Strategies for Communicating your Hybrid Framework

Hybrid working has become an all too familiar conversation across businesses and industries. As it should! For those of us who have been in the workplace strategy realm for years, this conversation and concept has been talked about and implemented even before the pandemic propelled it to the hottest topic since sliced bread. 

Yet, companies are still struggling with what a hybrid policy means for their organization. While it may seem like this blog post should be focused on the how – how can companies create an effective hybrid framework – I want to start with the why – because I believe that we as strategists, as creatives, as people observers, as real estate professionals, as workers ourselves, have been handed a profound opportunity to push growth and innovation in workplace and real estate – and it deserves to be celebrated, discussed, and communicated in an appropriate manner. 

Let’s fast forward – past doing a deep dive into your organization’s people and their unique working patterns,  and past documenting a well thought out hybrid plan, rooted in your organization’s operating model and priorities – to the moment where the rubber meets the road. When your organization and leadership begins to effectively communicate intention and requirements of their hybrid working framework on a consistent basis. 

Here are a few thought starters to consider when communicating your hybrid framework and policies to your people.

• As hybrid working is starting to be embraced, it’s important to not forget about empathy. People’s daily habits and lives have seismically shifted over the past 3 years, when companies had to embrace remote work. It’s not as simple and clear cut to say, “Everyone needs to be back in the office 3-4 days per week”. Everyone’s situation is different and unique, so considering different perspectives, and communication and learning styles will be important when talking to the balance of remote and in office dynamics.
• Minimize exceptions to your policy. If exceptions are required, be specific and/or tailor your policy to allow for more flexibility. When you give options and exceptions, it opens the door for ambiguity, information gaps, and distrust in the process.
• Your policy should have buy-in from the most senior individuals within the business and practiced in a very visible way. All too often, we see companies rolling out new initiatives without clear and visible buy-in from leadership. Employees want to be inspired and feel empowered to work in a flexible manner and feel seen by their leadership.
• Regular communication “nudges” should be made consistently when rolling out your hybrid policy. Make it easy for employees to continue hearing about and seeing the policy in action. It’s not a one and done communication strategy. It will take time and a variety of different communication channels to allow the policy shift to sink in.
• Don’t just place the responsibility on first line and middle managers. They require support and buy-in from their seniors. Provide managers with thoughtful support, listening sessions, and training opportunities. Equip them with a toolkit on how to manage and create intention for their teams so they can seamlessly balance hybrid schedules. It’s a big ask and another big task to add on to an already typically strained part of a workforce.
• Try not to police hours in the office. Allow for the fluidity of working in a hybrid model to come to life. This concept is new for many individuals and the beauty of hybrid working and flexibility is with that comes choice and autonomy. Being in the office 3 day a week could mean very different things for different individuals.
• Rebrand your hybrid policy – In some instances, this word has become a very scary word for people. Also, is anyone else sick of the phrase “hybrid working” yet?

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Meg Campbell, our strategy partner at Revise, is our guest author spotlight for our Spectrum blog series. Meg is a workplace strategist and change management expert who has worked with a range of organizations across industries, including Fortune 500 companies, startups, government entities, and non-profit organizations. Strategize with Meg and the rest of the Spectrum Interiors Team here.