Ensuring an Organization's Future: Embracing Hybrid Work Policies
How can your company leverage hybrid work models to improve employee satisfaction and keep talented workers in Iowa?
Articles published November 11, 2021 by Holly Veeder
For months, the writing has been on the wall when it comes to changing workplace expectations regarding remote and in-person workforces. Since the onset of the global pandemic, companies with the flexibility to modify workplace policies have been doing so either slowly and methodically, or at a rapid pace. What has been the impact?
According to recent Forbes research, 79 percent of employees say work-from-home strategies have been successful. They feel both productive and satisfied with their work. Additionally, 83 percent of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company – representing a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Other indirect positive outcomes include a more digitally fluent and resilient workforce – resulting in higher revenue growth and being described as great places to work for organizations that welcome hybrid practices.
However, another new reality is that organizations are overlapping more than ever when it comes to competing for top talent. The removal of geographical boundaries means that Iowa companies are now competing with out-of-state businesses to hire the talented workforce that may be in their own backyard.
How can your business leverage this unique opportunity to adapt your workplace policies and attain a talented workforce? Employees work environment preferences deserve more attention than ever as the market becomes increasingly competitive. Explore the value of hybrid work models by embracing the “3-Prong Approach” when it comes to workplace expectations:
1. 100% Remote or 100% In-Office
Despite various resources illustrating the idea that remote workforces are equally, if not more-so, productive – the fact is that a demographic remains who prefer to work in the office. These employees know their environmental and habitual limits, and most likely will continue to thrive with an in-office option at your organization. Providing them with the opportunity to continue in-person work is likely to positively benefit their employee output along with your organization.
Even so, the same argument can be made for employees that thrive at home. Offering 100 percent remote working opportunities for your company allows you to attain talented workers beyond city, county, and state lines – enabling you to take advantage of diverse skills and perspectives that result in growth of revenue and ideas. Furthermore, investing in alternate workplace models presents the opportunity for organizations to keep talented Iowans in the state.
In the most recent Iowa Workforce Development survey, post-graduation location and employment plans were captured from students across Iowa’s many colleges and universities. Of the nearly 30 percent of students who were likely to leave the state, 25.9 percent of them noted that work-from-home options were important them. Additionally, a combined 85.6 percent of those surveyed said that attractive benefits are “very” and “absolutely” important to them when it comes to job opportunities. Providing Iowa’s college and university graduates with flexible work options and benefits is an effective strategy – now, more than ever – to keep them within state lines. This goes on to positively impact the economic and social potential of the communities these graduates reside.
2. Hybrid: 50-75% work-from-home with designated office days for collaboration
According to Gartner’s Redesigning Work for a Hybrid Future, the key driver of innovation is creating intentional opportunities to collaborate. This hybrid work model option provides the wanted flexibility to your productive remote workforce, while still maintaining traditional and timely structure for designated collaboration time. According to Gartner, providing access to four different modes of collaboration is critical to innovation. Those four modes of collaboration are:
Hybrid work environments give employees and teams the flexibility to choose when and how they leverage each mode to maximize their contribution.
3. Hybrid office: 20-50% work-from-home with alternating days or weeks
Thinking differently and completely upending workplace culture can be a daunting task for some organizations. However, the desire to improve or maintain employee satisfaction also remains. This hybrid workplace model allows your business to dabble in remote working strategies while also keeping hold of traditional and predictable workplace trends relating to growth and productivity. Research indicates that 16 percent of employers are using technologies more frequently to monitor their employees through methods such as virtual clocking in and out, tracking work computer usage, and monitoring employee emails or internal communications/chat.
Embracing the evolving workplace trends provides Iowa companies the opportunity to not only attract talent from outside our state’s borders, but to also maintain the top talent that is already here. This will positively impact not only your company’s bottom line and revenue goals – but also the communities we live and serve.