Remote or hybrid work has quickly become the norm in modern offices, and digital marketing agency First Page is no exception. Director Byron Redhead explains his take on hybrid working at an agency level.
The influence of the pandemic on remote working
COVID-19 affected all of us in different ways, with prolonged lockdowns forcing many employees to work remotely or businesses to shut down.
Fast forward to a lockdown-free Australia, and you will see many executives like Redhead and companies like First Page have retained a partial or fully remote working model—and we can see why.
Benefits of working from home
The number one benefit of working from home is convenience.
When you work from home, you don’t have to deal with the daily commute to and from work. Do you know what that means? More time for sleep, for breakfast with the kids, for walking the dog, for getting a head start on the day. Whatever it is, remote work lets employees take the reins.
Hybrid working at First Page
Hybrid working was adopted at First Page to “fall in line with the expectations of current and future talent,” and get the best of both worlds.
The company’s official work-from-home days are Tuesday and Thursday, but the office stays open Monday through Friday for anyone wishing to work in person every day—and as a leader, Redhead is on the floor all five days for ongoing support.
How employees working from home are managed
Regardless of whether employees are working from home or not, Redhead suggests maintaining the same daily processes and workflows in an effort to stay consistent and minimize any confusion. At First Page, workflows are managed via SENTR, an in-house CRM.
Each department at First Page has a team lead running daily “morning huddles,” which allows employees to discuss their focus for the day and ensures everyone is able to hit their targets and ask for help.
Tips on successfully managing a hybrid work model
Successfully adopting a hybrid work model isn’t always easy, but Redhead offers a few tips from his experience at First Page:
1. Clear workflow process
It’s important that there is a clear workflow process to ensure “no ambiguity or guesswork” about how to do things and at which stage.
2. Effective communication
Increase effective communication on the days that employees are not in the office. At First Page, Slack is used in addition to email to make sure that everyone is accessible during work hours.
3. Transparency
First Page has an open-door policy so employees can directly reach out to managers without dealing with a middleman.
4. CRM for task management and reporting
The R&D team at First Page has proudly created the company’s very own CRM called SENTR to ensure that all tasks and reporting are managed, tracked and completed efficiently.
Is hybrid work here to stay?
Considering the popularity of working from home and the importance of social interaction in our lives, it seems hybrid working is here to stay.
