In my previous article [1], I noted that hybrid working is here to stay, even though it severely disrupts traditional in-person people management and firms haven’t yet found a satisfactory way to overcome this. In this follow-up piece, I outline the thinking behind a new ‘best of both worlds’ solution that keeps the benefits of hybrid while helping firms negate the disadvantages.
In the first article in this series I proposed that the trouble with hybrid working is that leadership and supervision can’t be done effectively when people work remotely. What I call ‘two-minute management’ is missing in action, so managers struggle to manage. This can lead to serious long-term consequences for the firm.
These can include chronic performance and commitment issues and flagging productivity, or its opposite, which is burnout. Without traditional levels of people visibility, managers are managing blind. Hence, firm leaders are trying to cajole partners and associates back into the office full time, while they’re simultaneously wary of upsetting lawyers who’re productive at home, and of being so heavy-handed with calls back to the office that talent leaves.
Read the full article here.