Hybrid Work 2.0 – What does the future hold for the remote working model?

The term “Hybrid Work 2.0” refers to a new way of working that combines the best of both the digital and physical worlds.

With Hybrid Work 2.0, businesses can take advantage of the flexibility and efficiency of the digital world, while still maintaining the personal connection and collaboration that is essential for many projects. This approach can help businesses to improve their productivity and competitiveness in the global marketplace.

We have been building out a platform for the Future of Work since 2016 which can help change the way you work in this new post-pandemic era.

I don’t want to talk about the platform just yet. I want to share how leaders have had to adapt when being present is less important and work outputs are a focus of management.

The recent transition to hybrid work models

WFH and digital transformation are the big shifts and businesses are still trying to catch up.

Yes, businesses have Zoomified their businesses but in so doing have in certain instances Zombified them.

Employees want flexible work whilst staying connected. Leaders want transparency and remote culture. CEOs want to know the customer truth and how their employees are feeling in an ultra-siloed world. This is a challenge. Because when staff isn’t communicating in emails or jumping from one Zoom call to the next what are they doing? Deep worth of course! And this is where real work gets done. It’s the execution of strategy and turning ideas into reality.

How does management know if work execution is going well or running into blockers? How do leaders measure the temperature of their workforce? How can knowledge workers stay productive and engaged? How can Gen Z learn from established employees and always be kept informed?

Search all meeting and chat transcripts

Imagine a search box where everything you type in returns the knowledge and the people in the business.

How is this possible? 

In short asynchronous communication is the change needed. Asynchronous communication refers to a type of communication where messages are exchanged without the need for both parties to be online at the same time. 

But there is a mindset and technical barrier which needs to be overcome. This includes a change of culture and greater openness. Not all organisations will be able to do this and there will be privacy concerns that need to be carefully navigated to ensure GDPR compliance and the right to be forgotten.

Asynchronous communication in a text-based world means all your staff must be excellent at writing. The need for asynchronous communication can be met by a video-first approach that includes transcription. Now I’m not saying everyone should use video communication all the time but people should choose their preferred method of communication and the means appropriate to the context. 

A video-first approach and default async communication mindset change the game and allows you to adapt to a new world.

Google CEO Pichai Productivity recently comments: “Create a culture that is more mission-focused, more focused on our products, more customer-focused,” he said. Pichai had recently said that the firm would cut hiring and investment through 2023, pushing staff to work with greater urgency and “more hunger”.

He also said “Reward efforts, not outcomes.”

When you see something for yourself, you can believe it.

This is especially true for things that are hard to believe. If you see it with your own eyes, it’s much easier to believe. This is because you are seeing it firsthand and can trust your own senses.

All levels of staff need transparency from their leaders. A total overhaul of our asynchronous world where the video is the go-to medium is necessary! Those who want to opt-out must be given the opportunity and this choice must be respected.

All video messages, screencasts, voice notes, and meetings are recorded and transcribed, making the organisation’s collective knowledge base searchable. This also allows you to find people within the company and understand the subject matter experts.

Recording a meeting lets people know that they’ve been listened to and really heard. It provides a historical record that can be used at future meetings for verification of decisions, and as a reminder of past events and actions.

Perhaps it is a 1st round interview you couldn’t make or a customer meeting that clashed in your diary, meeting recordings mean you don’t have to miss out. People get to see if you have played a meeting recording and your comments can be added after watching. This means you can respond to what was discussed and show that you are listening and engaged in the topic. You can also use meeting recordings as a way of catching up on what happened at previous meetings.

If there is something important that occurred at the last get-together, it can be viewed again so that you aren’t wasting time discussing things that have already been done. 

It is not easy to change work habits. It takes a great deal of effort to retrain and change the mindset of particular generations. However, for the TikTok generation, async video communication has already happened!

I’ve discussed the difficulties associated with hybrid work and the constant back-and-forth between Zoom calls and email. There is potential for new paradigms of office, working from home, and everything in-between.

Zoom overload creates Zombie businesses that lack ideas, energy, and productivity. We need to inject new life into our hybrid work approach. Transparency lets people see how their work benefits the organisation.

Since we can now work from anywhere, the way we do our jobs must change. You can be more flexible with your time when the traditional 9-5 isn’t as important.

Screencasts can be used to flip management meetings by recording the meeting and making it available for employees to view online. This allows employees to view the meeting at their convenience and gives them the opportunity to provide feedback or ask questions.

I have a daily debrief with my team where we go over what we accomplished that day and what we need to do next. We use voice notes so that we can all be on the same page.

Breaking free from the constraints of traditional work schedules allows you to be more productive and efficient. Whether it’s focussing uninterrupted deep work for a few hours or perhaps going on a jog all of this help with our well-being. 

Of course, we will still need to have meetings. For meetings where your attendance is optional, you can record and playback the session at a later time, allowing you to focus on your priorities rather than what’s in your email inbox.

If you are curious about the future of work and hybrid work 2.0, please feel free to explore our platform.