How to tackle a Marmite attitude to hybrid in your leadership team

By Amy Butterworth, Principal Consultant, Timewise

It’s fair to say that hybrid working is a bit of a Marmite issue. For every organisation which seems set to embrace it (including Google and Nationwide) there are others who don’t see it as viable, such as Goldman Sachs, whose CEO described working from home as ‘an aberration that we’re going to correct as quickly as possible’.

Of course it’s not unusual to find divisions between different organisations on how to approach change. But what happens if the spectrum of opinion within your leadership team includes those who love it and those who hate it? How can a compromise be achieved?

The fact is, with the majority of employees saying they would prefer a more flexible working model, and the younger age group overwhelmingly saying it’s their preference, going back to the’ old normal’ is no longer viable. (Just take a look at what happened when Apple suggested that staff needed to start heading back into the office.)  So any organisation which wants to remain competitive, and avoid getting left behind in the battle for talent, will need to try and develop a workable solution.

We fully understand how difficult this can be, as it’s something we often come across when we’re supporting companies to develop a hybrid model. So here’s our advice on how to develop a fair, inclusive approach, which bridges the gap between your hybrid fans and foes

Set the tone for a respectful discussion

This kind of topic can create a heated response, so it’s worth framing the discussion carefully and creating space for everyone to contribute.  Make it clear from the start that there are no right or wrong answers, and all opinions are welcome. It can be helpful to share a range of approaches from different organisations to highlight that it’s a subjective issue, and that what works for one organisation may not work for another.

By allowing everyone to be heard, you’ll make it more likely that they will embrace whatever new ways of working are agreed

Explore where the differences in opinion are coming from

So often, negative attitudes are based on individual preferences. For example, someone who doesn’t like working from home is likely to want the rest of their team in the office with them, and to focus on the negative aspects of remote working. Whereas someone who has a long commute might be very keen on a model that allows them to spend more of the week at home.

Another frequent barrier is a simple fear of change; people who are used to being able to physically see their colleagues, and lead them face to face, may struggle with having to develop a more remote leadership style. There may also be a concern that a move towards a hybrid model may take the culture too far from where it is now, and morph the company into something different.

Understanding the root of people’s objections can help you find a way forward that will bring everyone with you

Decide what you want to achieve and how you’ll measure success

It’s worth remembering that hybrid working is not a goal in itself, it’s a way of achieving your goals. So work out what priorities it will help you tackle, what good hybrid working will look like, and how you will know whether you have succeeded. This could include meeting employee demand for flexibility, boosting your ability to attract new talent, reducing your office space, or cutting down on employee commutes.

By identifying common organisational goals for hybrid working, you’ll find it easier to bring people with different starting points together

Create a framework for change based on small steps

Finally, once you have identified the change you want to see within your organisation, it’s sound practice to create a framework for how it will unfold. This will help you provide solid guidelines and parameters for your employees to work within, which in turn will support employee engagement and productivity, as well as an inclusive culture based on trust.

These are the key steps to take:

• Start by gathering your in-house data. What are your employees’ views on how they would like to work? How have things been working during and in between the various lockdowns? Basing future decisions on what you’ve learned so far is always a sensible approach.

• Identify a set of principles which the leadership team agree upon (even if one or two are doing so with a ‘we’ll see’ attitude). These should describe the philosophy behind your approach, and what you want it to achieve for the organisation and your people.

• Next, develop the framework detail. This is where you articulate the details of your future ways of working, including expectations and non-negotiables. At Timewise, we’ve developed a model which we use with our clients, exploring the eight key elements that support a robust approach. The decisions you make will be unique to your organisation – there is no ‘off the shelf’ solution here.

• Finally, you need to make sure that your employees feel listened to, and understand your expectations; so a clear, inclusive communications strategy is vital. Make sure it sets out how you will upskill managers to support a hybrid team, as that will reassure all sides that you understand the challenges and are keen to help everyone overcome them.

Hybrid working, in some form or another, is very likely here to stay, and failing to move with the times could be damaging for your company. But there’s a difference between implementing short-term changes at speed and building a sustainable approach that brings everyone with you; and the latter is much more likely to win over those who are instinctively against it, and set you up for success in the future of work.

If you need any help with facilitating discussion among your leadership team, creating a framework for change or training leaders and managers, we can help; feel free to get in touch.

Published June 2021