Going hybrid #3 - The operational challenges of hybrid work

Future of work
July 26, 2021
Published by
Vianney

Hybrid working may be synonymous with flexibility, but it's essential to structure it on a day-to-day basis. This type of organization can quickly become a nightmare if you don't ask yourself the right questions beforehand. How do you know who's coming into the office and when? How can you ensure that IT security is respected at remote work ? How do you get teams working from different locations to communicate?

Don't panic, you'll find the answers to these questions here, along with specific examples to help you put hybrid work into practice with peace of mind.

Manage office attendance

With hybrid working, it's difficult to know who will be in the office in the next few days, especially when the remote work policy is flexible. Yet many employees choose to come to the office because their colleagues will be there. Today, this information is laboriously shared via a shared Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheets. It's all very confusing and time-consuming.

We've got just the tool for you! Deskare allows employees to declare their week in advance. No need to think about it, our web application sends you an automatic reminder on the Friday before the weekend. You can choose to go to the office of your choice, reserve one if necessary, or telework. Your vacations can also be declared manually or automatically from your HRIS (new integrations are currently being developed!). There is also an "on-the-go" status, particularly for sales staff. Of course, the company can define specific rules to ensure compliance with its remote work policy. You can also consult the status of your colleagues to guide your choices and help you find your way around!

Track your office occupancy

For Office Managers, monitoring space occupancy can be a perilous task in a hybrid mode of operation. The realities differ depending on the day of the week.

With Deskare, everything is easier. You have a wide range of statistics at your disposal about past periods as well as about the days or weeks to come. You will then be able to identify trends and make decisions based on data. For example, you notice a significant drop in the number of employees coming to the office next Friday. So, you decide to order less lunch or you organize an event to bring people in by reorganizing the space. And all this, without wasting time compiling information from a shared document. Everything is instantaneous, synthetic and visual.

As for managers, they have access to their team's statistics. This way, they can anticipate cases of isolation of certain employees and make sure that everything is going well.

Encourage communication

Working remotely doesn't mean cutting yourself off from your colleagues. Communication is all the more important to maintain links and enable collaboration. Just be careful that remote work doesn't result in a proliferation of e-mails! There are instant messaging tools for this, such as Slack, which also enables collaborative working. If you need to organize a video meeting to take stock, Zoom or Teams are ideal. For a holistic approach that brings all your tools together, opt for the Digital Workplace, featuring tools such as LumApps' Employee Experience platform. This will give your employees access to all the resources they need to get the job done, whether autonomously or collaboratively. For more information, click here.

In addition, it is beneficial to recreate informal discussion moments between employees, such as by setting up online coffee breaks. The idea is to promote team cohesion, share advice and resolve certain sticking points.

Ensure the security of your data

Switching from remote work to the office on the fly can involve IT security risks. Generally speaking, the work environment at home is much less secure. Employees often use their personal computer on a private network with little protection. The company CIO or IT service provider can set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to protect data. However, this is not enough, as your employees are still exposed to hacking attempts (fraudulent e-mails, phishing, etc.). Working from home, you don't necessarily have the reflex to ask the company for help. That's why we recommend that you train your staff to recognize fraud and know how to react.

Think about the health of your employees

Hybrid working raises questions about employee health. The lack of a clear framework for working at remote work can have harmful consequences for health. Employees tend to work even harder to prove that they can be productive at home. But don't worry, you can take action by reminding your employees of a few good practices. It's up to you to write them down in the form of a short guide for remote work.

First, breaks are essential to fight eye strain. A 15-minute break every two hours is recommended by the French National Institute for Research and Safety (INRS) for the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. It is a good idea to take advantage of this time to get up, walk around and get some fresh air. In general, it is suggested to work standing up at times. Then, you should avoid facing a window all day to relieve your eyes. Finally, an adapted posture is essential to avoid neck or back pain. As mentioned in our previous issue, the company can provide equipment in order to offer good working conditions to its employees. We think in particular of office chairs adapted to long working hours. We can only recommend Fleex again for this!

Of course, at Deskare, we specialize in supporting companies in their transition to hybrid work: both through our platform, deskare.io, and through our experience of hundreds of HRDs and Office Managers we have met over the past months. So don't hesitate to contact us to discuss, or if you have any questions about flex office and hybrid work! We'd love to talk about it ➡ vianney@deskare.io

We hope you enjoyed this article :) To go further, discover our article on the transformation of office spaces at the time of the flex office.