How to Create a Hybrid Work Schedule (Examples & Tools)
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In the post-COVID-19 era pandemic, mixed working has taken center stage in the work environment. Companies have adopted, and some embrace, the hybrid work schedule whereby workers physically go into the office for a couple of days, then the remaining work days they do their tasks at home. This hybrid work schedule allows one to conduct various functions in various environments.
Such work changes have caused an increase in:
Productivity
Efficiency
Happiness
Focus levels among remote working employees
See some statistics on remote workers here. They might give more insight into why businesses adopt a hybrid work schedule.
Learn in this article, how to create a hybrid work schedule with some examples and hybrid work tools for you.
What is a hybrid work schedule?
The word hybrid means combining two or more things. Translate this meaning to the hybrid work schedule, and you'll get a mixture of two or more forms of a working system.
So what is a hybrid work schedule?
A hybrid work schedule combines working in the office and from a remote location or home. This combination might be the best of both worlds: stability of full-time work with the flexibility of part-time hours.
Pros and cons of hybrid work schedule
The hybrid work system wouldn't have garnered so much prestige, even in post-COVID-19 regulations, if it wasn't appealing to its users.
Below are some advantages that this type of system offers:
Better life/work balance
Inclusivity in the workplace
Saves on commute time and expenses
Prioritizes a worker's safety in case of pandemics, wars, or political turmoil
Hybrid working makes the employees feel less isolated
Increased productivity due to flexibility
However, rarely is anything good without its shortcomings. The same applies to this working system. The disadvantages include:
In case of an internet outage, communication will be difficult
Differences in time zone can hamper people from attending meetings as often as required
An "invisible team" syndrome due to reduced interactions in the real world
7 hybrid work schedule examples
There are numerous types of hybrid work schedule examples as there are organizations.
Nonetheless, here are the most popular ones currently in use:
1. The half/half split schedule
As the name suggests, this type is a middle split between working remotely and being in-person in the office. Such an arrangement is suitable for time management on top of socializing with colleagues. It also enables employees to alternate the schedule per, for example, fortnight depending on the organization's requirements.
However, this scheduling isn't feasible if the workers have a time zone difference.
In Oct 2020, Microsoft announced that workers would be working from home half of the time.
2. The two/three schedule
This type is the most widely adopted by users. It allows employees to work for three days in the office and enjoy two working days remotely. The downside is in its inability to offer too much flexibility, and it also seems more of a compromise than an actual worker benefit.
One example of a company utilizing this concept is the Alphabet group. Back in May 2021, Sundar Pichai, the Google CEO, announced that employees would be required to be in the office three times a week, and on the other two days, they could work remotely.
3. The cohort schedule
A cohort is a collection of persons who share some attributes like characteristics, experiences, or responsibilities over time.
Therefore, the cohort strategy involves classifying workers and assigning them different work days for in-office and remote working.
Remember, here days alternate, thus breaking monotony.
Though this may seem complex, it is good as it allows businesses to control how the workers alternate in the hybrid working schedule.
A D.C. based software company called Churn Zero was the pioneer of this kind of cohort hybrid work schedule back in 2019.
4. Remote-first schedule
The remote-first schedule is one of the most flexible options: it allows hybrid workers to work remotely as much as they prefer. Here, most employees refer to themselves as 'remote workers' rather than hybrid workers.
Quora CEO, Adam D'Angelo, announced that this schedule form would be the default choice for working.
5. Manager-led schedules
This type is best for employees who need guidance and direction on how to go about hybrid working.Hence, the manager will lead the workers as far as the hybrid work schedule goes. Nonetheless, the employee has the ultimate decision on the guidance.
6. The pulsing schedule
This Schedule is also known as the staggered work schedule. Though it is not very popular, it is one of the most interesting.
It is pretty similar to the cohort schedule but has one significant difference: employees will arrive at the office at different times.
The advantage here is maximizing space as employees choose their most fitting time slots. They also offer flexibility, especially to those working in different time zones.
7. Employee-led flexible schedules
As the name indicates, the employee is uncharged for implementing the schedule. This type is best for workers who feel responsible for their time management. It also reduces conflict as the employees won't be micromanaged.
How to create a hybrid work schedule
Creating a hybrid work schedule is not hard, especially for established leaders. The creation entails working on:
creating policies
splitting the weekly tasks
collaborating with colleagues
and much more like planning for each activity in more details
Below is an in-depth step to step guide to creating a working hybrid work schedule:
1. Review the business requirements and policies
Some businesses already have clear expectations and policies stating the following:
days to work remotely
tasks to accomplish during that period
times to remain active and logged on the organization's system
Other corporations can even have designated days for workers to be in the office for face-to-face meetings, training sessions, or team projects. Nonetheless, kindly review the company's employee handbook when creating the hybrid work schedule. Therefore, note the handbook requirements and adhere to them when implementing your weekly program.
2. Lay out the parameters of the hybrid work schedule
List the tasks that need completion in a week. They can be:
in-person meetings
larger projects
recurring work items
Then, separate these work items into tasks done in the office and others in the remote working environment. Finally, plan the days for workers to work from home and the rest in the office.
Adequate planning allows one to finish all their tasks in the proper work environment, ensuring that employees remain efficient and productive.
3. Invoke the contribution of other team members
As you work closely with other people to complete specific projects, kindly try building a hybrid work schedule around them.
Please do this by scheduling a hybrid meeting with them and discussing the available days to work in the office.
Then, affirm those days to be the time to work on your required collaborative projects.
4. Note the dates of in-person meetings and events
When creating the hybrid work schedule, refer to any upcoming meetings and events. For example, if you have a day having several occasions, it is logical to schedule the other in-office tasks on that day as well.
5. Implement a work-life balance
It is known in many sectors that having a life-work balance is essential for every working person. Why overindulge on one and then have a disastrous result on the other?
Remember, all work and no play, plus all work and no play makes Jack a dull person.
Hence, plan the work schedule to incorporate your personal and professional needs. This allocation might allow you to complete work items while having enough time for tasks unrelated to the business.
You can even create a work plan for the remote environment. Who would want to be sucked into the freedom of the non-office environment?
6. Utilize various work enhancement tools
Try adopting different technological tools that enhance work through online collaboration. These tools will help you maintain effective communication with the supervisors and the team members when one is outside the office.
Advantages of these tools include:
Showing users that are online and thus available to chat with
Acting as project or task management tools that aid in sharing of items
Helps keep employees updated on the latest developments of each other's assignments and progress
We will discuss examples of some of these tools later.
7. Regularly update the hybrid work schedule
Allow flexibility in your hybrid work schedule to accommodate any unexpected events, meetings, or assignments within the work week.
Notta AI meeting assistant records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings so everyone can stay engaged without missing important details.
Tools to help leaders manage hybrid work
Various tools are developed to aid in the smooth flow of working remotely. Such enhancements are also beneficial in conducting the hybrid work schedule.
Let's investigate some of these technological tools without further ado.
Notta
When you go hybrid, your team will spend a lot of time video-conferencing. Too many meetings kill productivity, not to say virtual meetings where the participants can easily get distracted – but what if this could change?
Intelligent software like Notta can make meetings less stressful. Never miss out on essential meeting moments with the following features:
Record conversations with real-time transcripts – This allows your team members to engage actively without missing any important points. 58 transcription languages are available, so you don't need to worry about being in a hybrid team.
Collaborate on meeting notes - Your team can collaborate on transcripts and mark action items to keep everyone aligned.
Share meeting notes with team members – You can send these to the people who haven’t made it or go over them whenever you want.
G-Suite/Google Workspace
Google Workspace is an online productivity tool that facilitates its users' access to presentations, documents, calendars, spreadsheets, and many more. It also offers data synchronization across all operating systems and devices with the workspace installed.
This platform does offer (some) privacy and security for the data in end-to-end encryption. The G-Suite is a product of Google that has many by-products within it.
Though the feature is free, some features need unlocking by purchasing a subscription for individuals or organizations.
Nevertheless, the product doubles up as a worker scheduler by managing shift assignments and employee schedules.
One main advantage of it is its feature of having centralized access to all assignments and schedules.
Airtable
Founded on a belief that software shouldn't dictate how A user works but rather the user dictates how it works, it enables users to build something that can meet their needs.
Its foremost goal is to offer a powerful, visual software platform that connects workflows, data, and users across the company.
One great feature is its ease of building and its endless extensibility.
Slack
Slack is a collaboration tool that brings tools, information, and the right people together to achieve specific work.
Its popularity spreads from the corner markets to the 100 companies worldwide.
This popularity is due to its aptitude to unify systems and connect teams while driving the business forward in collaboration.
Such a collaborative tool also works with developers and partners worldwide to build apps and integrations that aid in:
automating mundane tasks
streamlining work
bringing context to the conversations happening in Slack
Asana
Built by its founders, who discovered that people spent over half the day searching for info, sitting in meetings, and responding to emails, the app makes it easier for teams to coordinate their work. This easiness allows individuals to focus on work.
Interact with this app, birthed from the working hassles at Facebook, and learn why its incorporation is far spread in many major companies.
These five enhancement work tools are not the only apps for enhancing a hybrid work schedule.
Thus, feel free to research them before settling on specific ones that you would employ for their services.
Notta offers the most integrated AI meeting notes, summaries, and action items so nothing gets missed.
8 tips to maximize productivity on a hybrid work schedule
Determine the tasks and know who is responsible for them.
Analyze the easiness or difficulty of carrying out assignments during the hybrid working.
Settle on whether you are more productive in the office or while doing remote working.
Know the tasks you tend to procrastinate in and in which working environment you do it.
Lay out the remote working schedule’s favorite and most minor favorite.
Realize the best conditions that make you productive and which seem to distract you in different environments.
Check the days and times of day that you focus more on work and stick to them.
Choose to be an early riser or the night owl as you see fit for your remote working.
Signing off
A hybrid work schedule is an important topic to think about, especially in these changing working times. A lot is happening, and people are struggling to find the right working environment.
So, why not adopt this hybrid work schedule and witness the change of eagerness among your employees to increase in them?
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