How to make hybrid work a success in 2024

Ashleay: Hello and welcome to the “In Your Interest!” podcast. My name is Ashleay and this week I’m joined by Cynthia Bilodeau, Assistant Manager, Employee Experience. Today, we’ll be taking a look at hybrid work in 2024 and how to make it a success. Hybrid work is something that affects many of us, and it’s important to know the best practices to optimize our performance at work. So, hello, Cynthia.

Cynthia: Hello!

Ashleay: All right. So, Cynthia, hybrid work remains a fairly polarized topic. What’s causing so much debate?

Cynthia: It won’t surprise you, Ashleay. It’s fair to say that telework was imposed on organizations at the start of the pandemic.

Ashleay: Yeah.

Cynthia: In that rather extreme and fast-moving context, the focus was on short-term business continuity. This meant that legitimate questions about productivity, engagement, culture, professional development and even innovation came later.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: Teleworking impacts these things over the long term, and even without telework in the equation, these topics already quite complex.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: From an individual point of view, we know that most people have adapted their lifestyle following a few years of teleworking. And since we’ve all experienced the benefits, the subject remains quite delicate, even in 2024.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: For all those reasons, when a hybrid model is integrated into an organization in a way that’s ill suited to the context, a host of problems emerge: lack of productivity, a culture that’s far from the one that was intended, reactionary practices from employees such as coming to the office but leaving as soon as possible.

Ashleay: Oh, that’s not good. Ha-ha!

Ashleay: No! And there’s no single recipe for success in hybrid work. Models can vary widely, depending on the field, the maturity of the organization, and of course, its culture. So, the challenge, in fact, is for employers and employees to work together to find the best balance between everyone’s needs. This is simple, yet complex.

Ashleay: Absolutely. And what are the best practices or trends for achieving this balance?

Cynthia: A first trend we’re seeing a lot of at the moment is the importance of giving purpose to office presence. Focusing on times when face-to-face work brings value will likely be more successful than focusing on frequency. In many cases, the best way to think about the office today is not as the place you work, but as the place you work with others. It’s a gathering place. It’s a good exercise to question why we go to the office. Are we looking to generate more mentoring, synergy on a project, or do we want to speed up decision-making on more complex issues? It’s clearly more engaging to know the purpose of your presence and adjust the frequency accordingly than the other way around. And having a clear idea of the purpose of your presence avoids instances where employees go to the office and spend the whole day on Teams.

Ashleay: Oh yeah, that would not be fun. Ha-ha!

Cynthia: Ha-ha! If I may add another point: from the perspective of organizations, there’s a major benefit in adapting offices to this new reality by ensuring that there are spaces that meet the needs of our teams. The same would apply to integrating technologies that are adapted to hybrid working. For example, installing modern technologies in meeting rooms can be a big plus. And finally, whatever you choose, supporting senior management will be a key element in ensuring the model’s success.

Ashleay: Absolutely. And I don’t know if you heard, but we had Adam Elliot on the podcast a few weeks ago…

Cynthia: Yeah.

Ashleay: And I loved the point he made when he said, “Don’t ask your employees to do something that you wouldn’t do.” And I think that’s something we integrate, here at iA. We see a lot of executives and managers, like you, that are on site. And that’s great for employees to see, they know that they can get some face time with these people, can chit-chat around the coffee machine, etc. It’s very fun.

Cynthia: Yeah.

Ashleay: Yeah. And typically, when do face-to-face meetings add the most value? We were saying team projects, collaboration, things like that. What would you add to that list?

Cynthia: More and more studies are showing that the integration and training of new employees are more successful when a face-to-face portion is added to their onboarding, mostly for the first few months. And this is especially true when the new employee is junior. Being at the office helps them create a more transversal and lasting network. It can speed up the learning process and enable new employees to feel that they’re making a significant contribution more quickly. It can also definitely contribute to their sense of inclusion in the team. You talked about projects, Ashleay. It’s true that getting together in certain phases of a project can be highly valuable and create synergy. We hear that, for project startups and launches, strategic planning and so on, this can be very useful.

Ashleay: Right

Cynthia: At the same time, telework continues to be very valuable in a number of ways. Individual work productivity is often mentioned, and work-life balance, of course.

Ashleay: Absolutely, yeah. Just that little 15–20 minutes that you save at the beginning or end of the day because you don’t have to commute. And that’s just here in Quebec City. In Toronto, we all know that the commute is much longer. So, yeah, that can be very interesting. Instead of commuting we can start working directly. As a manager or employee, how can you help make hybrid work a success?

Cynthia: Basically, the key is to have open discussions on both sides. We have to be ready to both share our concerns about hybrid work and be ready to listen and consider different perspectives.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: Managers have to be intentional, authentic and listen. They should consider why they think the moments their team gets together are beneficial. They should share this with their employees. And to provide maximum clarity and encourage buy in, managers should let them know their intentions in advance as much as possible. They also shouldn’t hesitate to experiment with their teams: discuss the advantages and the less-appreciated points together. It’s important to talk about our hybrid working practices now and then. They shouldn’t stay fixed in time.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: It may sound silly, but just being vigilant about the timing of moments in the office can also generate a lot more openness. Think about start and finish times, travel times, and allow moments for informal exchanges. I’d even say legitimize them.

Ashleay: Yeah, it’s so important. I’ve often had employees that come see me and they’re like: “Oh, I went overboard on my lunch break!” or something like that. But you know, you just find new links in other areas that can be helpful. Or even, you know, sometimes in the hybrid work environment, someone might have an issue and then someone else raises their hand, like: “Oh, I can fix that for you. Hang on, give me two seconds.” So, if we were each in our own little bubble at home, that might not have taken place.

Cynthia: Yeah. You’re right. And finally, as a manager, of course, you can help your employees evolve in a hybrid mode by adapting your role. For example, you can act as a connector to help them build a richer network.

Ashleay: Right.

Cynthia: And for employees, try to be proactive. Managers are often the ones that take on the most responsibility, but employees have a role to play, too. If there’s someone new on your team, offer to spend time with them at the office. Think an activity would be more effective in person? Talk to your colleagues or manager. Do you go to the office frequently on Tuesdays? Challenge yourself to regularly have lunch with colleagues you don’t see as often. At the end of the day, an effective hybrid mode should be a co-creation in which everyone is involved.

Ashleay: That ends today’s episode. Thank you so much, Cynthia, for coming in to talk to us about hybrid work and how to make it effective and healthy for everyone. And a big thank you to our listeners. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line if you have any questions. Talk again next week! Loved this podcast? Want to know more about economic news? Follow our “In Your Interest!” podcast, available on all platforms, visit the economic news page on ia.ca or follow us on social media.