In 2021, whereas the enterprise world was largely working from dwelling, I informed my firm’s workers that we have been by no means going again to the outdated manner of working. Everybody would have the choice to work remotely, whether or not in full- or part-time roles—even when the pandemic ended.
Right this moment, as many employers are calling their individuals again to the workplace, I’m generally requested if I’m having second ideas. Nope. Transferring to a hybrid work mannequin was the most effective enterprise choices I’ve ever made.
Imagine me, my pre-COVID self can be completely stunned. Earlier than the pandemic, it wouldn’t have occurred to me {that a} hybrid mannequin ought to even be thought-about, not to mention may ever be efficient. How would we get work carried out? How would we collaborate? How would we stay efficient and environment friendly? Workplace life was all I knew.
However as soon as we obtained everybody arrange at dwelling, it was obvious we have been pioneering an progressive manner of working that was uniquely suited to our enterprise mannequin—and could possibly be everlasting.
Whereas some companies debated which days of the week they wished their individuals within the workplace, we doubled down and listened to our workers. After an organization survey revealed greater than 85% of our workers wished some type of work-from-home possibility, we launched a hybrid work mannequin and now enable our individuals—together with our hourly workers who signify the vast majority of our workforce—to make money working from home, within the workplace, or each. (They do must stay inside an inexpensive commuting distance to certainly one of our workplaces and are available often for conferences, coaching, or tradition occasions.)
Greater than three years later, this manner of working has empowered our firm to focus much more intently on constructing a efficiency tradition. We’re seeing larger worker engagement and higher productiveness; we’re assembly commitments to our prospects and companions; and we’re driving sturdy enterprise outcomes. I’m satisfied that the hybrid work mannequin has been instrumental in making our enterprise mannequin profitable.
The worker expertise is a giant catalyst of that success. This 12 months, Synchrony rose to fiveth on the Fortune 100 Greatest Firms to Work For listing, up from 51st place in 2019. In the latest Nice Place To Work worker survey, 95% of our workers say Synchrony is a superb place to work and 95% say that the corporate’s manner of working provides them the pliability they want.
As an alternative of mandates, right here’s what we did:
- Make in-person occasions matter: We reimagined our workplaces for purposeful collaboration. For instance, at our Stamford, Connecticut headquarters, we created a 29,000-square-foot Tradition Middle, a versatile house to collect, collaborate, and encourage innovation in a hybrid work setting. We added weekly “Connection Days,” inviting individuals to come back in for brainstorming, innovation, networking, or cultural occasions (and sure, meals vans!).
- Undertake a training tradition: Workers need leaders who construct belief via listening and guiding, who set clear expectations and empower them to innovate. We changed outdated annual efficiency opinions with extra frequent manager-employee teaching and skilled our leaders to undertake real-time teaching and steady communication on clear enterprise targets. Actually, 92% of our individuals say their supervisor supplies constructive suggestions to ship on efficiency expectations.
- Assist profession journeys irrespective of the placement: Most of our open roles are not restricted to bodily places. So, now a job which may have as soon as been seen as solely carried out from company headquarters or on the West Coast, might be carried out in practically any area we do enterprise. With this versatile method we noticed a 30% enhance in job purposes simply final 12 months and decrease worker turnover.
- Measure outcomes vs. time in workplace: Our leaders talk clearly and candidly about expectations and maintain groups accountable to outcomes in a hybrid setting. By specializing in workers’ measurable outcomes as a substitute of hours logged within the workplace, we’ve seen stronger productiveness and enterprise outcomes.
I consider our hybrid work mannequin has been so profitable as a result of it’s constructed on belief and flexibility, the place open and steady traces of suggestions helped us construct a really totally different kind of office the place individuals need to come back in but in addition have the pliability to make money working from home.
As a result of we went all in on trusting our workers, they in flip proved they may work in a hybrid mannequin and ship for our companions, prospects, and our enterprise. We are also prepared to adapt primarily based on suggestions. Whereas we experimented with hybrid coaching fashions, we realized that onboarding for brand spanking new workers is finest carried out in-person.
For individuals who say that innovation can not coexist with distant work, I disagree. A member from our innovation workforce shared with me that “the hybrid mannequin has really confirmed to be the most effective of each worlds. Once we used to do a hackathon, we’d possibly have 50 individuals on this room, and that was your restrict. Now, we are able to have interaction three, 4 instances as many individuals within the group as a result of they’re not inside these partitions.”
In the long run, our story is proof that if you construct a tradition of belief and accountability, you possibly can count on quite a bit out of your individuals, and they’re going to come via for you, driving peak efficiency. That—and never the place they occur to be sitting from everyday—underscores the pivotal position of belief in hybrid work success.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary items are solely the views of their authors and don’t essentially mirror the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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