When going hybrid, a consultative, collaborative approach is likely to yield positive results the fruits of which can be benefited from by the entire company for years to come.
Okay, so the leadership team has decided 2021 will be the year of going hybrid.
Offices throughout the world are adopting hybrid workplace models in record numbers, so it is not really a matter of if any more but rather when.
It’s clear that if companies wish to attract and retain the best talent, some level of flexible working is not only hoped for by most candidates, but is expected!
The pandemic can be thanked for this seismic change in the workplace - possibly the biggest since the introduction of email.
Almost all knowledge workers (those whose work can be done remotely using technology) experienced the benefits (and short-comings, of course) of remote work as a result of the pandemic. And surveys show they are not ready to let it go and head to the office again M-F 9-5.
Now, with many countries rapidly vaccinating their populations against COVID-19, questions around returning to the office are at the forefront for executive teams.
Bring in the Survey
Companies know a purely top-down, leadership driven approach to deciding on something so significant will be met with resistance and poor uptake.
A consultative, collaborative approach is likely to yield positive results the fruits of which can be benefited from by the entire company for years to come.
Depending on the size of your company, there may be many teams, departments and committees involved in creating a hybrid work policy, but one tool that will most certainly assist in the process is a good, old fashioned survey.
The Top Questions
We at Zynq specialize in helping companies manage their hybrid office space, so we decided to put together a list of five crucial survey questions to gauge employee attitudes and expectations towards a hybrid work model.
Zynq decided to put together a list of the five most crucial survey questions to gauge employee attitudes and expectations towards a hybrid work model.
Although these five are by no means exhaustive, we feel aggregated responses to these can help narrow down the options available when selecting a hybrid model and structure.
- I would consider leaving if flexible work was not an option at [Your Company]. (1- Strong Disagree . . . . 10- Strongly Agree)
- If given the option, how many days of the work-week would you come to the office? (0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5)
- I feel safe returning to work in-person at the office (1- Strong Disagree . . . . 10- Strongly Agree)
- I have everything I need to be able to successfully complete my role while working remotely. (1- Strong Disagree . . . . 10- Strongly Agree)
- What is the office better suited for compared to working remote (select all that apply):
- Meetings
- Informal conversations with colleagues
- Productivity
- Deepwork
- Collaboration
- Accessing equipment
- Building culture
- Accessing leadership
- Everything related to work
Companies are welcome to add to this list of questions, of course, but we feel that by having responses to these, the critical aspects of a hybrid work policy can easily come together.
We feel that by having responses to these, the critical aspects of a hybrid work policy can easily come together.
How the Responses Will Help
The upshot of asking these questions is having answers to these five critical questions:
- How important is the flexibility of hybrid work to the company's workforce?
- How many days do employees want to spend working in the office?
- To what degree is the workforce (still) concerned about the pandemic?
- Is the workforce technologically equipped to work remotely?
- What will the office be used for, if flexible working is an option?
How to Conduct the Survey
There are many free and paid options for quickly collecting responses on these and other questions.
We would recommend Typeform, Google Forms and SurveyMonkey as great choices that can do the job for companies of all sizes.
One last suggestion would be to keep the responses anonymous in order to avoid any responders bias.
If your office is considering going hybrid, our team at Zynq would love to chat with you and answer any questions about how to seamlessly execute a hybrid workplace strategy.
