It is not about the leap but about the lunge in 2022

Companies will be tested on their hybrid focused priorities. And it will come into play while evaluating options, dealing with ambiguity and in showing flexibility and agility By Y Shekar

If ‘COVID’ was the word most often used in 2020, ‘hybrid’ will be that word in 2022! Hybrid – a mix of two distinct elements – will augur permanent changes around us in the coming few years. The ‘Hybrid’ word will also find new connotations and contextual references, making it a very versatile word too! Currently, in the business context, ‘Hybrid’ refers to work from home and from office. However, it is not going to be limited to the physical aspect of the workplace. ‘Hybrid’ will come into context while evaluating options, dealing with ambiguity and in showing flexibility and agility. It will also be an important factor in making policy decisions at the country level too. Here is some context:

It is evident – from surveys and common-sense – that when offices open, there will be three categories of people – those whose roles demand them to be at the workplace every day of the week. Some roles may need a frequent visit to the office – twice or thrice a week, perhaps. And then there will be roles that require a rare or occasional visit to the office. New policies will have to be formulated especially around leave and compensatory off, which suit all three types of roles. Also, administration will have to factor the randomness in the utilization of facilities like meeting rooms, work areas, etc.

While homes, during the pandemic, got transformed to become the workplace too, work-from-home (WFH) is poised to get a professional touch. For those wishing and able to WFH, they need to ensure that they have good acoustics, background and connectivity, which give a professional appearance to their digital presence. This also means having good computing systems with high pixel cameras and decent ambient lighting. Most of these may be part of a onetime cost for the employees.

At the workplace, the proposition gets flipped.

tHE PANDEMIC HAS tAuGHt uS A MuLtI- DISCIPLINARy APPRoACH. ALtHouGH tHE EVENt WAS A SuBJECt of tHE HEALtHCARE DoMAIN, tHE SoLutIoNS HAD to CoME fRoM SEVERAL otHER DoMAINS too – PoLItICS, ECoNoMICS, SoCIoLoGy, SuPPLy CHAIN, CuStoMER RELAtIoNS, fINANCE

Employees coming here must feel ‘homely’. They must be provided their comforts – breakfast and bean bags, conference rooms and coffees, high-speed networks and hi-fi infrastructure. Office also needs to have facilities for childcare, breaks to attend to the little ones, spaces for receiving and storing online deliveries …a blended environment that allows personal and professional activities to happen seamlessly.

This the ‘physical hybrid’ - homes and offices mimic each other. However, the impact of this is on people having to frequently switch between home and office contexts, mentally and physically.

Thanks to COVID and the global lockdown, businesses discovered new ways to connect and conduct their activities. From sensing a great loss of opportunity to feeling anxious about outcomes, activities have been done with utmost caution and care. Employers showed a lot of compassion and empathy towards employees, and in return, employees stepped in to support the cause by stretching their time and re-skilling themselves. Everyone worked with the thought that the hard times will end soon.

Large establishments are entering the platform model in which their group companies continue with their existing business methods – the pre-COVID format – but a new digital entity, with a super app, provides an overarching reach to markets, across industry verticals. The super apps give customers an access to interact with all the companies in the group individually and collectively. One can purchase washing machines and vegetables, subscribe for entertainment and education; renew insurance policy and inquire about healthcare services nearby….the list goes on.

Platform model is an aggregation of market information using digital capabilities. Integrating this to their existing methods of production and distribution will be the business strategy. This is the business strategy

hybrid. The conventional with the modern.

Competition in 2022 will be between the standalone creators and super-app aggregators!

The burgeoning start-up ecosystem believes in ‘failfast’ and ‘scale-fast’ models. They thrive on valuations and are known for their dynamism – they move from one industry to another merely by aggregating information. The existing, larger organisations are compelled to respond to the start-ups entering their domains, lest they face their ‘KodakMoment’. Hence, the traditional organisations are trying to get nimble and are demanding their workforces to get multi-skilled with a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving.

COVID taught us a multi-

disciplinary approach. Although the event was a subject of the healthcare domain, the solutions had to come from several other domains too – politics, economics, sociology, supply chain, customer relations, finance, etc. And the leadership skill is in orchestrating the expert teams to arrive at an optimal solution. A balancing act!

Job titles are changing – Customer Experience Manager; Employee Happiness Officer, Sentiment Analyst, Chief Design Officer, etc. are roles that cut desires), and in the business context, people expands to include the softer aspects of the company’s customers and suppliers.

The role hybrid will have a more significant impact on future careers. While multi-disciplinary skills will be essential, the perspective and capabilities need to be global. During the pandemic, jobs moved to the best resource in the world. This makes hiring a globally competitive phenomenon. Every role can have competition from skilled resources present across the world.

DECISIoN MAKERS KNoW It IS A fINE BALANCE of SPEED WItH SuStAINABILIty, CoNtRoL WItH CHoICES AND GAINS WItH GENERoSIty

across traditional notions of departments and functions. Job descriptions are also getting fuzzier – they are focused on outcomes than on skills and experiences. While an employee's past experience may be relevant, she needs to supplement it with some new skills which develop her capabilities for the multi-disciplinary roles. This is the role hybrid. For instance, in a people management role, it is important to understand the employee (skills and capabilities) along with her environment (family, friends, emotions and So, Role Hybrid is not just about acquiring new skills but also becoming attractive to organisations anywhere in the world.

In the connected global context, the environment is becoming highly transient. Hence, the quotient of ambiguity in decision making increases. More than data that can predict, business leaders and country heads need to rely on their gut and instinct for decision making. A policy on cryptocurrency – great technology but a classic case of ‘fluctuating fortunes’- is a stand-out example of volatility and unpredictability around. While ‘cautious-optimism’ can be an advice provided, decision makers know it is a fine balance of speed with sustainability, control with choices and gains with generosity. Both are needed in good measures!

This is the policy hybrid. One factor alone cannot be the basis for decisionmaking, however compelling the data around it be.

Much of these are already known, but the act of implementing them in the hybrid format is going to be one of the biggest challenges for all leaders. It is far easier to do things in either online or offline mode, but doing in hybrid, will call for completely a new design thinking. Further, while becoming a subject matter expert was the mantra to success hitherto, the future demands supplementary skill-sets around behaviour, thought and imagination. Finally, while the office may provide all the physical comforts, it is important to keep the home, homely! That is the place for selfdevelopment, composure and true camaraderie!

In 2022 – the Hybrid year – it is not the leap but the lunge you need to practice!

Y SHEkar is a Management research scholar (Ph.D.) from University of Mysore. He is an executive coach and co-founder of a start-up.