A touch free visitor experience is crucial for employees to feel and be safe. Integration with desk and room booking and health questionnaires creates the perfect reopening environment.
Data analysis – it’s a cliché yet truism that you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
Hybrid working requires dynamic changes to seating, furniture, meeting room technology and space configurations.
Triangulating data from the booking systems and deploying sensor technology helps give you all the information you need to create a bespoke hybrid environment.
Conclusion
Talent attrition is a serious issue. Taking the necessary decisions now to change the working environment can stem the tide of resignations.
While culture is driven by human endeavour, technology can play a pivotal role in efficiently managing the world of hybrid working.
Freed of unnecessary booking admin, workers can concentrate on their work while managers are armed with the data they need to drive continuous improvement.
Watch our Hybrid Working video to discover how an integrated approach to technology creates a wonderful working environment.
*Managing Reopening Plans and Retaining Talent Amid New Covid-19 Variants and the Great Resignation
