How These Executives Are Making The Most Of Their Hybrid Work Schedule

By now, we’ve heard so much about the hybrid workforce that some of its novelty may have begun to dull. The reality is that, at this scale at least, hybrid working continues to represent an almost entirely new beast. And with such large numbers of workers only recently reentering offices on a hybrid work schedule, the efficacy of hybrid working is, for a lot of folks, being tested right now, in real-time. 

So, is it even possible for a hybrid schedule to offer you the best of both worlds, with time to skip the commute and get into deep work at home and time to collaborate with colleagues in person? Or is hybrid working more so a social experiment that, soon enough, will ebb in favor of predominantly in-office or predominantly remote work? 

We polled executives who are currently working on a hybrid schedule to hear what they had to say. Turns out, hybrid working can be an extremely ideal way to make the most of your work week — so long as you’re going about it with some specific strategies in mind. Executives shared with us how, exactly, they’re making a hybrid work schedule work for them, striking a balance between at-home flexibility, in-office visibility, and more. 

1.“Cloud computing is my best friend.”

“Cloud computing is the most important ingredient in making my business’s hybrid setup work,” Johannes Larsson said. “As someone who regularly switches between working in the office and from home — sometimes multiple times a day — it’s absolutely vital that all my devices are synced so that my work is always accessible and up-to-date.” 

Working on the cloud, they added, also makes collaborating with others “much more efficient.” 

“It lets me easily share files with my team even when working from different locations and across different time zones,” Larsson said. “I can also grant limited access to our clients so that they can track the progress of our work.”

2.“I take an online-first approach to meetings.”

One of the biggest issues with a hybrid work model, as Zach Blenkinsopp, Co-owner of Digital Roofing Innovations, put it, is the “inconsistency in communication with in-person teams versus remote teams.”

“To help keep everyone on a level playing field, so to speak, it’s important for a company with a hybrid work model to prioritize their communication system for both in-person and remote teams,” he said. “Making it standard practice that all meetings are online will help to ensure that the in-person team doesn’t gain an advantage over the remote team and everyone stays on the same page when working on projects, no matter where they’re working from.” 

3.“I use the right video conferencing tools.”

“Being a CEO, I believe all members of a hybrid team must have access to the right video conferencing tools in order for virtual collaboration to be possible,” Frederik Lipfert, Founder & CEO of VPNCheck, said. “On a basic level, this includes software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, but there can be other solutions that help team members collaborate regardless of their geographical location.”

For example, Lipfert’s company uses a software called myViewboard, compatible with any device that has Google Chrome installed. 

“It has features such as wireless screen sharing, live annotation, brainstorming sessions, meeting recording, online whiteboarding and more, making it an exceptionally useful collaboration tool,” he said.” 

4.“I map out what projects need to be done where, and I do it in advance.”

The trick to getting a hybrid work schedule right for Teri Shern, Co-founder of Conex Boxes, is knowing what projects should be slated for home work versus the office. 

“This can be done by looking at deadlines and when you might need to collaborate with your employees to get the best results,” Shern said. “Once you’ve set out a basic idea of when you should be in the office, you can start to work around that, scheduling days to be at home and in the office depending on when you think you’ll want to be in a collaborative environment, when you’ll need time to work alone to concentrate better, and when you’ll need to do things at home for family or anything else.” 

Although Shern says this method has taken some trial and error to get right, now, they’ve figured out the right mix. “It also takes some time to set it up at the beginning of each month,” he added, “but once it is set up, it makes a massive difference in how smoothly I work in this hybrid environment.”

5.“We stack our meetings on Mondays and Thursdays, when everyone’s in the office.”

For some people, online-only meetings are working best. For others — particularly at companies where people are at home and at the office on the exact same days — the opposite is true. Dave Evangelisti, CEO of Test-Guide.com, has his company working on one such 2:3 hybrid system and says that scheduling meetings for in-office days is key.

“On the two days we are in the office, we like to plan our meetings and work on any projects that need team member collaboration,” he said. “The mornings are usually reserved for meetings between the team or specific team members while the afternoons are left open for normal working tasks… The other three days of the week are remote. Those days we conduct our normal work and work on things we discussed in our in-person meetings.”

Although people still have the option to schedule virtual meetings on remote days, in general, uniformity has made things run a lot smoother. 

“We have found that the in-person meetings are increasing productivity and are just generally more enjoyable for everyone,” he said. “We’ve been having our in-office days on Mondays and Thursdays. Monday is a great way to start off the week and collaborate while Thursday allows enough time to provide updates and collaborate on anything that should be completed before the end of the week.”

6.“Our focus for hybrid work is on transparency and accountability.”

Zephyr Chan, Founder of Better Tools, says that for him, the secret to creating a successful hybrid workplace lies in transparency. 

“For a hybrid schedule to work, you need to be transparent with your employees and expect the same in return,” Chan said. “For instance, employees can set their status on Slack to inform managers when they will be working from home and the office. This will also allow team members to know each other’s availability. Executives should ensure that, in the interest of transparency, no one gets any special treatment and that the rules apply to everyone.”

In addition, Chan says he’s “empowering my employees to be accountable.” 

“As soon as we shifted to the hybrid model, I clearly told my employees that I would not be hovering over them all the time to see if they are working correctly,” he said. “I give them all the autonomy they need, but in return, I expect them to be honest with their work and not to compromise on the quality of their deliverables. After all, trust is a two-way street.”

7.“We switch off our in-office days as co-founders.”

Aimee White and her co-founder believe they’ve found the recipe for helping their company, Keyboard Kings, thrive on a hybrid schedule: dividing and conquering. 

“We delegate tasks according to who will be in the office on specific days, and the person working from home will typically have a lighter workload,” she said. “I make the most of the days I work from home by starting work later on in the morning and being able to work out before work. I enjoy meditating and taking an hour out before work to practice yoga. This sets me up well for the day and allows me to be far more productive in general.”

And, because she’s saving on commute time for her work-from-home days, she’s able to log off earlier and spend time cooking with her partner in the evening, too. 

“Overall, my days are far more productive working on a hybrid schedule,” she said. “I find that the work day feels far more relaxed and my productivity is increased when I’m not stuck in an office five days a week!”

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