Are you still planning for the great return to the office and need some help with the process?

The hybrid office has been a hot topic lately and now is the best time for organisations to make their own decisions about when and how employees may return safely to their offices.

The planning process won’t be simple as a successful return must allow for all we’ve learned about work in the past and all we’ve loved about working away from the office to come together in one space that meets it all.

Organisations should therefore be aware of the fact that companies who do not support flexible forms of working may risk increased employee turnover, reduced employee engagement and limitations on the ability to attract talent in the future.

So What is a Hybrid Office?

A hybrid workplace is a flexible working model that is designed to support a distributed workforce of both in-office and remote workers.

Beyond the key criteria of a mix of in-office and remote workers, the most important pillars of a hybrid workplace are flexibility and support.

The Advantages of a Hybrid Working Model

Increased productivity
Improved employee satisfaction and culture
More possibilities for continuous learning
Better collaboration and work relationships
Improved mental health

But what constitutes a successful hybrid work model?

And above that, how can you, as an organisation, plan the best return for your workforce?

How to Plan It

When faced with making a decision, companies should consider a multi-phase approach towards a return to full occupancy.

Phase 1 – The Evaluation Phase

It will be tough to know which approaches work best and almost every decision will have trade - offs. During phase 1, you should :

Evaluate if your space meets the changing needs. Everything from the optimization of zoom-location aesthetics to acoustics, lighting, audio and video upgrades and easily adaptable technology must be evaluated.
Understand people needs
Understand people’s impediments for returning to the office and work collectively to address these challenges to the best of your abilities.

Understanding the employees needs should serve as guideposts for future policy making and drive physical evolution of our workplaces.

Phase 2 – The Testing Phase

Your new workplace should allow your space to evolve as new work patterns are adopted.

Leaders will need to give employees choice and control while also ensuring they maintain engagement from team members.

Phase 2 should evolve towards adopting a more employee-centric flexible work model and testing open conference rooms, multi-purpose spaces with flexible boundaries and invite people to interact away from their desks .

Support Warehouse HQ - Conference Room Design

Phase 3 – The Implementation Phase

While previous stages were all about research and planning, the final phase is all about action.

The main actions you should look at should be :

Reviewing systems and available equipment in offices in order to assess whether it will appropriately support hybrid forms of working
Consider what other equipment will support effective and healthy remote working, including the provision of office furniture and mobile devices

Support Warehouse HQ Project - Pinnacle Leeds

Helping managers to understand the potential wellbeing implications of hybrid working and equipping them to have appropriate wellbeing conversations
Reconfiguring collaborative spaces

Next Steps

The office as we knew it before the pandemic is a thing of the past.

If you recognise the need to adapt your workspace but aren’t sure how, our workplace specialists would love to help you find the right opportunities to move your business and your people in the right direction!

In fact, we’re currently offering a free 1-hour consultation with one of our workplace specialists to help you get the ball rolling. Complete the form below to get in touch and we can get your session booked in!