For hybrid working to be successful, there are three different sets of needs that need to be balanced.

1. The needs of your role
2. The needs of your colleagues, customers and stakeholders
3. Your own personal needs

Hybrid working offers an opportunity to be flexible with when and where you work. The key element has to be the productivity driver of your role. Ask yourself – do you need to be focused with limited interruptions? Do you need to collaborate with others? Can you achieve the same outputs if you’re connected digitally rather than in person? How well set up are you to work remotely? Is it important that you build networks, develop your skills set?

You will also need to be guided by the needs of the organisation. Are there times when everybody will need to be in the same place at the same time? How can workflow be managed in a way that keeps key stakeholders and customers up to date. How will learning and development take place? How can those spontaneous and often insightful conversations that happen in the corridor be replicated?

Finally, your personal circumstances will influence your working preferences. Are you juggling family duties and seeking a better work-life balance? Perhaps you long to return to the workplace, and restore a boundary between home and work. Maybe you work better in solitude without the distraction of colleagues. A flexible approach could provide the solution, but will it work for the organisation?

All of these factors will influence where and when the best work happens, so need to be explored fully before determining the hybrid model that works.

Organisations need to realise that the answers to these questions are not clear. We’re in unchartered territory, and will need to accept the need to fail, learn and adjust as we go along. Keep an open mind, and an eye firmly on the big picture as we navigate towards successful hybrid working.