During the recent pandemic, many businesses were forced to close their doors and ask their staff to work remotely. However, now that these measures are being eased, businesses are considering whether they could adopt the hybrid model moving forward. It has left many businesses to consider whether they should adopt the hybrid model themselves, or continue to use it moving forward. If you’re currently sitting on the future of work fence, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are the most common pros and cons of hybrid working.
Pros:
Lower Operating Costs:
Hybrid working means that some or all of your team will split their time between home and your workplace, or simply work entirely from home. With fewer people under your roof, this opens up a number of savings opportunities. For starters, you may be able to relocate to a smaller space, which could mean savings on your lease. Alternatively, you could rent out your free space for hotdesking or another business as an extra source of income. Fewer employees in your space could mean savings in your utilities too. Make sure that you maintain your workplace standards with the help of a facilities management company!
Employee Happiness:
They say that home is where the heart is, so it stands to reason that with the chance to spend more time at home, your employees will be happier! It also opens the door to opportunities like eating lunch in the garden on a sunny day, removing frustrating commutes, and other factors of office life that can be taxing over time.
Attractive to new talent:
Recruiting top talent should be the priority for any business. Offering hybrid working is something that will make your business more attractive to prospective candidates. In fact, it could be the point that swings a tough decision in your favour!
Cons:
Isolated staff:
One of the disadvantages of hybrid working is that it can mean that your staff will be more isolated than if they were in the office full time. This can make things like connecting your team, building connections, and monitoring activity a challenge. There are of course tools available that can help, but this is a common hurdle that businesses using the hybrid model will need to overcome.
Not for everyone:
As appealing as it may sound, going hybrid simply isn’t possible for every business – and that’s ok. If you haven’t taken this step already, take the time to assess whether it is actually possible for your business to maintain or improve its current productivity levels. If not, then operating in a more traditional fashion should be the way forward.
Cyber Security Risk:
When all of a company’s devices are connected to a single or small number of networks, setting up and maintaining your cyber security can be very straightforward. When trying to protect multiple devices, in multiple locations that are connected to different networks, this is a different challenge entirely. Without proper protections in place, you will be putting your business at greater risk of cybercrime. Implementing these measures in a hybrid model may be a costly exercise too.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the decision of whether to go hybrid or not is up to you. It should come time do which way of working will be more beneficial for your staff, and more importantly, your business.
