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How to Create a Hybrid Strategy that Works for Your Business

By Alvaro Villar - WeWork
CEO WeWork Mexico

STORY INLINE POST

Andrea Villar By Andrea Villar | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Wed, 05/11/2022 - 17:00

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With the shift to hybrid working models accelerated due to COVID-19, companies are reflecting on the future of work and workspaces. They’re thinking about how to create hybrid strategies that are sustainable over time and that truly make sense to them.

​​To uncover critical insights about this topic, WeWork Latam launched a research study in early 2022 to gain a better understanding of employee and employer preferences around workstyles. Here are some key findings, along with advice on how companies can move from a one-size-fits-all approach to embracing a hybrid strategy that fits their unique organization and employees.

Impact of Covid-19 on Mexican companies:

As was to be expected, the vast majority of Mexican companies underwent changes during the pandemic, some reduced their staff, others increased it. According to data from our study, 55 percent of companies underwent some change related to the size of their workspaces.

Our workers want to go back to the office, but not how they used to:

Eighty percent of Mexican workers want to go to the office between two and three days a week. Moreover, 85 percent of Mexican employees point to the hybrid model as ideal in the post-pandemic era.

Hybrid, the best of two worlds:

Our data reveals that while the preference for a hybrid scheme is widespread, there are aspects of face-to-face and virtual reality that make a difference. Ninety-five percent of employees don’t want to keep wasting time in traffic, and 70 percent still want some face-to-face interaction after the confinement. More than half of Mexicans (56 percent) say establishing trust has been difficult while working remotely.

The future is here:

The workspace is no longer governed by four walls in a single location; the workspace is where your team can bring their ideas to life. More than half of employees in Mexico (56 percent) recognize the new workspace as a network of spaces and services, beyond the walls of a single location.

Defining a successful hybrid workplace strategy:

As companies start experimenting with new hybrid models, adopting a spirit of testing and accepting change is key. Based on what I’ve seen over the last year with our WeWork members, here are some recommendations to make the shift to a hybrid workplace model a success:

  1. Understand your organization’s unique needs using data and turn these insights into action.
  2. Rethink and redefine the role of the office within your company.
  3. Invest in technology that accommodates different communication styles.
  4. Track employee behavior and engagement to better understand the impact of your new approach.
  5. Adopt a test, learn, and evolve mindset to keep reinventing your model as needed.

Adopting these recommendations, including checking in with your people on a consistent basis, will be critical as we continue to face uncertainty in our work and other environments.

It is necessary to pause and understand the depth of the changes we are experiencing. Space will play a major role in the development of people and companies but in ways very different from what we have known. The workspace will become the agent of change and the unifying element of the company.

Photo by:   Alvaro Villar

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