Call Recording: Flexibility or Flight: Hybrid Strategies to Attract and Retain Talent / Getting Hybrid Work Right

Together we discussed some findings from the most recent i4cp research study, Flexibility or Flight: Hybrid Strategies to Attract and Retain Talent. Here are some highlights from the call.

• First key finding: High-performance hybrid work requires flexibility, not rigidity. Dictating a specific hybrid structure is negatively correlated to many things, including the ability to attract top talent, employer brand, organizational performance, and employee turnover, productivity, and engagement.
• One call participant said that their approach of flexibility over rigidity is working pretty well, in part because many employees are at this point ready to come back into the office at least some of the time.
• Requiring rigidity now in return to office requirements is seen by many as demonstrating a lack of trust. So many workers proved they can be trusted to be as productive or even more productive during the past two years, why restrict that in a rigid, and not purpose-driven way now?
• One call participant from a federal agency noted that their performance and employee engagement scores have increased over the past two years of working remotely, so they will be continuing to allow that flexibility.
• Second key finding: On-site workers need flexibility. Lack of flexibility for on-site or frontline workers can create an inequitable culture of "haves and have nots." Equitable flexibility directly translates to employee engagement. This requires intention and innovative thinking but is often more possible than leaders initially assume.
• One large retail organization now has a mobile app for on-site employees that allows them to swap shifts directly with peers, communicate work time preferences with their manager more easily, etc.
• Third key finding: Success with truly flexible work requires careful planning and targeted effort. Organizations must carefully plan and execute all aspects of the talent lifecycle with flexibility in mind: recruiting, onboarding, developing, promoting, and connecting to each other and leaders.
• Organizations need to guard against proximity and visibility bias in performance management, and instead take an entirely outcomes-driven approach.
• We are seeing the emergence of new leadership titles such as "Head of Remote Work" and "Director of Hybrid Work," or even creating a small team of people to lead in this area.
• Fourth key finding: "Because the CEO said so" is not a sound reason to return to the office. 30% of survey participants in this study reported that their organization is maintaining office space primarily because the CEO is demanding it. Instead, an employee listening strategy is crucial, and clear intention must be established for time spent in the office / on-site.
• Overall recommendations from the study:
  • Refrain from making blanket policies that apply to wide swaths of the employee population.
  • Maximize and broaden the use of flexibility for all workers.
  • Identify, develop, reward, and promote leaders (at all levels) who embrace flexible work models and excel at managing hybrid teams.
  • Broker and build network connections across the workforce.

More details on much of the above is available for i4cp members in the research brief Flexibility or Flight: Hybrid Strategies to Attract and Retain Talent, and in the resources in the Getting Hybrid Work Right series.

For more information on flexible and hybrid work see the Flexibility or Flight series.