The Best Practices for an Efficient Hybrid Work Model

The hybrid work model has been implemented in businesses around the world since the start of the pandemic. But this method of work is not new. Many researchers have proven the tremendous benefits of employing a hybrid work model to maximize productivity in the work environment.

Large corporations such as Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, and Autonomous have moved permanently to a hybrid work environment. It is important to understand exactly what But what exactly is a hybrid work model and is it beneficial for your workforce?

What is a Hybrid Model?

A hybrid work model may be defined as a combination of office and remote work. This means that you would spend time at the office performing essential tasks such as attending meetings or liaising with colleagues or supervisors. The rest of the office work would be carried out from the comfort of your own home.

Considering the pandemic, the need for the implementation of this method has become a necessity for minimizing human contact. Knowing how to use the hybrid remote work model for your company’s benefit is essential for your company’s success in the age in which we live.

Employees admit that working entirely from home has not allowed them to be as productive as they would like. Humans are social creatures who rely on social interaction for emotional, mental, and even physical wellbeing. Limited contact with humans can give rise to despondency and reduced productivity levels. However, when offered the opportunity to alternate between remote and office work, productivity and morale increased.

With a clear understanding of the hybrid workforce meaning, we can now delve into the advantages and disadvantages of a hybrid workplace model.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Hybrid Workplace Model

Employing a hybrid workplace model comes with several advantages and disadvantages. To determine whether it is beneficial to employ this method of work in your business, it helps to assess the advantages and disadvantages.

The Advantages of Hybrid Work

• Hybrid work offers flexibility for those employees who need it.
• It has proven to boost the overall morale of the workforce and increase productivity at work.
• Transportation costs for both you and your employees decrease with a reduction in the need for going to the office each day.
• Not just transportation, but general expenses are reduced by allowing your workers to follow this model. You do not need to purchase row after row of office desks and chairs, or stock the employee kitchen up quite so often.
• Choosing to have your employees work remotely and, in the office, means that you can have them around when you need them. For example, an employee can work on a presentation remotely but present it to a client within an office setting. You get the benefits of both remote and office work.
• Office politics are reduced as colleagues are more likely to get along.
• Health and safety can be maintained during the pandemic as remote work promotes social distancing.

Disadvantages of the Hybrid Work Model

• Not adhering to a hybrid work model schedule can result in employees experiencing burnout. Office jobs involve working within a certain time frame. However, with the flexibility of remote work, comes the risk of employees becoming overworked.
• Because work is to be done remotely, employees must be provided with adequate computer hardware and software to be able to carry out their work efficiently.
• Team building becomes difficult when employees work remotely as there is little face-to-face time and this could impact the team’s overall productivity.

As we have already seen, there are so many benefits to hybrid working. However, ensuring that employees are not overworked and build good relationships to work better in teams, a degree of planning is involved. Here are a few good ways to implement practices to get the most out of your hybrid work environment.

Best Practices to Optimize Your Hybrid Work Model

1. An Effective Hybrid Work Environment

Creating the right environment for your employees to work in is paramount to the success of your hybrid work model. Office hoteling allows you to make the best use of your space, cutting the clutter and simplifying the office dynamic. Autonomous has a brand-new range of hybrid products that provide an easy solution to your hybrid working environment needs. Autonomous Hybrid Work products can be used in any type of office setting to help create and manage an efficient hybrid work environment.

Hybrid Office

The Hybrid Office software from Autonomous allows you to create a booking system and correctly assess your office space to be sure that it is being used optimally. It helps those with limited office space, office furniture, and a high number of workers or teams.

Autonomous also created the Hybrid Office software to be used with the SmartDesk Hybrid, created to pair seamlessly for an efficient solution to your hybrid office needs.

SmartDesk Hybrid

The SmartDesk Hybrid is a standing desk that offers all the benefits of an electric standing desk and provides a modern touch to any office environment. The great thing about this office desk is that settings for different employees can be implemented and every time that employee is scheduled to work, the desk can readjust to suit their predetermined height preferences. This can be done thanks to the Hybrid Office software and allows you to use desks economically and efficiently.

The SmartDesk Hybrid is also a great buy because it is electric and has a quiet dual motor with a good range of height adjustment to suit all your employees. It has been proven to have several health benefits of standing desks.

• Benefits to the health of your employees: Remaining seated all day can cause weight gain. Changing between sitting and standing can help improve blood flow and engage several muscles to help you or your employees to lose weight. Alternating between standing and sitting can help lower blood sugar levels and prevent back pain caused by poor seated posture. Making use of a standing desk also helps to prevent heart disease caused by the buildup of fat around vital organs.
• Benefits to Mental Health: Utilizing standing desks can improve mental health by reducing anxiety and depression and boosting energy levels in workers. It can also improve productivity through improved blood flow to the brain.
• Increased Lifespan: Standing desks can increase your employees’ lifespans by reducing the harmful effects of remaining sedentary all day. Now that you have the right environment and remote work tools to support your hybrid workforce, another good practice for maintaining an efficient hybrid work model is communication.

2. Communication

When employing a hybrid work model, it is paramount to focus on modes of communication. Because work in a hybrid model is primarily computerized, using proper digital communication tools is essential. Autonomous has developed a communication tool called Jam. It has revolutionized the way hybrid work is done and is the perfect tool for your hybrid work model. 

Autonomous also offers a communication tool called Jam that aims to provide a simplified way to work remotely. Jam has a built-in chat feature and a push-to-talk system that makes interaction fast, easy, and efficient. It is the future of hybrid work communication and the ultimate communication platform for running a hybrid work model. This combines the functionality of Zoom, Meets, and Slack all in one simplified communication tool. Skip the clutter and make use of this hybrid work model best practice application.

Once you have the right tools to be able to communicate with your team, it is important to set in place hybrid work policies and draw up hybrid work module schedules.

3. Hybrid Work Policies

Drawing up policies for hybrid work is so important to lay out daily practices. They also may be required by law for companies who choose to follow this model of operation. Hybrid work policies prevent any misunderstandings and let your employees know exactly what you expect from them.

Here are some important things to include in your hybrid work policy:

• The scope of work: This details the departments of jobs that may be done remotely.
• Standard operating procedures: These procedures detail how employees are to communicate with each other.
• Working hours and availability: Embarking on a hybrid work model without detailing the hours of work that are required, or the times that employees need to be available can lead to chaos in the working environment. Therefore, providing employees with a clear guideline is paramount to the success of the work model.
• The equipment and tools for the job: Detaining the equipment that is needed for the job and all that is to be provided by the employer creates a clear understanding of what employees expect.

While excellent policies in hybrid workplace models are important to set your employees up for success by detailing what you expect from them, schedules are just as, if not more, important. This hybrid work model best practice is because they allow you to focus on important tasks first.

4. Hybrid Work Schedule

There are so many benefits to implementing a hybrid work schedule in your hybrid remote work model. It allows workers to manage their time more efficiently and prioritize important tasks, while still making time to complete smaller or less important tasks. A schedule becomes even more important when making use of a hybrid work model. They provide structure even in a flexible work setting.

Meetings or presentations must be entered into workers' schedules in advance to give them enough time to prepare and to ensure that they are in the office on time. With the office work model, it is easier to manage a hybrid work model schedule without needing dedicated hybrid work software. However, with the hybrid work model, schedules, especially digital ones, become crucial to the success of a business.

You can use several organizational tools to optimize your hybrid workforce, such as Google Calendar, ConnecTeam, and mHelpDesk.

What are the benefits of using hybrid work model schedule applications to manage your hybrid work teams?

• Schedules help to provide structure to a potentially unstable work model.
• They help employees balance their work and home lives in ways that help them be productive.
• Making use of schedules can help teams communicate and manage projects better.
• They also help to manage employee attendance and ensure compliance with given instructions. Schedule track hours for compensation purposes and assess employee workload to prevent burnout.
• A schedule can help you as an employer to manage your employees' productivity to assess whether the hybrid model in place is effective or whether it needs to be changed.
• It helps employees and teams meet deadlines.
• Scheduling time appropriately can reduce stress levels.

Final Thoughts

The hybrid work model is the future of the workplace. It has been employed by major companies already. Many small businesses are following suit. To make the hybrid work model best practice work efficiently, there are some essential things that you can practice or implement to help you get the most out of this way of work.

Allowing workers to work from the comfort of their own homes has proven beneficial for improved mental focus, productivity, and efficiency. With the arrival of the global pandemic, we cannot continue working the way that we did in the past. For those business owners that require a diverse solution allowing employees to work remotely, but having them come into the office when necessary, the hybrid work model is the ultimate solution.

However, knowing what practices to employ to get the most out of your workforce is important. First, create the perfect adaptable office environment for when you require employees to come into the office. Next, ensure that you use good communication tools, draw up policies and create functional schedules to make the most efficient use of your hybrid workforce.

Autonomous has an impeccable reputation for producing reliable, ergonomic furniture that caters to the needs of its clients. They have also created great solutions for hybrid work models that include Hybrid Office software that connects seamlessly to the SmartDesk Hybrid and a communication tool called Jam.