4 Ways Organization Design Can Enable the Hybrid Workplace | Human Resource Executive

As remote work becomes more common-place, more firms are likely to adopt a hybrid workforce model in a post-pandemic world. And while the degree to which those models get employed will vary by organization and industry, many firms continue to identify ways to enable and optimize a hybrid workforce model. This article suggests that organizational design (structure, workflows and role design, and networks) provides one source to help operationalize a hybrid model. For example, “a shift to a hybrid workforce is an opportunity to reevaluate roles and the organizational structure that underpins them, rather than only considering which preexisting roles and structures can be done remotely.” One interesting idea offered is to increase work location flexibility by shifting to an outcome-based organizing principle. Such an approach shapes the coordination of work by grouping employees and resources into departments, based on “outcomes” to be achieved vs. a “task-based” organizing principle, which groups people doing the same tasks (e.g., marketing, finance, IT). The outcome-based structure model could potentially open up hybrid opportunities for more employees. While moving to a hybrid model is not an easy task, the article offers a few ideas with which firms can experiment. In case you missed it, here is a previous post I made on an article by MIT Sloan Management, Four Principles to Ensure Hybrid Work Is Productive Work.