Hybrid working model :
We all are in such a phase of life where every aspect of our daily routine has been affected . With the spread of global pandemic [ COVID-19 ] in the year 2020 every company was talking about remote working and how they can implement it effectively and what challenges they will face while implementing it. But now in the year 2021 where there is no relief from the Global pandemic [ COVID-19 ] all the companies are now thinking of shifting over the Hybrid Working Model.
The Hybrid Working Model is a structure which is the combination of employees working remotely while others working on premises. As work places started to reopen in the year 2021 after the slowdown of pandemic the companies were expecting to return back to their normal working routine but all of a sudden the rise of pandemic has again made them to reconsider their decision of going full time.
Employees who started working remotely due to COVID-19 are overwhelmingly supporting it now and are not ready to give up this mode of working and they want to continue with this working pattern. Companies are no longer in a position to say that their employees can’t work remotely and as the pandemic is still continuing into our daily lives the companies can’t ask their employees to come back to the office and start working in a full time mode as the can’t risk the lives of their employees.
So now considering all the facts, the only solution which companies are left with is the adaptation of the Hybrid Work Model.
OYO , The hotel aggregator adopts 100% Hybrid workspace model for Indian Employees
Seeing the adverse effect of the global pandemic the giant hotel aggregator OYO in the year 2020 had adopted the hybrid workplace model that involves a combination of work from home or work from co-working spaces.
Where the corporate employees and capability functions would be either working from home or working from flexible co-working spaces whereas the company’s field staff will be working and attending the offices while following all the safety norms and protocols regarding COVID-19.
With the implementation of hybrid working model the company has seen a drastic improvement in their overall performance and productivity.
This SoftBank backed startup terminated the lease contracts of two of its offices in Gurugram in order to cut costs. It also vacated its headquarters in Udyog Vihar and Space Palazo by invoking “force majeure” clause. And not in just these places the company has also been revising their contracts with landlords all across the country on mutually acceptable terms.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdown the travel pattern of the people has been affected adversely thereby affecting the company’s business model. So as to maintain the balance between the company’s expenditure and the revenues the working model needs to be strong and therefore the implementation of hybrid working model has proved to be a savior for OYO.
In addition to that OYO in 2020 last year decided to lay off large number of employees in United States while cutting the salary slot up to 25% from the month of April to July period. And in order to retain the remaining employees and their trust in the company OYO made a unique move by making the employees of their startup a shareholder through a “Deep Discounted Employee Stock Ownership Plan” i.e. ESOP.
With the implementation of the hybrid workplace model and employee centric measures OYO has been able to grow exponentially from last one year while confronting the Global pandemic.
Relationship between the Companies and the Customers in this Hybrid Working Model:
The effectiveness of Internet technologies has not only impacted the businesses but also the customers. With the use of internet and digital technologies in businesses now the customers have more effective channel to communicate with the companies. As a result the behavior of the customers has also changed unlike it was previously where the customers were more into traditional ways like going to the physical store but now their buying pattern has been changed and shifted over the online modes.
It can be said that now the customers has shifted from traditional oriented i.e. offline mode to technology oriented i.e. online mode of purchasing the services.
The traditional oriented group of people are those who doesn’t want to indulge into the technology driven buying experiences because of the fear of breakthrough into their old ways and don’t want to change due to the unawareness of the technologies and still prefer physical contact.
Whereas those set of people who are ready to embrace the upgradation and know that the technology is the future and it can solve many of their problems are those who are into technology oriented group i.e. online mode.
But with the spread of global pandemic all across the globe the customers has now realized the need of digital upgradation in their buying pattern and now majority of them are shifting over the online mode.
The basic problem that most of the company faces is the separation between these segments of customers and the prediction of their needs. So in this situation online strategy is viewed to be a very effective communication channel. Though it might be difficult to get a clear picture and the companies might not be able to separate between these two groups so therefore Hybrid model of business can help the companies to get hold of their customers and not to lose them by providing them both online and offline buying experiences. So in order to improve their businesses companies are now trying different ways of marketing to attract the customers some of them are like putting up digital ads over the social media platforms (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads etc) knowing that it is the place where they can target the right audiences and also providing virtual shopping experiences where they can select the products and pay for them at the time of delivery at their doorsteps.
Due to the increment in the accessibilities of the technologies like mobiles, internet and increase in the tech driven knowledge customers are moving over the online mode whereas on the other hand some customers due to the bad online online experiences such as poor interface designs, lack of trust and facing cyber security issues are now shifting over offline methods which might affect the business of the companies. So in order to provide the top notch customer experience companies are now spending their budgets over the digital upgradtion and research & development so that they can’t lose their set of customer and can target over both the segments i.e. online and offline respectively.
Thereby now the companies have realized that in this time of ongoing pandemic if they want to grow their businesses without losing their customers they have to switch over the Hybrid Working Model which can be the savior for their organizations.
Effectiveness of the Hybrid Model:
With the adaptation of Hybrid model companies came to know that they can operate in a fully productive manner in the same way as they were performing into their normal working pattern.
This has given altogether a new dimension to their businesses which most of them never explored to the fullest but now they are implementing it to grow their businesses and connect with their customers online. As this model is more inclined towards the digital pattern the engagement of companies with their customer has increased thereby giving a boost needed at this time to grow their businesses.
We all are in the era of digital transformation and with the introduction of different type of technologies the companies are now adapting them which is enabling them to work remotely or follow the hybrid model whichever is best suited for them. Technology has helped us to accomplish our work with an ease while collaborating effectively without being into a traditional work setting. The findings of SMB groups showed that 41% of the businesses have made drastic changes into their technology pattern during the period of COVID-19.
The digitalization has proved quite a result oriented measure and has helped in to the effective implementation of hybrid model for businesses.
Few of the following key tools and softwares that helps in maintaining the Hybrid Work Model are –
- Cloud-based technology has helped the employees to work from anywhere and still hold strong sense of connection.
- Online chat tools for better communication within the company and their employees. ( Microsoft Teams)
- Online meetings and other collaboration tools like ( Zoom , Google meet, etc) for doing video conferencing and meetings.
- Data security softwares ( Cloudfare)
- Project management softwares ( Clickup)
- For performance management ( Time Doctor) etc.
Along with that using integrated software has helped businesses in the automation of tasks which were being done previously in person thereby reducing the task timings.
We can see that since last year mostly all companies all across the globe had embraced the use of technology and the need for digital upgradation so that their businesses keep going effectively and have realized that no matter whichever model they choose for their businesses they have to be technologically and digitally sound so that they can carry out their businesses with an ease.
Future of the Hybrid Working Model :
Since COVID-19 came into existence companies were being forced to grant remote working to their employees and till now it is clear that employees are not willing to give up this mode of working and want to continue with it. At current companies are managing in different ways but as it being a new form for them they are facing few challenges in the segmentation of employees under the Hybrid Working Model.
Likewise all the businesses can’t operate remotely for them on site staff presence is important that is why they are getting inclined towards the Hybrid Model so that they can easily do the segmentation of their employees and can appoint them remotely or in office as per their classification.
Hybrid Working Model gives freedom to the employees of the companies from where to work and when to work. This enhances their sense of freedom and flexibility and is giving them quite a positive approach towards their work. The concept of Hybrid accelerated after COVID-19 came into existence and it mainly focused on the appointment of certain days for in-office and remote days of working. Physical presence might be needed for project kick-offs , orientation and team building but for other works that’s where the Hybrid Model helps in the segmentation by deciding the number of days the employees need to work remotely and from in-office spaces or co-working spaces.
Therefore in current situation we can say that with so many challenges to retain the employees and their trust in the company and along with that effective implementation of work adaptation of the Hybrid Working Model is going to be the future of the companies which in a long term is going to help in the effective continuation of their businesses.