These days we are constantly hearing the terms “hybrid” and “remote” to describe work schedules that allow employees to work off site. While “hybrid” is a result achieved from joining two different species that results in a new species, “remote” can feel synonymous with isolation. COVID has led to the abrupt institution of such work schedules, and although both terms make sense it may be time to adopt a term that is more accurate. “Jessica DeGroot, founder and president of the ThirdPath Institute, prefers the term ‘strategic flexibility.’” It includes all levels of hierarchy and all employee life stages. DeGroot’s non-profit had adopted the practice well before the pandemic. Evidence of its success was that she discovered that unlike businesses post pandemic that lost a significant number of female employees, those employing strategic flexibility, had not. Those of us in HR need to inform leaders in our organizations of the benefits of strategic flexibility. We can communicate with current employees and potential new hires, create partnerships with managers to help them develop the skills to manage remote work teams and revise job descriptions, and join with leadership to create productivity dashboards. We can work to put systems in place that will track the metrics that support this approach, and confirm its benefits by tracking retention rates, revenue per employee, client satisfaction scores, employee engagement scores, and overall economic growth and profitability. This requires collaboration and messaging that reinforces the goal across all departments. Adaptation will be required as new territory is navigated.
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