The future of work is a topic that is trending across all platforms at the moment. With the “real freedom day” approaching on July 19th after being pushed back from last month, many businesses are reviewing their remote working policies and exploring different ways of working in this new post covid working world.

From hybrid setups to managing remote employees, in this month’s blog we are going to be exploring the future of work and how it might affect your business.

. Employees expecting hybrid options

According to a new study by Workshare, 9 in 10 millennials now expect a flexible working week. Before the pandemic hit, 29% of workers had access to flexible working arrangements and now that the pandemic is over and workers are going back to the office, an additional 47% of employees want to have flexible working options.

Whilst some employees will still want to work from home permanently after experiencing working from home during the pandemic, many will be happy to have a balance and will be happy to work under a hybrid scheme. A hybrid arrangement means that employees can split their working hours between working from home and being in the office. There are many benefits of introducing a hybrid scheme, the CIPD have put together a great article on how companies can prepare for a return to the workplace and a longer term move to hybrid working.

. Mentoring younger employees

After nearly a year and a half of working from home, some employees will be unwilling to return to the office. Andrew Carter has written a really interesting piece for City AM about the older generation of workers who have well established careers and are reluctant to return to the office after enjoying life at home.

Without these experienced employees, the younger workers who are just starting out in their careers after the pandemic are the ones who are going to miss out. If older workers are not around in the office, younger employees will not have the chance to be mentored and learn from more experienced members of staff.

There’s no denying that a more flexible working structure and having a healthy work life balance is hugely important for our mental health, however, encouraging employees to get back into the office is also extremely important.

If you are introducing a hybrid scheme as your employees start to return to normality, take a look at this article “What Great Mentorship Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace.” written by Marianna Tu and Michael Li for the Harvard Business Review. Whether mentorship is happening in person, or remotely you’ll need to make it clear why you’re encouraging mentoring and why it matters to your business.

. How to hire / interview and train remote workers

If your employees were on furlough during the pandemic you may not have experienced interviewing and training new members of staff remotely. It’s possible that during this transition period or if members of your team work in different cities / countries and are unable to travel, you may have to do some remote training and interviewing.

Our team at Anderson Hoare had to adapt during the pandemic and we spent a lot of time interviewing and training new employees over Zoom! It can be strange at first but once you’ve done it a few times, it can be a fantastic alternative if you are unable to meet face to face.

Mike Swigunski is a best selling author and a remote work leader, he recently wrote an article for Forbes listing his top 7 tips for hiring the best remote workers. You can read the article here: https://bit.ly/3k7lrjm

__. Keeping the culture -

Last month we touched upon the importance of company culture and how our EAs and PAs are increasingly asking about culture when they are looking for new roles. If your team is going to be working remotely for part of the week there are ways to grow a positive company culture with a remote team. From creating strong company values, to using technology to aid communication, 6Q have put together a practical guide on ways to build and grow a positive company culture even if you are working remotely.

. Managing hybrid and remote teams

Returning to work after the pandemic is going to be challenging in many ways for both employers and employees. Dr. John Hopkins (PhD) is an Associate Professor from Swinburne Business School, and has been an expert in the field of flexible and remote working since 2014. He has put together a course on Udemy which is specifically designed to equip you with the tools and techniques you need, for effectively managing hybrid and remote teams. It is designed to give you an overview of all the essentials, for effectively managing hybrid and remote teams, in only one hour. So if you have some time to spare, it could be worth investing in a little bit of extra training.