Reimagining employee experience in the hybrid workplace

With the second wave of the pandemic corporate organizations are reinventing themselves with hybrid workplaces. It’s the need of the hour to adopt a business model that optimizes employee experience and achieves organizational goals. Across all sectors, India Inc. recognizes the worth of its human resource and is redefining the “Employee First” outlook to fit the ‘new normal’. More than ever a happy and healthy workforce is being equated to organizational success. No wonder, ‘employee experience’ has become the buzzword in board meetings, transcending boundaries of HR duties, and adding a meaningful dimension to the smooth functioning and optimum organizational growth. 

Some of the new work metric tools that are gaining momentum are – 

Home Productivity

With WFH becoming the new norm, organizations are supporting policies that foster a healthy work environment for their employees as they struggle to stay productive in the noisy and distracting surroundings of their homes. Right from equipping them with necessary tools for end-to-end solutions like gadgets, high-speed internet and new technology to sprucing internal communication, India Inc. is striving to rethink remote working arrangements to keep employees at their prolific best. With privacy compromised and work hours stretched there often becomes a blur in personal time and work time. By respecting schedules, personal commitments and allowing flexibility in timings companies are making remote working pleasure for their employees. 

Performance Measurement 

With a hybrid set-up where most employees are working remotely it may look like each one is making an equal contribution as everyone represents a box on the screen of his team leader. Yet, this is far from true. Employers are being empowered with several digital assets that help measure real employee performance in a remote environment. Besides, the parameters of performance have seen a facelift in the last year with skill-building, time management, number of digital badges earned, reductions in turnaround time and rework, new tools built and feedback from colleagues and customers all becoming essential indicators for one’s performance measurement.  

Employee Engagement

In the present time, employee engagement has become a prominent priority for organizations to focus on. HR teams are persistently working on creative and innovative initiatives to engage employees healthily. Remote working can cause isolation, team disconnect and lack of a sense of belongingness. Yet, online celebrations, social hang-outs, virtual birthday parties and e-events help in building a shared experience of fun, excitement and social interaction for heightened employee involvement.  

Health First

In tough times health becomes the priority – both physical and mental. Organizations need to exercise empathy towards their employees and be accessible round the clock. Companies that remain compassionate and flexible participate in creating a safe and comfortable work environment for their employees. It’s essential to show genuine interest in people's well-being and create a culture of regular follow-ups with those on sick leave. By ensuring their welfare you earn unflinching employee loyalty in the long run. 

New Talent Management

Another aspect that has undergone considerable transformation is the process of recruiting new talent. There are several sectors like health, technology, education and e-commerce that are ramping up hiring. Reliable technologies through online interviews have made the transition of e-recruitment easier. Job seekers appreciate the safety protocols exhibited by companies through online interviews and high definition video conferencing allows the talent managers to gauge the candidate well through his body language, posture and expressions. With such innovations, the concept of handshake may well be a thing of the past. Further, delayed examinations and prolonged results have cast a cloud of doubt on freshers across all streams of education. Companies must show consideration and honour their commitment to campus placements in such times. Further, there must be a holistic on-boarding process of training, knowledge transfer and follow-ups that ensure recruits seamlessly blend into their teams and the organization culture through virtual interaction. 

In a nutshell, a team is the nucleus of any organization. By exhibiting care and concern for employees in disruptive times is not only humane but also the correct approach. Hybrid working is here to stay and the future of your organisation is centered around your people whose positive outlook and attitude will ultimately determine your altitude.