As the old adage goes; out of sight is out of mind. For 15 months, most office workers have been out of physical sight, despite being on board with video and remote working.

But here’s a dilemma. Soon, your new, well-sanitised and ventilated Covid-ready office will be back up and running. The baristas at the coffee shop next door will be eager to take the morning coffee order. But, you have also told your people that there is no need to commute by train every day if they are struggling with work/life balance. The new hybrid office is here to provide tailor-made solutions for each employee.

But… have you considered all the implications?

Try to imagine what work life will look like in, say, six or twelve months, when hopefully Covid will be a fading memory. What will team meetings be like, if not everyone comes in on a Monday? Will you still have presentations from outside experts… beers in the kitchen on a Friday… birthday whip-rounds?

If these seem like relatively trivial scenarios, here’s something much more serious to consider. How do you decide who deserves the pay rise, and who should be employee of the month? Who deserves the promotion, or could be rewarded with some paid study leave or a transfer to Sydney for six months?

The reality is that a lot of the inputs that go into recognising and rewarding contributions tend to be ones based on constant awareness of what people actually do every day. So how do you manage that fairly, for everyone, when some people are mainly visible over Zoom and rarely, if ever, come into the office?

The bottom line: unfair recognition and reward must not be allowed to kill the very idea of flexible work.

This is the big risk we’re facing as we emerge from lockdown. If recognition and reward isn’t handled fairly, the worst case scenario could bring hybrid working to a crashing halt. Team members who ask to work out of your physical space at least some of the time, either by choice or because they relocated during lockdown, could feel left behind. That’s why it’s vitally important that everything from promotions to simple “thanks” for contributions don’t become the preserve of the ‘always-there’.

If handled insensitively, valuable remote workers may very well choose to just leave your employment for a company – possibly a competitor – that’s better equipped for flexible working. Unfortunately there is plenty of data out there – including our own – to suggest that many are currently considering or actively changing jobs.

Covid-weary managers and HR leaders might be tempted to accept a certain amount of attrition in favour of keeping things simple. However not all employees are arguing simply for better work/life balance. Many have taken on new caring responsibilities to support people they just can’t turn their back on, while others are feel  that their new at-home set-up is finally what makes them productive. If people in these situations feel singled out and pushed out, legal and work tribunals, along with reputational damage, could follow.

No employer, of course, would want this. There are lots of really practical benefits to you as an employer in terms of costs, facilities management, security and flexibility in supporting hybrid working anyway.

So: let’s make it work.

Supportive tech to make employee communication and support as easy as 123

There is still a decent window of time before many offices reopen, to set up new ways of levelling the recognition and reward playing field in the new hybrid workplace.

First, you need to make it really easy for any employee to show public appreciation for their colleagues and to reward them in real time, from anywhere. For example; a junior account exec who gave an exceptional sales presentation to a prospect over Zoom that led to a sale, or the office manager raised £5,000 for a Cancer charity by pushing himself to run a 10K. Everybody should be able to thank and reward colleagues like these ‘in the moment’ in the same way that they would on a social network, rather than in the physical office environment.

Enter what we call “Recognition 3.0”. This is all about applying modern engagement science and focusing on peer-to-peer, frequent recognition that reinforces values-based behaviour. Imagine a very easy-to-use digital bulletin board where employees get recognised  (whether it’s Krish now working in the Cotswolds full-time or Tina staffing the support desk in the corner) weekly or daily. 

This approach to recognition means your most important asset, your people, are empowered to meaningfully and publicly recognise those around them on a regular basis, contributing to a growing culture of constant support, encouragement and recognition that is fair to everyone, regardless of their physical location. 

Through these same systems, it’s also possible to go beyond recognition to reward. And again, the ability to reward shouldn’t be limited to managers. Such digital systems allow peers and managers – wherever they’re located – to award points to colleagues, who can select a reward of their choice or make a charitable contribution.

It’s only by embracing new ideas and supportive, assistive HR tech that we can fulfil the big promise of the hybrid workplace, to make all your employees genuinely feel connected. Now is the time to act – to keep your team intact.