Hybrid Working

Program Overview

Spurred on by the disruptions of the pandemic, organizations are reimagining the very basic concepts of where, how, and with whom work happens. One thing is clear amidst the ongoing uncertainty: our hybrid future has arrived.

But what does this future look like? How will it change the way we interact with colleagues, get hired, switch jobs, and build our careers? How will it change the way we lead our teams? While the answers will be different for each organization, there are pioneering companies and emerging research redefining what our hybrid future will look like—and proving it’s an opportunity for growth and transformation.

Hybrid Working answers some of the biggest questions facing managers and leaders in this new world: When, where, and how does our team interact in person? How do we grow our teams and organizations when our methods of recruiting, training, and onboarding have all suddenly changed? How do we maintain a strong culture, nourish creativity, and optimize both productivity and employee wellbeing? How do we build hybrid teams that are inclusive and equitable amidst challenges both old and new?

There are no one-size-fits-all answers when it comes to hybrid work. But there are research-based best practices and experience-informed strategies for ensuring that our organizations and employees reap both the benefits of working remotely and the strengths of traditional co-located work.

In Hybrid Working, managers will learn practical lessons directly from the world’s leading experts on this emerging discipline and alongside other leaders and managers at the forefront of this massive change—and ultimately position themselves for success in this transition and beyond.

Field Manuals

The Hybrid Working Program is made up of five Field Manuals (our version of an online module). Each one contains a variety of types of content and social exercises culminating in a mini-project, reflection, or debate. The Field Manuals take between 30–45 minutes to complete, but you can jump on and off at your own pace, as often as you’d like. The deeper learning happens in the discussions with your fellow learners, so be sure to check in on the conversations regularly.

• The Hybrid Future Arrives

  After more than a year of working remotely, organizations are moving to hybrid work. But how do we define hybrid work, exactly? And how can we apply the lessons from our last workplace transition—from in-person to remote—to this new world? This Field Manual will explore the basics of hybrid work, including some of the most common models. It will also dig into the most crucial principles of leadership during this transition.

• Rhythms, Rituals, and Routines

  The old rhythms of daily commutes and back-to-back in person meetings are a thing of the past. But this doesn’t have to mean chaos––it simply means we need to find a new rhythm. New routines and thoughtful rituals will keep our teams connected, productive, and motivated. When, where, and how do we interact in person? How much time should be designated for synchronous collaboration, regardless of physical location, and how do we create norms around asynchronous work that allow for needed flexibility? This Field Manual delves into the day-to-day experience of working together in a hybrid model. Its key takeaways range from the philosophical to the very practical.

• Reimagining the Office

  Offices aren’t just for meetings and water cooler conversations...or are they? As we reimagine a new world of work, the function of the spaces in which we collaborate is rapidly evolving. This Field Manual looks at the history of the office in an effort to understand its future. It will spotlight emerging ideas about how best to use office space, and look at practical questions such as how to organize our workspaces, teams, and schedules to make productive use of our in-office time.

• Managing a Hybrid Team

  Modern management was built on a foundation that is no longer relevant: the idea that we must be physically present with our teams to see and evaluate their work. Now that we’ve proven employees can be productive and companies can run with employees remote and distributed, our beliefs about management are shifting, too. But how do we lead our people equitably and practically? How do we recruit, retain, and coach in a hybrid context? This Field Manual will address these key issues and the logistical concerns that stem from them, such as how to hold meetings and promote collaboration in a hybrid context.

• The Hybrid Experiment

  A lot of planning goes into hybrid work. But that’s just the beginning. The only way to really know if our hybrid work visions will serve us long-term is to put them to the test: with our teams, amongst the unruliness and nuance of our daily work lives. As with any experiment, we have to be ready to fail, reassess, and start again. This Field Manual helps us design and carry out these experiments, with a focus on the key measurements that will help us ensure our hybrid teams’ continual success.