New ways of working strategies for office businesses

Site-Based, Remote and Hybrid Working – where is the best place for your team to work?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to start working remotely. However, it was soon discovered that many people were able to work remotely without sacrificing productivity.

This presented businesses with a problem of what to do when the pandemic started to draw to an end, and people could go back to the office. The question being, do businesses need a physical office to conduct business?

Many businesses decided they want to have their teams on-site sometimes, but they would also allow people to have the flexibility of working from home, known as hybrid working. To help you get back into a new normal, we’re showing you some strategies for having your team working either on-site, remotely or a mixture of the two.

Where will people want to work post-pandemic?

In a survey by Microsoft and YouGov, it was found that:

• 87% of employees said their employers have adapted to allow flexible hybrid working.
• 56% of employees were happier working from home.
• 57% of people surveyed said working from home has allowed for a better work-life balance.

Whilst many people have embraced working from home, there have still been some teething issues as people and businesses transition to the new ways of working:

• 30% of people surveyed said they worked longer hours since working from home.
• 53% of people said they felt as though they had to work longer hours and be more available all the time.
• 65% of people said they missed socialising with colleagues in the workplace.

Working from home has never been done on a scale like this before, and other issues need to be considered, such as home internet outages, IT problems and staff wellbeing so employers need to think about how they want their workplace of the future to look.

Advantages and disadvantages of working onsite

If you want your team to work from your business premises in the future, consider some of these pros and cons.

Pros

• Stronger collaboration between teams
• Employees more motivated
• Fewer distractions
• Promotes workplace culture

Cons

• Distractions from colleagues
• Limited to hiring from your local area
• Cost of your business premises

Advantages and disadvantages of remote working

If you have found that your team can work just as effectively remotely as they can in your building, consider some of these factors to ensure that working remotely works for everyone.

Pros

• You can hire from a wider talent pool
• Employees can be more productive
• Strong employee engagement
• Greater flexibility for your team
• Better work-life balance for your team

Cons

• Hiring from other countries means there may be different time zones
• Collaboration not as strong as on-site working
• Your team may suffer from poor mental health from isolation
• Caregiving could be more difficult

Is hybrid working an option?

Hybrid working means that your team won’t work exclusively on-site or remotely, but will do a mixture of the two. There are a few different methods of hybrid working that we will break down.

Core hours

In a core hours model, a member of your team will be assigned to the business premises on certain days and at certain times.

Outside of these hours, your team can be flexible in how and where they work, but core hours mean you can always have someone on-site if you need them.

Flex remote

Flex remote means that it’s your team who can choose where and how they work.

This type of work will be for members of your team who can work without having to speak to customers or clients face to face.

Does it matter to your business?

Staff considerations aren’t the only thing you need to think about when it comes to deciding how people will work in the future, it also very much depends on how your business operates.

Here are some of the factors you will need to think about when it comes to your business:

• Size of your business.
• How many employees you have.
• If you need your team to go out and meet customers and clients.
• If clients or customers regularly come to your premises.
• If you have the IT infrastructure.