6 Great Examples of Hybrid Working Models
As the world adjusts to the “new normal”, the hybrid working model has become more popular than ever. It allows employees to work from home or the office, providing flexibility of remote work and collaborative opportunities for office work. At the same time, it helps businesses optimize their office spaces according to utilization rates and, in this way, enables them to save costs. But how can you implement this new way of working effectively? First, you need to find which of the six models of hybrid work will suit your organization best.
Office-First
In this hybrid model, management expects employees to be present in the office more often than working remotely. The office is the primary location for work, with remote options available for exceptional circumstances.
The office-first model is much easier to implement. You won’t have to change protocols or set up too many digital adjustments. You’ll only need to tweak some of your policies, such as office attendance.
This model works best for organizations whose productivity is dependent on collaboration. It allows teams to get their jobs done while allowing some room for flexibility and individual work.
Remote-First/At-Will
This hybrid model is designed for fully remote companies, where employees can visit the office. Team members can choose where they work based on their preferences or situation. This model is suitable for companies that operate entirely remotely, with a distributed workforce that spans different cities or countries.
While the remote-first model can boost productivity, it can also be unpredictable in an operational sense. People may visit the office together, compromising physical distancing protocols. If your organization has downsized its physical offices, you’ll need help managing the attendance in the office at every moment so there’s no overcrowding. This is why companies need an office management system.
Split-Week
In this hybrid model, employees spend half of the week in the office and the other half remotely. This model can effectively manage office space and allows for a mix of in-person and remote collaboration.
For example, one department can work at the office during the first half of the week. Then, you can physically assign other teams to be present for the remaining days of the week. This way, your office will be manageable, and teams will still get to regroup and collaborate regularly.
Desk booking software such as Desk Buddy ensures employees have a dedicated workspace when they come on-site. Also, using the Administration module, your managers can create groups of users according to the team they belong to and track their attendance accordingly.
This model can benefit your company as it allows efficient face-to-face meetings, avoids overcrowding, maintains team dynamics and gives room for experimentation in team management.
Week-by-Week
Like the split-week model, the week-by-week model involves one team coming to the office first and the other working remotely. This model balances in-person collaboration and remote work and allows for a predictable schedule that can be planned.
The problem with implementing the week-by-week model is the need for more flexibility. Unprecedented problems may fall on weeks assigned for remote work. Also, urgent meetings can disrupt the weekly schedules.
Team Decision
In this hybrid model, each team decides how they want to work. It allows team flexibility and autonomy, as they can choose what works best for them. This model can be helpful for companies with multiple teams with different work styles or preferences.
As it allows flexibility across your organization and helps you plan the operational costs, it comes with one main challenge – the need to have your organizational structure built-in in your desk booking software. This way, every employee can be assigned to their team, and you can easily track the utilization of your workspace. Desk Buddy can be integrated with your Active Directory to manage the groups, teams and roles effortlessly.
Individual Decision
Each team member can decide how they want to work in the individual decision hybrid model. This model provides maximum flexibility for employees, who can choose to work from home, the office, or a combination of both.
This model can be implemented perfectly with the hot-desking practice in open-space offices. This way, any employee can book every available desk, and businesses can reduce office resources according to the team’s attendance and needs.
But to ensure there are no double bookings of desks, you need to implement desk booking software. Our system for office management Desk Buddy provides interactive 3D floorplans and highly user-friendly software, so every booking is effortless for each team member of your organization.
As anyone can prefer to work remotely, it can become difficult for teammates who like to be in the office to collaborate with other people in the organization. To tackle this problem, Desk Buddy has Social Features which enable your team members to look for their work buddies and invite them to come to the office. These functionalities allow companies to promote collaboration and maintain a friendly culture on-site.
In conclusion
Hybrid work is a flexible solution that can work for various companies and teams. Whether it’s an office-first, remote-first model, or a split-week or individual decision model, the key is finding what works best for your company and your employees. By using desk booking software, companies can manage their office space more effectively and provide a better employee experience.
Don’t miss to check out our article on the lessons we learned about hybrid working.
