Since the pandemic, hybrid work has become the new norm. This is not without its challenges in terms of team cohesion and operational efficiency. Anne Betton, transformation leader and founder of Anastasens, offers a new training on the subject. Here’s an interview.
Hello Anne. You support management teams in defining their digital strategy and transformation. What influence do you think the rise of hybrid work has had?
Anne Betton: Indeed, hybrid work is currently very much integrated in companies, for the positions that lend themselves to it. This type of organization has become a way of life, which is already having an impact on the attractiveness of the employer brand.
I also have clients who impose working in the office but are well aware of the issue when the first question from candidates, during an interview, is: what is your telecommuting policy? There are a few companies that accept the fact that they prefer to work in the office and that it is part of their corporate culture. But most are trying to rethink their practice to reach out to the widest possible employment pool. The number of days in the office is the benchmark in the market. Is it really the best indicator?
What do you mean?
A.B.: The key word is the number of days in the office. Whether it’s by department or company-wide. However, I think the issue should be less about the number of days in the office and more about the conditions for doing one’s job effectively, no matter where the employee is.
In other words, the days in the office should not limit the thinking. It’s more about how to access relevant information at home to work effectively and what technology to make available. I still see limiting factors to hybrid work like having paper files in the office.
How is hybrid work a complex issue for an organization to manage?
A.B.: It’s a very interesting topic because it’s unique to each organization. It’s an opportunity, as a company, to position ourselves on questions such as: do we keep the same office configuration? What if we meet in a different place every month and take advantage of this to create the event around this connection? As you can see, this opens up possibilities that we didn’t necessarily imagine.
Instead of just talking about the number of days in the office, let’s take it a step further and bring the issue back to the reality of each company. For example, a team that knows each other very well will not have the same needs as an organization that is in the process of building itself and recruiting many new employees.
How can you successfully combine hybrid work and team cohesion?
A.B.: Let’s open the dialogue to understand the diversity of realities and the need to make informed choices. A benevolent, organized and responsible dialogue allows us to establish healthy rules of operation adapted to the context.
It is the employer’s responsibility to think about the conditions for preserving this feeling of belonging within the teams. This is a real challenge and an opportunity at the same time.
You talk about collective co-construction in your training courses. How do you achieve this in hybrid work?
A.B.: What we often hear is that with remote work, there are many more meetings and you have to be online all the time. This is more tiring for the body and the mind.
In my trainings, I show the techniques and rules of the game to work together remotely and especially to generate new ideas. The objective is to make sure that there are fewer meetings and that they last less time. There is nothing worse than an online meeting where you are bored, the camera is closed, you are doing something else.
It takes rules and discipline to help create a space for communication and psychological safety, giving everyone a chance to speak and where the decision maker speaks last. That is, to be in a listening posture.
