What is a Hybrid Workplace Model | Importance of Employee Experience
“Safe business reopening after the global outbreak has reshaped traditional workplace models. Here, we dive deep into the definition of a hybrid workplace model and its influence on the importance of employee experience.“
For decades, companies and businesses across the globe have been redefining their workplace models to adapt to an easier way of managing their facilities. As the pandemic hit the world, there has been a dynamic shift in the way businesses operate and manage their workforce. Businesses started empowering and encouraging employees to seamlessly adopt a flexible work culture. The modern mantra for facility management is rooted around “Hybrid”.
The higher autonomy and better work-life balance have fueled the adoption rate, since the hybrid workplace model is gaining momentum among employees we want you to find the right set of tools and solutions to revamp your facility and deliver the best possible experience to your employees, regardless of where they are located.
Introduction to Hybrid Workplace Model
A hybrid workplace is a flexible workplace culture designed to support both in-office and remote working. Hybrid workplace model is a system that brings together remote working and on-site working on the same page, meaning that it is a model of working allowing on-site and off-site employees to co-exist in a cohesive environment.
But wasn’t this already prevalent before the pandemic? Yes, remote working exists among the working class but it never really fell in the category of being a “full-time” job. The work that remote staff did was considered as mere “gigs” building a workplace culture where only the regular office-goers were given respect and recognition because they were into a “real” job.
Things have taken a good course since the pandemic and hybrid workplace model is giving equal importance to both onsite and work-from-home employees, ensuring that employees can choose to work in-office or from the comforts of their home independently. If we were to imagine a flexible workplace, it would consist of freely moving employees and staff or some employees working from home and some in the premises or specific sets of employees visiting the office on certain fixed days and so on. This is how a hybrid model works and it may look different for different offices. The core feature common to all is the unparalleled flexibility that it comes with.
Benefits of a Hybrid Workplace Model
Why this hype and why are employees demanding to be received by a hybrid workplace when offices reopen? The answers lie in the vast array of benefits that a hybrid workspace can offer to both employers as well as employees.
Greater Work-Life Balance
Employees, when bestowed with the freedom of choice, can work with unmatched dedication and produce extraordinary results. The hybrid workplace model allows employees to build work around their life rather than building a life around work. With the freedom to work in their desired environment, the employees can better manage their life outside the office cubicle and this, undoubtedly, helps in building more loyal and satisfied employees.
Optimised Working Environment
Hybrid working allows companies to optimise the available space and ensure that the employees are getting their fair share of space in the office. As employees visiting the office regularly may reduce in number, there is a possibility of inclusion of more amenities and advanced meeting areas, conference halls etc. The best part is that the companies are not required to invest in larger spaces as the hybrid model allows the companies to operate well in optimised space management without tampering with productivity.
Future Ready Culture
Just as businesses are emerging from the repercussions of a global pandemic, the hybrid model is a ray of hope for worldwide offices, industries and companies. The reason is that this model is something that can withstand the effects of another pandemic and keep businesses up and running even if some other calamities hit us in the future. Therefore, this model is being adapted quickly as it makes organizations ready to face anything and still manage to stay productive.
Improved Access to Talent Pool
The hybrid model of working has opened multiple doors of opportunities for the candidates willing to work remotely for companies in almost any part of the world. The recruiters have expanded their horizons and this mode of work has given access to a huge talent pool that is beneficial for both employers and employees. prior to this, there was a limitation on inclusion and geographical diversity within an organisation but once companies go hybrid, employees from all kinds of cultures and remote places can apply for their dream jobs.
Importance of Employee Experience
Many companies have jumped from talking about work culture to employee experience. The employee experience is a term that is used to holistically describe how an employee feels and works within an organisation right from day one to the day they exit the firm. It combines all the touchpoints of a company and how the employees feel about it. This term may seem unfamiliar to some but it can be thought of as similar to customer experience.
The importance of employee experience is seen in the fact that nearly 80% of executives consider it as highly crucial for a company’s productivity. A positive and great employee experience can be impactful and here is how it can affect your company in the long run.
Low Employee Turnover
Many companies face a shockingly low retention rate and this can be a cue for improving employee experience within the workplace. According to a report, only 12% of employees leave a company for monetary reasons which makes it clear that a high turnover ratio is not linked to low salaries. Instead, the problem usually lies in the culture and the kind of experiences created for the employees. This can cost companies huge losses because the hiring managers are always stuck in the loop of re-hiring, re-educating and re-training the new employees.
When there is a positive employee experience and the right tools for increasing it, the employees are bound to stay for a longer duration of time within an organisation.
Higher Engagement with a Hybrid Workplace Model
If you ask any employer the top 3 attributes that guarantee a company’s growth, employee engagement is sure to be on the list. When employees are truly engaged, they are certainly more productive and are able to produce exciting results any day.
Post pandemic when companies adopt a hybrid workplace model, employee experience will be at the centre stage, the companies begin to explore digital interfaces and dimensions that make the journey of an employee much easier and hassle-free.
Learn More on Top Hybrid Facility Management Tools
For instance, if a company has invested in proper facility space planning solutions like office desk booking software, it gets fairly easy for the employees to reserve their preferred desks in advance and even book the utility rooms in advance to avoid any clashes. Solutions like these certainly improve employee experience and engagement ensuring that they are able to leverage best-in-class technology for greater productivity.
Improved Safety
It’s important that your employees believe and share the same values you uphold. If a company is forced to bring employees back to the workplace, then it’s important that they ensure a safe and healthy workplace ecosystem for their employees. The easiest and the most wistful strategy is to integrate smart technologies into your facility so that it continuously monitors your facility and optimises a healthy workspace. The best example would be AI-driven air circulation/ ventilation units and pandemic proof visitor management solutions.
Better Consumer Experience
There is no denying the fact that a company’s customer experience is directly linked with its employee experience. The points are not matched by a straight line but the connection is too strong to overlook. The best explanation for this is when a customer approaches the company, employees can either break or make the deal. When the employees are happy, engaged and equipped, they are certain to put out their heart and soul into solving problems and impressing the customers. All of this is done not to impress the team leader but for genuine respect for the company. When your employees are happy, they are sure to make your customers happy.
High Revenue and Profits
When companies take care of their employees, their employees take care of the company. This holds true for most organisations that are thriving like never before including giants like Google and Microsoft. Their culture is intuitive and every employee is treated like a valued asset which helps create a workforce that is highly loyal and dedicated towards their work. This inherently leads to faster growth, greater ROI and increased revenue in the long term.
How can a Hybrid Workspace Model Improve Employee Experience?
The main purpose of the flexible workplace model is to help businesses create a cohesive employee experience at every level and ensure that all employees are well engaged with the business (regard to where they are located). This also means taking the employee’s wishes of not commuting or working from the office into consideration and ensuring that they are, still, an active part of the company. With greater access to technology, companies can achieve seamless digitalisation enabling them to provide an extraordinary employee experience.
With hybrid, the companies need to improve upon their digital abilities and services in order to navigate the hassles of flexible workforce culture. This automatically calls for companies adopting and encouraging greater employee engagement with employee experience becoming the top priority of organisations. Greater collaboration and reskilling of employees in a hybrid environment can really elevate employee experience resulting in greater retention and ultimately, higher productivity.
Switching to hybrid itself says a lot about a company’s willingness to bend rules for its employees and make work more fun, which helps combine the emotional, physical and mental aspects of an employee resulting in delivering an incredible employee experience.