Changing ways of working can be disruptive and challenging, the move back to the office part-time will be something met with mixed emotions for the workforce. Key aspects of transforming to a hybrid working model will be empathy & employee experience, people-centric analysis, design, and iterations will be the only way to achieve a harmonious, collaborative working environment with a combination of distanced & in-office working; with employees able to participate and feel included working from any location at any time.
The fine balance between flexibility and manageable/trackable practices is one that will be difficult to establish straight away but terrifically important to ensure success. Employees now have more power than before, after providing they can work sustainably without having to travel into an office every day for a given number of hours, so we need to ensure going back to work is of benefit to them. Another factor that makes people experience even more vital than ever before is the overwhelming number of people who are actively interested in changing jobs once the economy recovers from the pandemic.
HR & digital strategists should work together to implement guidelines within the organization which promote efficiency & cohesive working regardless of place. This requires support from technology, leadership, and all employees. Keeping the design principles people-centric should be a must and the first place to learn how to enhance people experience is by understanding your workforce’s, needs, wants, and challenges.
The concept of people experience is much more than just the typical employee lifecycle. You should take this further with a deep dive into critical touchpoints and holistically understand an employee’s journey & daily tasks to ensure a better employee experience. Leadership needs to propose core principles that should be driven throughout the workforce including agile thinking, ownership, team spirit, and social responsibility. The only way an organization can transform is if the ambition is consistently communicated with ownership from top to bottom and the only path to achieving these principles on an organizational level is to invest time, resources, and budget into enhancing people experience within.
Whilst experience improvement requires empathy, listening to employees, and data, an effective way to add value is through additional benefits which can be introduced to delight employees and ensure they feel valued. In order to achieve a high-performing, principle-led, and appreciated framework for hybrid working you will require a thorough planning process with scalable functionality. Personio has theorized a model based on the trust & empowerment of employees & leaders, influenced by several guiding principles including ‘Seek To Improve’ & ‘Communication Is Key’. They have recently adopted their framework from the return to the office becoming an office-led, remote-friendly company. They are looking to have employees splitting their time 50:50 between office & remote work, with remote work being anything from the employee’s home office, anywhere within their home country for any amount of time or anywhere within Europe for up to 90 days per year. However, they will continue to promote flexibility as one of the core guiding principles if employees are seeking alternative arrangements; remaining people-centric.
Introducing PersonioFlex: The Five Pillars of Flex
- Best of Both Worlds
Combination of both in-office & remote work unlocks the benefits of both
- Collaborate & Celebrate
An office-led but remote-friendly company should have interactions and touchpoints designed and centered around bringing colleagues and teams together, regardless of place.
- Find your flex
The aspiration is 50% time in the office but this is could be more or less. It is important to push the boundaries with remote working both nationally and internationally.
- Trust & Empowerment
Flex work modes will vary depending on both department & role. Trust is required from the organization to both leaders and employees, with all considered to be working within the best interests of the organization.
- Customer Empathy
The business needs to also remain customer-centric with ways of working having to be inclusive to incorporate customer demands & efficiency.
Personio are aware that this is a journey and will continue to test, iterate and improve in order to refine their framework for the benefit of employees & customers to continue being competitive as a company people wish to work for which is vital for recruiting new talent. A huge part of their new Flex Framework is continuing to expand globally with the ways of working being promoted enabling international collaboration. PersonioFlex is simply their way of empowering employees to find the best way of work for them, whilst maintaining the teamwork and camaraderie that embodies their company culture in allowing all employees to feel empowered, included, and valued.
Hybrid working will be explored extensively as part of our Digital Workplace Online Sessions in September where you will also be able to hear more about the work Personio has been undertaking with their clients in designing and implementing new ways of working to harness the power of flexibility & hybrid working patterns.
If you would like to attend the online sessions you can register online here
HR Transformation & Digital Workplace | Wednesday 22nd September
Fireside chats & presentations on:
- Digital Tools & Technologies for the workplace
- Allowing for great productivity through digital application
- Creating an agile organization
- Building resilience in the workforce through digital
Future of Work, Workplace Transformation & Hybrid Workplace | Wednesday 29th September
Panel Session Discussion on:
- Trends within the digital tool landscape
- Company culture & instilling innovative thinking
- Leadership beyond the pandemic
- Hybrid workplace models
- Future of work predictions