6 Steps for Planning a Hybrid Event
In March of 2020, businesses and event professionals postponed or canceled their painstakingly planned live events in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Virtual events soon became the norm, and organizers figured out new ways to engage audiences online. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, a new type of event has emerged: the hybrid event. Hybrid events combine online and offline experiences, giving people a choice to attend in person or watch from the comfort and safety of their own homes. From a business perspective, the benefits of hosting hybrid events are many: Access to a larger audience: The virtual side of your event can extend across borders and time zones, increasing your reach Increased ROI: A bigger reach can lead to greater sponsorship opportunities, and the flexibility of hybrid events reduces financial risk Easier data collection: Remote and onsite attendees can leave feedback via mobile event apps or in-person surveys Reduced environmental impact: There’s no need for attendees to travel, and you can cut back on catering and disposables Peace of mind: Team members and attendees alike can join in without putting themselves or others at risk According to a whitepaper by BizBash and Mediasite Events, four out of five event professionals believe hybrid events are here to stay. So, how do you plan a hybrid event, and what are the best practices for hosting a successful one? Hybrid event planning tips All events, whether in-person, virtual, or a mix of both, require careful planning. Consider these six tips to organize a successful hybrid event. Set out a vision for the event Every event needs a clear purpose. Who is your hybrid event for? Why should they want to come? What will they learn? These are all important things to consider. Setting out your vision at the very beginning will provide more clarity as you plan the event — and give your potential audience an understanding of what to expect. Create a detailed event plan A plan is essential for any event, but especially for the delicate balancing act that is a hybrid event management. Ask yourself the following questions: How many sessions will be hosted per day? How long will the sessions run? Will there be different activities for both the virtual audience and in-person audience? Who are your speakers? What are your team’s roles and responsibilities for the event? You’ll also need to plot out a marketing strategy for each audience to build anticipation for the event, highlight the key speakers, and showcase exclusive sessions. Choose your hybrid event platform wisely When choosing a venue for an in-person event, you consider the location of the space, the facilities, and the capacity. The same care must be taken when selecting your virtual venue. You need a hybrid event platform that offers live streaming, session recording, engagement features like chat and polls, tech support, and high-quality video and audio. See if you can request a demo from your chosen virtual event platform before finalizing your decision. Remember, many of your virtual attendees will require more breaks throughout the day or may only be able to log in for an hour or two. Make a plan to provide content on-demand so they can access it at a more convenient time to enhance their event experience. Tailor your content to your audience Your hybrid conference should not feel like two separate events but one event that can be experienced in two ways. Prepare your presenters to be recorded and speak in front of a camera, and don’t include any activities that one section of your audience cannot participate in. Ensure your content is relevant to both sets of event attendees, or offer them an alternative if this is not possible, like a virtual networking session that runs alongside an onsite one. In joint sessions, engage your audience with live polls and Q&As and keep things snappy — no one, online or offline, wants to sit through a three-hour speech. Communicate with your attendees Communicating with your audience is essential — it’s how you get the word out about your event. In the lead-up to your hybrid event, create an event webpage where attendees can register and access all the key details, from the location to the agenda. In the weeks beforehand, send out email reminders and tailored speaker announcements to build anticipation. Keep up a high level of communication during the event too. Your virtual attendees will need clear instructions on how to register for the event, access the sessions, and use the platform’s engagement features. Lay everything out in pre-written FAQs and consider appointing a “virtual host” to guide attendees throughout the day. This host can remind the audience of the schedule, answer any questions they might have about the platform or event, and introduce virtual-only activities. Expect the unexpected As with any occasion that brings hundreds of people together, hybrid events can be rife with pitfalls. Technical issues, platform glitches, confusion amongst attendees over where to go and what to do — all these things can derail sessions and cause delays. If you run into difficulties on the day, don’t panic. Reschedule what you need to, communicate any changes to your attendees, and get on with the show. How to plan a hybrid event with Wrike While in-person events are returning, there will continue to be a role for the hybrid event as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Wrike’s event planning tools make organizing virtual and onsite activities a breeze — use our Event Planning Template to break the project into tasks, assign work to team members, and monitor progress with custom statuses and dashboards. Interactive Gantt charts help you plan with precision, while the calendar view shows important milestones and deadlines at a glance, so you never miss a detail. Want to start planning hybrid events? Get a free, two-week Wrike trial today and see how easy hybrid event planning can be.
Earth Day 2022: 5 Ways for Your Hybrid Work Model to Be More Eco-Friendly
As spring has finally sprung and we can get back to enjoying nature that little bit more, our planet is at the forefront of our minds. The theme of Earth Day 2022 is “Invest in Our Planet” — a fitting frame of mind for approaching our business models this year and beyond. The threat of global warming to our planet’s wellbeing is becoming more and more apparent. According to the latest IPCC report on climate change, approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in environments that are highly vulnerable to climate change. We need to avoid the global temperature rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius, as this would cause “unavoidable increases in multiple climate hazards and present multiple risks to ecosystems and humans.” According to earthday.org, to avoid this rise in temperature, we need to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We can all play our parts in this effort, and whether you’re an office manager, a team leader, or a CEO, there are plenty of ways to drive down your workplace’s carbon footprint. As more and more businesses move to a hybrid work model, we’ve gathered five ways to encourage your hybrid workforce to be more environmentally friendly. Encourage hybrid work While some of your teammates may be embracing the hybrid work model, many others may find it hard to break from their traditional schedules. The first step in making your hybrid workplace more eco-friendly is to encourage hybrid working in the first place, as it holds huge benefits for your carbon footprint. Less air and noise pollution from commuting cars, less single-use plastic from breakfasts and lunches, less energy waste from office buildings — the eco-benefits of working from home stack up quickly. While there can be some debate as to whether working from home really cuts carbon emissions with heating and energy costs, the consensus is that it is far preferable to commuting to work, with one study even finding that net carbon emission reductions of 77% can be achieved from working at home. Trial an equipment sharing model One of the benefits of a hybrid working model is that office equipment does not need to be supplied and replaced at such a high rate. Tech turnover can have massive eco-implications, from the mining for materials to the e-waste produced when a piece of equipment needs to be retired. Set up an equipment sharing model with your hybrid workplace, and see how much technology can be shared or saved by staying at home. For example, if a team member has their own computer suitable for work use, offer an incentive for them to use this, rather than request a new laptop. Avoid doling out new technology just for the sake of it. Many of your employees may not need a company phone to do their work, for example, while others may work fine without extras like headsets or external hard drives. If one or more of your employees work part-time or flexible hours, investigate whether they could share their equipment on a rotational basis, passing it between them on the days they need it. Measure office power usage When your teammates do work from the office, there is an opportunity to reduce the amount of power your building uses. Research when your office has the highest capacity, and see if you can reduce the power consumption in off-peak hours. For example, there should never be a need for your office to have full power on overnight. You can also invest in light sensors and LED bulbs, which are both great ways to reduce the need for constant power usage. Depending on the size of your organization, you may be able to switch to a greener energy source for the entire office, such as solar or wind power. Talk to your office manager or the leadership team and state your case for why this investment could be worthwhile. Set up a recycling drive Making an effort to be more environmentally friendly doesn’t have to be a chore. There are plenty of ways to turn your efforts into fun, team-building activities for your team. Why not organize a recycling drive or a local area clean-up for your employees to mingle and do some volunteer work? You could also organize a clothes swap or a furniture flipping competition to let your workers see how going green can be fun and fashionable. Getting everyone involved is key to ensuring your eco-efforts go the distance, and it’s a great excuse to get together outside of work. Offer green incentives If you currently operate a rewards system in your workplace, why not offer more green perks and incentives to your best-performing employees? There are plenty of eco-friendly swag items to choose from, like reusable coffee cups or water bottles, compostable phone cases, or clothing and tote bags made from recycled materials. Go the extra mile and offer these items at your next event or conference, and make your mark as an eco-conscious company. Find the right software for your team to stay connected While working from home, it’s crucial that your employees have the tools they need to collaborate and be productive so that we can all reap the benefits of less time commuting. A collaborative work management system like Wrike allows your team to work together from anywhere. With features like real-time proofing and approvals, over 400 app integrations, customizable workflows and views, and robust security features, it’ll be like you never left the office. Find out more with a free two-week trial.
Why Great Culture is Essential for a Hybrid Workplace
The hybrid work model is here to stay, folks. The great work-from-home experiment of the past 18 months has been a success; companies realize that employees can be just as productive working from anywhere, and workers are embracing the flexibility of a remote or hybrid workplace. Some 83% of workers want their company to offer a hybrid work model post-pandemic, and 39% would like the option to work from home up to four days per week. Many hyper-growth companies are listening to employee preferences, with 63% implementing a “productivity anywhere” workforce model and introducing the possibility of a hybrid workplace for employees. It’s clear that hybrid work is becoming a permanent part of how we work, but what are the potential challenges facing such a model – especially for culture? The hybrid work model can lead to longer working hours, micromanagement, a dissolution of traditional company culture, and opportunities for miscommunication. Thankfully, there’s several ways to avoid these pitfalls and instead come out ahead by building a more productive, streamlined, and positive work culture. Building a positive hybrid workplace Along with the hybrid work model comes a noticeable change in company culture. Businesses are concerned with how they can preserve culture with a semi- or predominantly remote workforce. However, it’s important to keep in mind that culture is much more than just office perks and team-building events. Looking beyond perks Culture begins with a company’s unique approach to work. Consider the critical characteristics of your ideal culture and how they can be achieved in a hybrid workplace. For example, providing flexibility to employees and trusting them to complete their work from home will provide an excellent framework for creating a transparent, autonomous company culture. Free lunches and snacks won’t help employees too stressed or busy to eat it. Helping your employees feel more comfortable about the work they do and the way they do it contributes much more to building a healthy hybrid workplace culture. Setting employees up for success A positive culture starts with positive workers, so focus on ensuring employees have everything they need to be productive at work. This includes: Ensuring employees have the tools and equipment they need to work comfortably at home – including options if the internet or power goes out, as well as funding for new equipment Implementing new training opportunities to allow remote workers to gain the same level of onboarding and upskilling as in-office workers Making sure remote managers are trained in supervising, managing, and coaching from a distance, along with remote team-building skills Ensuring that your hybrid and work-from-home employees have ample opportunity to engage with management Employee involvement and work-life balance Changing to a hybrid work model is an excellent opportunity to reassess what constitutes great company culture. Recruitment company Morgan McKinley used surveys during the pandemic to discover what was most important to workers and, based on the results, built a culture that offered a better work-life balance. To do this, they implemented ideas such as a company-wide 3 p.m. finish on Friday afternoons, cutting hour-long meetings to 45 minutes, and encouraging employees to block out lunchtime each day on their calendar. You’ll notice that all of these new measures provide equal benefits for both in-office and remote employees. When building your culture, ask employees what’s most important to them and create a company culture that benefits all workers. Better tools improve hybrid workplace culture Perhaps the most critical aspect of hybrid work is creating a digital workspace that enables all employees to work together from anywhere. Collaboration is a key cornerstone of hybrid work culture, and it’s a great place to start. These tools will ensure you are supporting in-house and remote workers to collaborate. Your digital workspace is essential to making sure remote workers don’t feel isolated from their team or that office workers aren’t getting more opportunities. All of this equates to happier employees, less turnover, and more productivity — critical foundations for a solid workplace culture. Digital tools also support a flexible workplace by allowing employees to work to their own schedules. An emerging trend in hybrid work is asynchronous communication, which enables teams to communicate without the expectation of needing to respond immediately. Team members will have all the information they need to complete a task and complete it in their own time. Asynchronous communication negates the need to be ‘always on.’ Employees can send questions or provide status updates without everyone being connected 24/7. You can also encourage teams to send daily or weekly updates, so everyone can be transparent in what they’re working on day-to-day. So, what exactly are the essential tools employees need to foster a better collaborative culture in a hybrid environment? They include: A comprehensive digital workspace that captures all work so that projects, resources, communications, and status updates are accessible to remote, hybrid, and in-office workers Asynchronous communication tools to combat the ‘always on’ mentality and minimize excess meetings Security features to ensure the safety of company information and employee data Companies can also achieve a comprehensive digital workspace without bombarding teams with excess tools that can cause miscommunication and unnecessary complexity. Businesses should focus on two core tools to facilitate the hybrid model and enable a better culture of digital collaboration. IM communications tools An IM tool such as Slack or Microsoft Teams allows employees to engage with each other regularly. Channels can be set up for teams and employees with similar interests to ensure all employees feel included. IM tools allow employees to have instant and direct access to their colleagues no matter where they are working and help support relationship building in a hybrid environment. Streamlined IM communication and coordination can contribute immensely to building a healthier work culture and environment. CWM platform A collaborative work management platform is the core component of the complete digital workspace needed to facilitate hybrid work. Teams can track all projects and tasks in one place and gain full visibility over work across teams and departments. These platforms allow for asynchronous communication, enabling workers to be flexible with when and how they work. They also integrate with other tools, allowing all work data to be brought together and stored in one workspace, minimizing the need to be logged in to several platforms at once. CWM platforms also have built-in security features designed to support hybrid teams to work from anywhere. Security features It’s critical to ensure that work and information is protected regardless of where employees work. As businesses become increasingly digitized, bad actors will continue to devise new ways to access and potentially take advantage of your unsecured data. Provide your IT teams with the tools they need to rigidly safeguard your company’s work, perform structured audits on a regular basis, as well as ensure your employees are educated on proper security protocols and practices before they delve into the world of digital collaboration. It’s time to reimagine the way we work The way we work has changed for good, making it the perfect time to reevaluate your workforce based on the changing needs and behaviors of your business and employees. For your company to be resilient and provide the best possible workplace culture, you need to reevaluate work through a lens of flexibility. A collaborative, autonomous culture for workers provides considerably more benefits than the closed, siloed work culture of the past. A compassionate, flexible work environment will increase employee happiness and engagement, and it’s become more important than ever to break down silos in a hybrid workplace to ensure that employees are dedicated to teamwork and collaboration no matter where they are. For more resources on hybrid work culture, check out: Return to Work Management Guide: How to Manage a Hybrid Team Research Uncovers the Technology That Will Power Hybrid Work An Introduction to Hybrid Team Management A Guide to Hybrid Remote Working WFH or Hybrid Office? How to Know Which Works Best for You
The 4-Day Workweek: Exploring Alternatives for the Future of Work
The pandemic turned the working world upside down more than many workplace experts could have predicted. Millions of workers left their office desks to work from home offices — or the dinner table — which certainly wasn’t an anticipated outcome for the workplace in 2020 — or 2021, for that matter. So, if the workplace can make a major shift toward remote work in the face of pandemic, it could also be possible to explore alternatives for the future of work in the form of the 4-day workweek, While the 4-day workweek might sound like a workplace utopia, a handful of countries and a selection of companies around the world have already trialed or implemented this alternative work style. So, what are the challenges and advantages of a 4-day workweek and how are institutions making it work in the face of our ever-evolving modern work culture. What is the 4-day work week? The 4-day workweek is just what it sounds like: instead of working five eight-hour days each week, from Monday to Friday, employees work just four days. There are two 4-day workweek schedule examples that have been put into practice: In some cases, workers are still on the clock for a 40-hour workweek, but this is condensed into four ten-hour days. In other cases, a 4-day workweek consists of 32 hours, “where employees simply work one less day out of the week without making up the difference in hours.” Historical precedent of the 5-day work week While the 4-day workweek might sound like an extreme departure from the five-day week that has been the norm for as long as most workers can remember, it actually wasn’t that long ago that employees were expected to work six days each week. According to The Atlantic, the earliest recorded use of the word weekend was in 1879, and referred to a break from work between Saturday evening and Monday morning. In 1908, employers in a New England mill began giving workers both Saturday and Sunday off, so that Jewish workers could observe the Saturday sabbath. Per the Atlantic: “The Great Depression cemented the two-day weekend into the economy, as shorter hours were considered a remedy to underemployment,” and we’ve been living with this five-day workweek for about 100 years. In fact, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930 that, by now, workers would be making such high incomes that they would only have to work 15-hour weeks. James Suzman, in an interview with Ezra Klein, explained, “He predicted that the combination between capital growth, improvements in productivity, and advances in technology, that nobody would be working more than 15 hours in a week.” According to Suzman, the reason we do not work 15-hour weeks is because workers are in the habit of working 40-hour (or more) workweeks and because our wants have grown over time, necessitating longer working hours to pay for them. Polls and experience have actually shown that those who work 40-hour workweeks aren’t necessarily producing more than they would in a 32-hour workweek, which is why countries and companies have begun to experiment with 4-day working weeks. For example, between 1998 and 2000, French lawmakers created rules that brought the French workweek down to 35 hours, meaning that any hours worked over 35 would then be entitled to overtime pay. Iceland trialled a 4-day workweek for many employees between 2015 and 2019, and it was so successful that 85% of employees now work a 4-day week. 4-day workweek example In a key 4-day workweek example, a New Zealand company with 240 employees instituted a 4-day workweek in 2018, where employees were expected to work 32 hours and received the same pay. According to The New York Times, researchers found that employees were able to complete the same amount of work in four days that they were previously doing in five. Additionally, a quarter of employees found they were able to manage their work-life balance more effectively, and stress decreased while work satisfaction increased across all employees. With the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers around the world are paying renewed attention to flexible and alternative working styles because of how workplaces shifted to accommodate their employees in the face of the threat of contagious disease. Many employers and employees alike have realized that productivity is not necessarily tied to the office or to working between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm. 4-day workweek pros and cons While Iceland and France have successfully cut down on workweek hours for employees, what are the pros and cons of implementing a 4-day workweek? Pros of the 4-day workweek First, the benefits of a 4-day workweek, from increased productivity to a lower carbon footprint: Increased productivity: A 4-day workweek has been shown to maintain productivity levels when compared with a 5-day workweek. In Japan, Microsoft trialled a 4-day workweek throughout the summer of 2019 and found that productivity actually increased by 40% compared with the summer of 2018. More balanced gender equality: A 4-day workweek can also increase gender equality, because it allows women to stay on more equal footing with male employees. The World Economic Forum explained that women with children could certainly benefit from the 4-day workweek. “Women at the company who have children will be free to spend one day a week with them and, crucially, remain on the same footing as the rest of their colleagues.” Increased employee engagement: Employee engagement has been shown to increase when a company undertakes a shift to a 4-day workweek. Because there is less time in the office so in order to complete their work, employees focus more than they would be able to during a 40-hour week.” Lower carbon footprint: Finally, if employees cut a full day of commuting from their schedule every week, the company’s overall carbon footprint is reduced. However, for employees who work remotely and therefore no longer commute, this benefit will be lessened. Cons of the 4-day workweek Now, the disadvantages of a 4-day workweek: Requires coverage for customer-facing roles: Companies need to be aware that customers might not be on board with a shift to a 4-day workweek, especially if you are providing a service that needs customer support. Companies have mitigated this problem, however, by ensuring there is a shift of employees available to cover customer queries throughout the traditional 5-day week. Requires an understanding of goals: When employers and employees undertake a 4-day work week, the goals need to be clear. The 4-day workweek isn’t simply a 5-day work week squeezed into four days, unless the schedule adjusts to include four 10-hour days. If employees are expected to cram more work into less time, stress levels will increase and productivity will decrease. Requires better planning: A 4-day work week requires more planning in order to successfully shift from a 5-day workweek. Meetings need to be scheduled across four days instead of five, and PTO requests will need to be managed accordingly. Requires cutting out workplace chat: Cutting the workweek by eight hours necessitates removing as much unfocused time as possible from an employee’s daily life, meaning there might be less time for chit chat at the office than there was previously. Countries trying or considering a 4-day workweek A handful of countries have brought in a 4-day work week already, clearly believing the pros outweigh the cons. As previously mentioned, Iceland had such a positive experience in trialing the 4-day work week that 85% of their workers now use this schedule. Spain announced in March 2021 that they would commit to three years of employees working a 32-hour workweek without having a cut in their compensation. The government has committed to making up the difference for companies that want to participate. In August 2021, U.S. House representative Mark Takano (D-CA) put forward the Thirty-Two Hour Work Week Bill in an effort to readjust American work-life balance. The bill would make all work over 32 hours for American employees subject to overtime pay. Meanwhile, in Ireland, Dublin City Council has backed a pilot program trial of the 4-day week. Companies trying a 4-day workweek And it’s not just countries that are trialing four-day workweeks, there are some companies pioneering this schedule as well. Kickstarter recently announced that it would introduce a 4-day workweek for its employees beginning in 2022. Social media software company Buffer began experimenting with the 4-day workweek in 2020, and the New Zealand arm of Unilever has been trialing the 4-day workweek for its employees throughout 2021. Clearly, companies have taken on board one of the biggest lessons of the pandemic: that work and life need to be in balance in order to have productive, satisfied, and content employees. The 4-day workweek is another way companies could reach their business goals while helping employees thrive.
7 Ways Employers Can Support Working Parents, Including Childcare and Hybrid Working
Being a working parent has always come with challenges: time spent working in an office is time spent away from raising children. If you get called into a meeting, you might have to skip your child’s drama performance; if you have to work late, you might miss tucking your kid in before bed. As we ease out of the pandemic, now is the time to consider ways employers can support working parents better. As women began entering the workforce generations ago, children often became ‘latchkey’ kids from a fairly young age if one of their parents wasn’t able to take care of them before returning from work. In recent times, though, parents have relied heavily on daycare, grandparents and relatives, after-school programs or sports, or full-time nannies to take care of children while they work. Before the pandemic, most working parents were expected to be in an office full-time. This meant that many parents had to coordinate dropping kids to school, bringing them to doctor’s appointments, cheering them on at the soccer field, or watching them in the school play — all while making it to the office on time. For parents who needed to commute, kids might be dropped to daycare at the crack of dawn and not picked up until suppertime. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in flexibility for many working parents, thanks in large part to the rise of hybrid working. Many working parents are now able to drop their kids to school or make it to performances or appointments because flexible remote working has become normalized. However, hybrid working isn’t a solution in itself. Workplaces and employers need to support working parents in a more holistic fashion, from offering childcare subsidies as an employee benefit to creating programs that help employees feel a stronger sense of belonging at work. What does the current childcare landscape look like for working parents? Before the pandemic caused a seismic shift in the way we work, finding, scheduling, organizing, and even affording suitable childcare was difficult for many working parents. If kids were sick or a childcare worker didn’t show, parents were left trying to pick up the pieces — and still make it to the office. With the pandemic-induced shift to remote working, previous childcare conundrums paled in comparison to working at home with no childcare at all. Many parents were expected to keep productivity up while somehow overseeing remote learning for multiple children and keeping them occupied throughout the day without so much as a playdate. Needless to say, that situation was untenable for many working parents, leading 40% of working parents to make changes to their jobs and 17% of women to leave work altogether. The attrition due to the pressures on working mothers in the COVID-19 era isn’t over, though, because according to a study on Women in the Workplace by McKinsey, “as many as two million women are considering leaving the workforce.” Why should bringing women back into the workforce matter for businesses? Getting women back into the workforce is key to a strong economic recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic, according to the U.S. Labor Secretary, Marty Walsh. “We need to make sure if we're going to have a strong recovery — a strong, equitable recovery — we need to get women back into the workforce,” Walsh explained. Walsh further commented that childcare remains a critical factor in ensuring that women can indeed return to the workforce and affect change in the greater economy. As offices reopen and working parents are making decisions about how they plan to return post-pandemic, many parents favor hybrid working to accommodate their needs in taking care of their children. In a study of 1,000 randomly selected working parents in the UK, “76% of all mothers and 73% of fathers surveyed wanted to work flexibly to spend more time with children.” Only 16% of those surveyed expressed an interest in working from the office full-time, due to the flexibility that the hybrid model provides for working parents. What can businesses do to help parents in the workplace? Workplaces have clear incentives to actively help working parents, in particular working mothers — both to create a diverse employee panel and to contribute to the overall economic recovery. As offices reopen and employers look to attract and retain highly skilled talent, here are some initiatives they can undertake to assist working parents. Offer hybrid working options: Hybrid working options give parents the flexibility to drop kids to school and daycare, pick them up, or take care of children who are sick. Hybrid working also eliminates commuting time for working parents on the days they work remotely, giving them additional time with their families. Wrike, as a Citrix company, has offered employees the option to avail of their choice of full-time office, full-time remote, or hybrid working scenarios. Create programs for employees that enhance their sense of belonging in the workplace: Working parents can often feel isolated as employees, struggling with responsibilities that they aren’t typically encouraged to share with others. Programs like a company parents group chat or coffee chat on Zoom can create a stronger attachment to the workplace, making it more likely that those employees will continue their employment at their company. Provide a childcare subsidy to employees: Just like healthcare has become an important item in a list of company benefits, childcare subsidies are likely to become increasingly enticing to potential and current employees who have children or are considering having children in the future. Offer on-site childcare options: Large companies sometimes have the ability to provide on-site childcare to their employees in an effort to lessen the burden on working parents who might otherwise not be able to see their children for many hours at a time. On-site childcare options mean that employees are able to see their children during their lunch breaks and commute with them rather than only see them when they pick them up from daycare. Help employees access employee assistance programs: Company employee assistance programs (EAPs) are often designed to help employees with tricky issues such as finding childcare or a realtor. However, some EAPs aren’t exactly user-friendly, and busy working parents might find them difficult to access. Helping employees access the help in EAPs can increase the rate at which they’re utilized. Encourage all employees to maximize work-life balance: Some benefits may carry a stigma that keeps working parents from taking advantage of them. For instance, encouraging all employees (not just parents) to use all of their vacation days will de-stigmatize that practice and help working parents spend more time with their families. Likewise, encouraging all employees to avail of flexible scheduling or hybrid working will reassure working parents that this benefit isn’t frowned upon. Create a parent support forum: Providing opportunities for parents to support each other is a free way of assisting working parents. Employers can create a forum where parents can share babysitter or daycare recommendations (if many employees are in the same geographic area) or offer hand-me-downs to fellow team members when their children outgrow them. Employers can and should support working parents as the global workforce eases slowly out of the pandemic into what will be the new normal. Elements that were incorporated into daily work during the pandemic, like remote and hybrid working options as well as robust employee assistance programs, can continue to help ease the burden on working moms and dads in the future. These kinds of improvements to the workplace will help increase the likelihood that parents will be able to continue to thrive in their employment as well as at home.
How to Know Which Way of Working is Right For You (Infographic)
The Covid-19 pandemic forced a record number of offices to send their employees into remote working, but as the number of people vaccinated is increasing, offices are reopening and many employees are now faced with a difficult choice. Should they continue to work remotely, return to the office a few days each week, or return to the office full-time? If your employer has given you the option to choose, here’s how to know which way to work is right for you.
The Ultimate Return-to-Work Checklist for Employees (Infographic)
As the COVID-19 pandemic eases with the acceleration of vaccine rollouts, companies across the globe are preparing to welcome employees back to the office. Organizational departments such as HR, IT, and people operations will be following individual checklists to ensure all bases are covered when the physical workplace reopens. This includes introducing cleaning procedures, creating temporary schedules, and informing employees of return-to-work protocols. But what about the employees themselves? What can you expect when you return to the office and how can you prepare yourself for this new situation? Luckily, we’ve prepared a return-to-work checklist for you to follow.
How to Ask Your Employer to Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
It’s difficult to believe that remote work has become a household name in just a matter of two years. Pre-pandemic, only 17% of employees took advantage of remote working, but COVID-19 caused that number to jump to 44% as 16 million knowledge workers packed up their desks in a hurry in March of 2020. Now that vaccinations are on the rise across the United States, offices around the country are reopening. While the return to normal office life might appeal to some employees, others are eyeing the future of remote working and wondering how to ask employers to work remotely post-pandemic. Requesting to work remotely pre-pandemic used to involve in-depth research into how that could work. Employees used to have to convince employers to take a significant risk in letting them work remotely because remote work was largely uncharted territory. Now, it’s more appealing to a larger swathe of workers and more trusted by employers as a reasonable way to work. Not all employees want to continue to work remotely. Some found remote work challenges untenable, like social isolation, juggling children engaged in at-home learning, or sharing a space with roommates. However, for many, the advantages of remote work far outstripped the drawbacks, causing them to pursue a future of remote working. Prerequisites for successful remote working If you’re currently wondering how to ask your employer to work remotely post-pandemic, this set of tips will help direct your steps toward full-time remote work. There are several prerequisites you should consider before asking your employer to stay remote post-pandemic: Asking your employer to work remotely typically requires that you’re an employee in good standing, as working remotely necessitates a higher level of trust than those working in an office setting. If you were able to perform your duties well while working from home during the pandemic, you’ll have a greater chance of a positive response. You’re committed to working remotely in the future. If your employer gives you the opportunity to work remotely, you might not have a desk to return to should you change your mind later. You have a suitable remote working set-up, whether at home or a co-working space. Remote working requires a space that’s suitable for completing your work each day, including a reliable internet connection and a quiet space for making phone calls or engaging in deep work. Your job doesn’t require daily in-person interaction, such as a retail or service role. If your duties require you to be physically in your place of work, your employer likely won’t be able to accommodate a remote work request. If you believe you and your workplace satisfy these prerequisites, you’re ready to request remote working post-pandemic. How to ask your boss to work remotely in the future These recommendations should help you determine a plan for requesting remote work from your employer: Request a meeting with your boss: Changes to the way you do your job shouldn’t be undertaken via email or internal instant messaging like Slack. Instead, ask your boss if it’s possible to schedule a meeting to discuss potential ways to improve the way you work. Come prepared to actively request remote work and make your case. Prepare information beforehand: Preparation is your best offense in this situation. You’ll want to outline the reasons you believe remote work will suit you and your ability to do your role. You can either send this information to your boss beforehand or discuss it with them during the meeting — sending it ahead of time might give your boss more time to digest it rather than receiving it on the spot. Start with the following: Highlight how you working remotely will benefit the company Outline your job functions and how they can be better performed remotely List ways remote work will increase productivity for your particular situation, including the possibility of undertaking deep work without distraction Address any potential concerns your employer might have and offer solutions Be ready to address certain objections: If you can, prepare for your boss to raise objections. The following are worth considering before you meet with your boss: If your boss is concerned that you won’t be reachable when needed, you can outline your specific working hours and digital communication tools that can help you stay reachable during work hours. If they feel that your job can’t be done remotely, highlight each function of your role and explain how they can be done from home. If they fear you will be less productive when working remotely, you can bring up previous productivity during the pandemic. Propose plans for keeping your employer apprised of your progress at regular intervals. Propose a hybrid work compromise or remote work trial If your employer isn’t completely sold on the idea of you continuing to work remotely, you can propose a hybrid work schedule that meshes with your team work methods. If you know that your team meets monthly at a certain day or time, proposing a specific schedule that allows you to join your team and contribute in person might be more amenable to your boss. Likewise, suggesting a trial run of working remotely for a period of a few weeks or a month can be a good way to determine whether this set-up will work for both employee and employer. A trial run can also be helpful as employers try to allocate office space moving forward with the future of remote work in mind. It’s important to remember that if you choose to work remotely, there may not be a desk waiting for you if you change your mind. Use Wrike to keep remote work on track Wrike offers remote working solutions to keep employees connected and collaborating, wherever they’re based. Thanks to instant @mentions and real-time commenting, employers and employees can keep in touch and monitor progress. Automated requests cut out constant check-in emails, while custom reports enable employers to track their team’s progress anytime. Try Wrike for free today, and let our collaborative work management software drive you into the future of remote work.
What Is Hybrid Remote Working?
Hybrid remote working bridges the gap between remote work and office work. It offers employees the opportunity to work in an environment that suits them and has a substantial impact on both overall performance and productivity. Despite the weather-related small talk, many people still want to be with their co-workers. And if companies aren’t too eager to return to full-time hours on site for all employees again, there is a solution that is less black and white. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of how hybrid remote working functions and why it could benefit the companies that employ it. What is a hybrid remote working model? A hybrid work environment includes both in-office and remote employees. This arrangement allows employees to work from home while still maintaining a physical office. Combining the two work models has major benefits for a number of vulnerable groups, including women, people who have disabilities, parents of young children, millennials, and Generation Z employees. If that’s not enough to pique your interest, the hybrid remote working model also seems to be a more productive and cost-effective strategy for everyone. There are plenty of companies still pushing the envelope when it comes to working conditions. But many are starting to realize that they need to care more about how their employees are getting things done and where they have to be to do it. This results-oriented mindset is the driving force behind many decisions to switch to a hybrid remote working model. When it comes to the day-to-day practicalities of this approach, it can vary widely. In general, hybrid workplaces need conference rooms, at least one large general use space, and a robust online tool for a successful transition. This can save companies real estate space and office expenses which are only a couple examples of the many benefits of hybrid remote working. What are the benefits of hybrid remote working? After working remotely during the pandemic, many employees are eager to return to their desks. But despite the enthusiasm for shared workspaces, many companies are still reluctant to return to the traditional office setting. That’s where hybrid remote working comes in. Easier planning Companies can work together with employees to create schedules that everyone will champion. For example, instead of working from home on the same days every week, an employee or team member will come to the office at agreed-upon times instead. This eliminates the need for an office manager to plan meetings and events for in-office hours. Smarter resource management A manager can then customize their work schedule to suit a specific company project. For example, all members of the same team can work from the same office then alternate with another team the following week. More flexibility Alternatively, companies can choose to give employees the freedom to go into the office whenever they want with the caveat that they do it a minimum number of times per week. An entirely flexible schedule allows employees to customize their work schedules to fit their personal needs. This concept is ideal for people who work from home for disability-related reasons or are on a tight deadline. Happier employees Many of us know from experience now that flexible work can boost employee satisfaction. It’s also a great way to reduce turnover and can be a major selling point for recruitment. What are the challenges of hybrid remote working? The traditional workday is no longer a requirement for many workers. Instead, they expect more from themselves and are more focused on results-oriented tasks. In fact, studies have shown that there is a link between feeling content with work and being productive. For employees, this expectation presents various challenges that employers have to consider. These challenges include but are not limited to: Management Company culture Miscommunication Micromanagement is one of the biggest challenges of both remote working and hybrid remote working. This can be counterproductive and may even lead to resentment amongst employees if taken to an extreme. For example, having to check in constantly or always be online while working from home (even after hours) may lead to a big enough decrease in morale that employees choose to quit. On the other hand, creating a culture of autonomy can help employees feel secure and accountable. Tip: Strong remote work management training and a great project management platform can help executives monitor teams in more productive ways. One of the other biggest challenges of hybrid remote working is finding ways to connect people part-time. Simply put, you can't force team culture. Instead of assuming teams will come together socially on their own, managers should try creating a space both online and in-person where everyone feels welcome. This can create a more intimate environment where people can connect and discuss their concerns. Another key issue is communication. Employees need to be able to communicate with each other wherever they are without having to travel to a physical office. By creating an online communication plan, you can easily integrate apps and messaging platforms into your existing systems. Considerations for going hybrid remote For some businesses, switching to a hybrid remote working model may be an impractical or impossible choice. While it is a great alternative to an entirely remote team, it does require more effort and an investment of time to implement. This is especially true when you consider how switching work models affects your company holistically. When it comes to going hybrid remote, team bonding is more important than ever. Just because you're not in the same location doesn't mean you can't do team bonding activities. Create remote team activities that are both fun and professional. From holiday parties to corporate announcements, there are endless possibilities. The goal is to show your employees that they're valued and treated the same regardless of where they work. It'll also help them feel included in the team even if they are in an entirely different timezone. You should also consider taking a temperature check (no pun intended) of your post-COVID company culture. At-home employees are typically more productive, less likely to quit, and generally happier than their in-office counterparts. After many months of telecommuting, you may find that your specific group is better suited to one model over another. Another important point of consideration is your management team’s style. When managers are used to being around their employees, they may not know how to manage a remote team, much less a part in-person, part remote team. There may be learning curves over time. One of the other important factors that companies should consider is the number of days employees can work in-office. Again, flexibility is key. Companies should not make strict rules around a minimum number of in-office days unless those rules are directly tied to goals and projects. Tips for managing a hybrid remote team Set expectations. First, get in touch with your employees to find out their preferences. Then, make sure they're prepared to measure their results no matter where they’re working from. After, discuss the hybrid office options with your senior executives before making the transition. Make a plan. Create a clear and flexible office schedule for the first couple of weeks back. This transition period can be used to document the various changes that will affect the office environment. Your return-to-work plan should also outline the procedures for the IT department. Develop meeting types. These may serve different purposes or function in new ways compared to the types of meetings you currently host. Make sure to divide up one-on-ones and status meetings so that each remote individual receives some personal attention. Have fun. Fun should be part of all in-office and remote work cultures. Online multiplayer games, virtual happy hours, trivia, and even hybrid karaoke can bring together remote and in-person teams no matter how far apart they are. Build a foundation. Before the project begins, provide all the details and requirements in advance. This will help avoid misunderstandings and confusion later. Another good step is keeping important documents and communication centralized. Take it slow. Transitioning to a hybrid remote working model doesn’t have to happen all at once. Small changes can be made each month or quarter so that no one gets overwhelmed. This also gives teams time to assess progress and reevaluate their model as they go. Implement meeting policies. Unscheduled meetings can be disruptive to hybrid remote teams, which is why companies may want to formally schedule them within their project management software or calendar tool. If you do have informal meetings, leaders should document the takeaways within project files and individual tasks as needed. Keep things fair. Leaders should carefully consider the perks of the office and extend them to those who are outside the office. For example, if a team member is remote but still needs to access an onsite gym and daycare, this could be difficult to accommodate. How to support hybrid remote teams with Wrike When remote work is no longer required, what happens when employees choose to work from home? For many companies, this is their first step into a hybrid working model. They need to prepare for this transition to implement it successfully. Here’s how Wrike can help. Wrike is a hybrid remote working software that lets you work seamlessly across time zones, spaces, and teams. Wrike helps streamline your collaboration by allowing everyone on the team to save, edit, and share project-related documents in real-time. Having a centralized storage space makes it easier to review, approve, and print documents too. Wrike also puts micromanagement concerns to rest through visual task management tools. With a clear view of your team's tasks, you can see who's working what, who's available, who’s not, and what the status is of every active project component. Building trust within your team in this way is an absolute necessity to keeping things running smoothly. In that same vein, Wrike’s dashboards give your management team ample support before, during, and after the transition to hybrid remote working. Essentially, they provide a bird's eye view of projects and the ability to dig deeper when necessary. With custom dashboards, you can see the status of all your team members' work, as well as the individual's workload. Our collaboration tool makes it incredibly simple to keep track of all your meetings and status updates. Also, it lets you outline the agenda and record notes in the same file. Using Wrike will help both your remote and in-person teams to time too. At-a-glance tools like these prevent employees from having to send or receive status updates to the entire team via email or messenger throughout the day. And by making project plans and task assignments visible to everyone within Wrike, team members will better understand the roles and responsibilities of others. Not only does it increase their visibility, but it also serves as a constant reminder of what they are working toward. It can even help them feel accountable to themselves and the team. Wrike can even help simplify and streamline the hybrid remote model scheduling process. The custom calendar feature is a great way to keep track of flexible and remote work arrangements all in one place. The promise of a future where hybrid remote working is the norm is exciting. With Wrike’s help, your team can easily experience the many benefits of the hybrid remote working model for themselves. Start your free trial today.
Lessons from Remote Working We Shouldn’t Forget
It’s been almost 15 months since the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the US borders closed to much of the rest of the world, and around 42% of 157 million US workers (almost 66 million) switched to working remotely full-time. While some experts argue that this has led to an unhealthy always-on culture and the rise of Zoom fatigue, we have learned a few very important lessons from remote working that we need to keep in mind as some of us choose to return to work in an office setting. As a result of the flexible remote work policies that have remained for many post-pandemic, many workers are moving to more affordable parts of their metro areas. In the cities of New York and San Francisco specifically, they are leaving the city completely, ditching high living costs for more affordable locations. But it hasn’t been the only major change the remote work revolution has brought. Even before the pandemic, achieving work-life balance had become the second most important factor for US workers in relation to choosing a company after compensation. And the blurred lines that a year of remote work (along with closed schools) brought have forced that further into focus. As Forbes shares, the increased acceptance of working from home may help our workforce to finally gain a better work-life balance. It’s no doubt that a year of remote work has changed both our lifestyles and our priorities greatly. So, what have we learned from the advantages of remote working? And what impact will that have on our decision of whether we want to be working from home or the office? A flexible remote work policy is a must for employers An interesting trend emerged when younger generations entered the workforce – they weren’t afraid to prioritize work-life balance. But what is even more important is that older employees are just as likely to want flexible working — they are just less likely to ask for it, according to The New York Times. In a report by Harvard Business School, the vast majority of the 11,000 workers and 6,500 business leaders surveyed listed expectations for flexible, autonomous work, better work/life balance, and remote work as the development most urgently affecting their businesses. Only 30% cited that they were prepared for these. And according to The Times, 50% of employees would quit if denied a flexible remote work policy, so it’s a shift that employers will need to pay serious attention to. Teams need the right tools working from home or the office Leaning into a year of remote work made it blisteringly obvious that not all employees had access to the right software. According to a report by Deloitte, employees who worked in a culture that encouraged innovation and had access to collaboration tools were 34% happier than those who did not. And although a third had requested better collaboration tools, only a third of these received a positive response to the request. Interestingly, when employees used the tools they were familiar with at home in the office, they reported increased productivity, higher engagement, and improved morale. [caption id="attachment_466139" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash[/caption] Achieving work-life balance is more important than ever When many employers initially feared that a move to working from home would lead to lower levels of productivity, study after study has found the opposite – employees get more done but only because they work longer hours. In fact, US workers are working on average three hours extra a day. The long-term result of this? Higher levels of burnout and decreased productivity. And in the short-term? Half of us (54%) are checking our devices more outside of work hours, feel more alone (24%), have gained weight (22%), and feel a decrease in our mental health (21%). The impact of these worrying trends from remote work has revealed that achieving a work-life balance is absolutely paramount for our health and happiness. It is vital that employers need to do what they can to encourage and promote this for their employees. Remote working has proved not every meeting is necessary Like it has done for achieving work-life balance, remote work has made it glaringly obvious that we need to use our time at work wisely. And often, that means clearing our calendar of unnecessary meetings. Recently, investment bank Citigroup announced a ‘Zoom-free’ Friday to ease the video call fatigue associated with our new ways of working. A large-scale study by Microsoft found that in about 30% of video meetings, employees interacted with their emails, while in 25% of meetings, they worked on other files such as documents. This was especially true for longer meetings and meetings held early in the day. Possibly the most important finding was that attendees of meetings that lasted 80 minutes or more were six times more likely to multi-task than those who were in meetings that lasted 20 minutes or less. Whether we are working from home or office, we need to be selective about how long our meetings need to be (or indeed, if the discussion requires a meeting at all). Employees need the choice of working from home or office It will come as no surprise that sharing a workspace with your children, pets, or spouse (sometimes in very small spaces) is not for everyone. The Society for Human Resources Management reminds that some employees are uncomfortable with the isolation of remote work. They share the example of The New York Times’ newspaper unit who prefer working from the office as it is what they are used to. According to The Wall Street Journal, around 25% of work time will be from home (versus 5% pre-pandemic). Meanwhile, Forbes shares a lengthy list of employers that are offering indefinite remote work. The main takeaway is that employees will inevitably have different preferences – the most important thing is that they are given a choice. We need to rethink how we use office space As a result of this choice and the reality that fewer employees will be in the office, organizations will no doubt need to rethink how they use their office space. And let’s face it, it’s a massive expense for employers – it can cost up to $595 per square foot. Even pre-pandemic, it’s estimated that around 30-40% of desks were typically unoccupied anyway. A study by WeWork found that post-COVID, most employees will want to split their time between the office, home, and other locations such as co-working spaces, libraries, or cafés. ComputerWeekly shares that a quarter of employers are planning to reduce their office space, while almost three-fifths say they planned to change meeting room layouts to make it easier for remote staff to participate in discussions, while 55% would add video-conference rooms. The biggest lesson from remote work whether we are working from home or office? This year of remote work has been the catalyst to readjust our relationship to work and how we work. In the next normal, employers will need to give employees the opportunity to decide where and how they work, prioritize work-life balance, and get the flexibility they need to do their best work.
