Managing a Hybrid Workplace: Tips from Hofy, VenueScanner & Deel

Has the pandemic transformed the office forever?

Around the world, businesses are rethinking the way we work. The pandemic has challenged established routines and barriers that in the past kept most of us from working remotely.

Many employees are now requesting a more flexible, hybrid work environment, saying that working from home has made them happier and more productive. While it’s still early days, even employers can see the potential for reducing costs, boosting employee wellbeing and reducing environmental impact.

The challenge now is how to enable this new way of working in the long run. How can we make it meet all the standards of accessibility, service quality and inclusivity of the old office-centric model? How can we make it sustainable – and most importantly – secure?

Applicant tracking system Team Tailor and hiring platform Tempo hosted a breakfast networking event, followed by a panel discussion with leaders from Hofy, VenueScanner and Deel on striking the balance between remote and office-based work. Here are their top tips for unlocking the best benefits of hybrid working.

Sami Bouremoum, Co-Founder and CEO at Hofy

My advice would be to jump in with both feet. If you decide you want to go hybrid, know that it's going to be hard. But dabbling in it doesn't work. You have to do it properly. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a half-baked solution that doesn't actually achieve what you want it to achieve, which is better outcomes for your employees, better outcomes for your business, and better outcomes for society as you enable the creation of an affluent middle class in places other than New York, San Francisco or London.

Hybrid work also means that you do not have to be in London to get a London salary. If people are distributed or hybrid but their outcomes are the same, there is absolutely no reason why an engineering team member in Ukraine should make less than those in the UK.

If you're going to do it, jump in with both feet and do it well.

Rebecca Kelly, Founder and CEO at VenueScanner

Survey and understand your team and business really well. Try not to get lost as there's a lot of literature out there which is very new. Everyone has different opinions, and no one really knows the right answer right now. 

So I think the really important thing is to start with what you're trying to create in your business. Survey your employees and figure out what the people in your team want and what's right for you, and then go from there rather than trying to apply a model.

‍Matt Monette, Country Lead and Head of Expansion UK&I at Deel

Make a mindful effort to invest in a product that is potentially going to allow you to do it. Once you’ve figured out how you can roll it out, have open discussions. Ask: does this [product] fill the requirement for your employees? Does the product actually make your lives easier? If not, continue to evolve and adjust.

With COVID, Brexit and labour shortages, a lot of companies don't need to hire in a specific region. Look elsewhere. Trial one or two employees who are in different regions, get their feedback, learn about their experiences, and then evolve from there.

Remote work in combination with hybrid work is tricky. And every company is going to run it in their own way. Having discussions with your employees is a necessity. 

View the original panel discussion below.‍

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