Hybrid working - the new normal?

A quick poll on our LinkedIn page has made it perfectly clear –  many employees have experienced working from home and do not want to go back every day.

Also, a number of employers have had to adjust their preconceptions: working from home is perfectly possible without loss of return. What is the future then? Hybrid working! 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home could become the new norm. But how will this evolve, and how do you approach it?

The benefits of hybrid working for an employer?  

Why could hybrid working lead to an increase in productivity and more satisfied employees? Well, because there are quite a few benefits associated with it:  

• Employees starts to think like an entrepreneur  
  More freedom, more responsibility, but also more time to prioritize and think like an entrepreneur. This additional freedom is certainly not at the expense of productivity, on the contrary. Employees appear to be more motivated and even more loyal.  

• Saving time, money and energy
  Face it, as an employer you need less office space when your team is working from home. In addition, commuting is drastically reduced, and meetings take less time by using, for example, Microsoft Teams. Video calling has now become common and is often a lot more profitable.

• More focus  
  Hybrid working provides more focus. When employees come to the office they meet, share ideas and/or collaborate, and when they work from home they can work very concentrated. So your employees choose where they can work most efficiently based on the work they have planned. This allows them to focus very specifically on the tasks or goals to be completed, which reduces the margin of error and increases the output.

• A better work-life balance 
  No more frustrations when you have traffic on your way to work. By switching to a more flexible way of working, you keep more control over your life. You often complete more work within the same number of working hours. Hybrid working combines the best of both worlds. Working entirely from home often feels oppressive, while coming together with colleagues can provide extra inspiration, strength and connection. 

A thoughtful policy? The key to success

Of course, Covid-19 has accelerated this transition, but that does not mean that a thoughtful policy is not necessary. It goes without saying that employees must also have the necessary tools to make hybrid working a success. Fortunately, Microsoft solutions include all possible tools to work successfully from home or any other location. Video meetings via Microsoft Teams, secure remote login to the network and additional attention to cybersecurity: with Microsoft tools, your organization is ready for the future. Teams also makes it easier to work on files together. Together with your team you can easily work on one Word or Excel file, so you avoid duplication and a lot of copies of one file.

Some tips to get started with hybrid working in a thoughtful way

Do you want to facilitate hybrid working and make it easier for everyone? These tips will get you a long way: 

• Ready for the numerous 'you are on mute'?​
  Efficient video conferencing? Make sure everyone can work smoothly with Microsoft Teams. This complete tool includes everything you need to communicate and do presentations. Easy, fast and fully integrated with Outlook and other applications. In addition, you enjoy excellent security.
• IT-partner 
  An IT partner who is familiar with remote working and an expert in cybersecurity is a must. After all, proactive monitoring is important, so many threats can be prevented.
• Document sharing in the Cloud 
  Make sure that your employees store everything in the Cloud so all information can be easily shared. Learn more about cloud data security.

Want to get started with hybrid work yourself?

Would you like to know more about hybrid working in combination with the Microsoft solution? At NORRIQ we have been familiar with it for a while and we have already guide dozens of companies to this new way of working. Contact us and we will be happy to tell you more about it. 

Contact NORRIQ