Yes, The workplace is changing yet again! From work from the office to work from home and now to a hybrid workplace, in the past 2 years, we have already experienced a lot. With the ongoing debate around the stay period of coronavirus and its effects, many organizations have decided to adopt the best of both WFH and WFO, i.e., a hybrid model of work.
Undoubtedly, the continuous shift in modes of working hampers the productivity and efficiency of employees and employers but hi-tech solutions can bring things on track and help in adopting changes swiftly. This blog will discuss how hybrid workplace and technology-based HR solutions work hand-in-hand and have the potential to reinvent the future of work.
Let's explore in detail Hybrid workplace and HR technology by discussing on--
- Hybrid Workplace Landscape: An overview
- Reboot future of work with HR technology
- Roadmap of Hybrid Workplace
Hybrid Workplace Landscape: An Overview
A hybrid workplace or mode of working is a flexible model for achieving the best of both work from home and work from home models or accommodating a distributed workforce of both in-office and remote places.
Whether you are a CXO, HR manager, or any other employee, you might be well prepared for a hybrid work model, settling up for a 50/50 split of employees working from home and office in the future. As a result, everything from communication mediums to workforce management will be changed and both employees and employers must make strategies with actionable insights.
Let us explore how hybrid workplace looks like-
- Transition of 9 to 5 timing to 3-2-2, that will allow employees to work 3 days from home, 2 days from office, and two days off, depending upon scheduled meetings and team decisions
- Working remotely or from the office must be discussed while the time of hiring new joiners and decided as per convenience, workplace culture, and social energy of an employee
- Online recruitment process from screening to final onboarding along with a starting week in office for induction programs, team introduction, and more
- Both online and offline training sessions to upskill and reskill employees
- Well-organized communication channels for clear and crisp understanding and keeping every employee on the same page
- Informal sessions both virtual and physical to kill Monday blues, celebrate achievements and festivals, launch new features and versions, etc.
- Guidelines will be created for establishing a collaboration environment to disseminate knowledge, review and brainstorming sessions, and much more
- Mental well being must be taken care of while maintaining the productivity and efficiency of employees
- New high tech-based HR tools will flood the market to ease and automate HR functions
- Innovation will be limitless as people can be hired from every corner of the world
A hybrid workplace is both necessary and desirable for the future of work. At this stage of time, we can only predict what the landscape of a hybrid workplace will look like and wait for the time to experience the real world on our own.
Let us see the seven trends that will shape the future of a hybrid work world as per the report of Microsoft- The Work Trend Index
- Flexible workplace: The majority of organizations are considering redesigning their office spaces for better functioning of hybrid work environments
- Wake up call for Leaders: Out-of-box ways must be worked out by managers and decision-makers to keep encouraging their team members and maintain their efficiency
- Productivity and workforce: Structured and planned meetings can help in balancing the productivity and mental well-being of employees
- Re-energize Gen Z: Ensure Gen Z feels a sense of purpose and wellbeing, which is imperative for the shift to hybrid work culture
- Shrinking networks and endangering innovation: To foster social capital, cross-team collaboration, and spontaneous idea-sharing, ways need to be found out
- Authenticity, productivity, and well being: Team members must ensure their workplace interactions encourage authenticity among all groups, especially in hybrid environments
- Talent is everywhere: Companies in major cities can hire talent from underrepresented groups that may not have the means or desire to move to a big city, thereby democratizing the access to opportunities
Reboot future of work with HR technology: Opportunities for tech-based HR solutions
After adopting the work from home culture, organizations started planning to incorporate a hybrid work model. CIOs, IT leaders, and employees are following the mantra of- “prepare and adapt” as the form of the virus is emerging and changing in the pandemic era.
There are plenty of opportunities for tech-based HR solutions to reboot the future of work and hybrid workplaces. From employee cycle management to payroll processing, everything can be redefined by new applications and software available in the market.
Let us dive deeper to analyze the scope of HR technology in hybrid workplaces-
1. Payroll Processing:
The challenge related to payroll processing can be overcome by intelligent, integrated, and simplified payroll software. Auto assigning salary structure to new joiners, configuring pay groups and pay components, error-free payroll processing, 3D reports for recalculations purposes, auto statutory deductions for legal compliance, etc., can be quickly sorted out with payroll software in a hybrid work environment.
2. Employee Lifecycle:
From rolling out the offer letter to exit interview, everything would be different in a hybrid workplace. A complete workforce management software can streamline various processes from employees’ onboarding to offboarding like auto sending of confirmation letters after approvals, managing documents and information securely, making the smooth exit of employees even from remote locations, and much more at the hybrid workplace.
3. Performance Management:
Nurturing your employees in hybrid mode can be challenging to plan and implement. However, intelligent performance management software can not only review but also help both employees and your organization achieve their goals. In a hybrid workplace, give your employees freedom to define their goals and managers approve them, track progress in real-time by linking initiatives with goals in integrated software, identify future leaders with dashboards, discover various trends and every other parameter that is important to improve performance of your employees in a hybrid environment.
4. Employee Engagement:
Maintaining the mental well-being of employees’ productivity is quite a challenge. However, an intelligent HRMS software with an employee engagement module can amplify employees’ interactions and help maintain everything that would be different in a hybrid workplace from happier workplaces. For example, Moodbots in the software can help in sensing the spirit and energy level of employees, virtual badges can be used for peer to peer recognition, continuous reward policy, and badging employees on feed walls can boost up their energies, cricket leagues, meetups, etc. can be a few of ways for engaging employees in the hybrid workplace.
5. Asset Administration:
Managing assets in a hybrid environment can be an all-new challenge for administrators and managers. To keep track of assets and ensure that no asset goes missing or unaccounted while mapping asset lifecycle, organizations must deploy HR technology-based solutions like asset management software. These solutions can help curate workflows for approvals and cancellations, automatically update invoice details, maintain asset ownership information details, define asset allocation, and many more.
Besides the points mentioned above, HR technology-based solutions have the scope in self-helping employees, keeping a tab of their attendance, managing core HR functions, and every other HR function that could be roadblocks for maintaining a hybrid work environment.
Roadmap of Hybrid Workplace
For continuous productivity, collaborative environment, and maintaining the mental well-being of employees at the hybrid workplace, it is essential to create the roadmap for the future. Then, as per organizations’ goals, mission, and vision, they can follow the steps below and develop their strategies.
Step 1: Define hybrid working strategy
To figure out the correct approach and strategies for a hybrid workplace, connect with every department and have a healthy discussion on future policies. Consider the trend and requirements of your industry in the pandemic and further era for clear-crisp strategies. Finally, do not forget to determine communication channels and performance trackers to measure employees’ productivity.
Step 2: Reimagine the needs of a hybrid workplace
Concerns related to connectivity and collaboration must be reconsidered with appropriate solutions. Ensure that masked needs like mental well-being, a sense of purpose, structured call schedules are not neglected while making hybrid workplace work. Carefully evaluate physical infrastructure needs and remote locations from where your employees work.
Step 3: Plan budget and resource allocation
Make a database for making actionable decisions for a hybrid workplace. Explore flexible, scalable, and accessible options for proper budget planning and allocating resources. Organizations must not relentlessly beautify the workspaces but fulfill employees’ needs (both working from home and office). Review the expenses, performance, and utility of resources allocated regularly.
Wrapping Up
After a year of working from home, organizations need to prepare for unforeseen futures and formulate strategies for a hybrid workplace. Undoubtedly, technological advances can ensure the smooth transition of the work mode, but for that, organizations must choose the right solutions for them and their employees.
A complete HRMS system is one of the hi-tech solutions that can automate most of the functions, simplify interactions and make both employer’s and employees’ journeys in a hybrid workplace smooth. If you want to explore this solution, you can start with HROne, a 360 degree HR technology-based application compatible with most operating systems and accessible from any corner of the world.