Make remote and hybrid work, work

- The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the field of HR into remote work at lightning speed. Sure, telework has been around for years, but the scale at which the pandemic upended business was unprecedented. We also have to remember that access to remote work is not universal, even in the early days of the pandemic. It's important to acknowledge that when we have these conversations about remote and hybrid work, that not all employees and workforces can benefit from it. For those businesses and employees that can work remotely, the impact was immediate and seismic. What was once largely a novelty outside of a handful of companies, remote work became the default way of working for millions of Americans and others worldwide. Let's be honest, those early days of remote work were more about continuity than ushering in a new way of working. For many employees, their office was a space on the kitchen table next to their homeschooling second grader. It wasn't remote work, it was survival. Fast forward to today, and the conversation about remote and hybrid work is very different. Companies and employees have had much more time to be intentional about determining the work constructs that work best for them. According to LinkedIn's 2023 Future of Recruiting Report, two of the top three most important priorities for candidates worldwide included work-life balance and flexible work arrangements. These stats match their findings in 2022. HRs ability to design thoughtful, flexible and adaptive remote and hybrid work programs is crucial to meet the priorities candidates covet. Here are five keys to optimizing your remote and hybrid work. Number one, optimize asynchronous communication. Let's make those meetings that should have been emails, emails. Time is your most precious asset in business. Don't waste it. Number two, measure outcomes, not hours. In the early days of remote work, we struggled to get past that legacy butts in seats methods of performance management. For successful remote and hybrid work, we have to leverage tools like OKRs to more effectively measure employee output, not time in the seats. Number three, be intentional about interactions. Train employees on the ingredients of optimized meetings, including things like pre-reads, agendas and intended outcomes. Number four, default to asynchronous communication. Make written communication and collaborative documents the default. When you really need live engagement to move something forward, bring people together, but that should not be your starting point. Number five, double down on recognition. There is no water cooler in remote environments. You've got to make sure that you're intentional about public recognition and praise. Adopt these practices, and you'll become a talent magnet for the employees who are seeking work-life balance and flexibility.