Hybrid Work: How to Create the Best Combination

Traditional business models are undergoing rapid changes today, and the use of new technologies and digitalization will continue to be the norm for maintaining growth in a hyper-competitive world. The very possibility of choosing between working from home, in the office, or a combination of both models is a departure from the traditional, and it is now clear that this form of work is here to stay.

Working from home, or as it is referred to by the current Croatian Labor Law, working at a remote location, was not a significant novelty for companies in the IT sector even before the pandemic. Unlike many other industries, such companies are more suitable (and open) to working outside the office due to the nature of their work and have always practiced it in some way, making their adaptation much easier. However, it was also new for them that suddenly everyone was working from home full-time and that all employees were separated.

Although initially, there were doubts about whether the same quality of service could be ensured as in the case of working in the office, it quickly became evident that the quality of work remained at the same level and that work in the IT industry can be performed very well regardless of location. Today, a little over two years after the initial shock and separation from colleagues, working in the office has returned to being a daily routine, and some companies have adopted new business models (a few days of working in the office and a few days of working from home). However, habits have changed, remote work has matured, and both employees and companies know what to expect from it – they are aware that this way of working has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is certainly greater flexibility and productivity of employees and a better balance between work and private life. There are also financial and ecological benefits: employers reduce the cost of ‘cold operation’, and significant savings on fuel (and time) and commuting from home to work inevitably affect the climate. On the other hand, besides the sociological effect (alienation from colleagues), there are many other disadvantages. Some studies, such as one conducted in 2020 by the National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States, showed that employees work more from home than in the office (on average 48.5 minutes longer each day).

Time and Money Savings

The new circumstances have somehow forced us to be even more creative and faster in finding new solutions and business models that will facilitate our daily work while providing uninterrupted and quality service to all our clients. At Serengeti, before the corona crisis, we practiced sending our key team members to the client’s location abroad for two months for onboarding with every new project. This practice has remained, but the duration of the stay at the client is shorter, which requires better preparation for onboarding to ensure that knowledge transfer is done equally well in less time. A series of meetings that were once organized in person are now held online and are of equal quality in most cases. In situations that are more operational in nature and involve sharing some content, online meetings are even more effective and better than in-person meetings. All this certainly represents significant financial savings, but even more important is the time savings.

The Missing Link

When it comes to daily business processes, the disadvantages are visible in the reduced efficiency of agreeing and aligning ideas and requests that are particularly important in the initial phase of every new project. As for employees, working from home increases the satisfaction of a large number of employees to some extent, although this is also short-lived. It is quite normal, human, that at a certain point they begin to miss socializing with colleagues and that their connection to the company and sense of belonging diminishes, leading to a decline in satisfaction and engagement.

Therefore, it is necessary to find a good balance between working in the office and working from home, which depends on the specifics of the job and the preferences of each employee, requiring an individual approach. Fortunately, jobs in the IT industry allow for this. We have found it optimal to give employees the choice of the intensity of working from home, while the mandatory presence of the entire team in the office depends on the phase of the project and the needs for intensive agreement or problem-solving in person.

The Company is Made Up of People

The fact is that traditional business models are still undergoing rapid changes today, and the use of new technologies and digitalization will continue to be the norm for maintaining growth in a hyper-competitive world. The very possibility of choosing between working from home, in the office, or a combination of both options is a departure from the traditional, and it is up to the management and leadership of each organization to assess which way of doing business will function long-term for them and their employees and be both operationally and financially effective. It is always important to remember that employee connectivity means more than just technological connectivity. In the end, the company is made up of people.

Employees who mostly work from home will inevitably miss a stronger identification with the company and socializing with colleagues. Therefore, the company needs to find ways to involve them in the collective work, inform them about events and important news, attract them to informal gatherings where quality and long-term interpersonal relationships will continue to be built, and continue to motivate them so that they still feel part of the organization. In this, quality middle management has a significant responsibility and role, especially in such changed circumstances – when they do not see their employees every day – they must still know and be able to manage their work and engagement, care for their interests, and resolve potential problems. The latter is extremely difficult. Indeed, it is not easy to solve problems if the background and cause of the problem are not ‘visible’, which requires additional effort and the ability to foresee where, when, and how their intervention is needed.