Horrible Hybrids!
It worries me when I hear of so many Leaders who are vastly unprepared for the Future of Work. I am concerned that many are leading their people into hybrid workforce models that will not work. We call them Horrible Hybrids! They will simply introduce more inequality across teams and individuals and damage revenues.
Research
Backing up my gut feel is some research carried out by Actual Experience. They found that 7 in 10 companies say they expect to shift to hybrid workplace models within the next year.
Great! But their research also suggests that most are not ready for the change. Worse still, they have often not even agreed roles and responsibilities at a leadership level to oversee the transition. They lack the data to understand how, where and when work gets done. And they have not yet worked out how they will co-ordinate and manage teams across a mix of office and remote working environments…..let alone invested in the leadership development needed.
Feasibility Programme
When we run a feasibility programme with our clients we consider stuff like this:
1. Which Leader will own the transformation programme? This is a major programme for any business to undertake and it must be managed as you would manage any other large transformation.
2. The vision of what smart working should like for your unique company and client base. And to achieve this we then:
Collate data for you from all parts of the organisation – it is a business wide requirement and we have a methodology to uncover it. Most businesses that I know are relying far too much on employee surveys – which is not the be all and end all in this case.
3. The link between digital tools and employee wellbeing. The employee’s experience of your chosen model will prop up the most important drivers of your business success…..revenue and performance, equality, diversity and inclusion and retention of the best talent. Have you given this any thought?
4. Customer service. How must this change and what processes do employees now need to do their job or interact with customers.
Talent is the New Cash Flow
Done well, hybrid offers your business the chance to attract and retain the best talent and improve business performance.
Get it wrong. Well, it doesn’t bear thinking about – does it?
So, the question is – are you really in control of your future ways of working? Have you got the methodology to work through the maze that implementing a hybrid workforce brings?
