Different Types of Remote Models: Hybrid, Split, And Fully Remote Teams
Technological transformations have surged in almost every sector.
Technology has enabled high productivity in this new normal (COVID and post-COVID era). By virtue of embracing collaboration technologies, employees can work from anywhere seamlessly.
This has enabled companies to consider different remote work models, such as hybrid, split, and fully remote setups. Organizations are customizing remote setup according to their needs.
Why are Companies Turning to Remote Setups?
- The COVID pandemic has mandated social distancing, compelling professionals to collaborate virtually.
- Apart from reducing employee turnover, remote work models help with the operational cost of office spaces.
- Organizations bracing up for global success must invite diverse talents from all over the world by splintering the geographical boundaries through remote hiring.
- Positive impact on the environment. Less transportation means less pollution.
The above reasons (along with much more unstated) have made remote work relevant globally.
Through the well-planned work setups, anyone can work from anywhere with no geographical or resource constraints leading to more distributed teams.
Based on an organization’s operational needs, distributed teams can be divided on the basis of different remote setups, as follows:
Hybrid Team
The concept of a hybrid team refers to the amalgamation of both remote work and work from the office. In this work model, less than half of the employees work remotely and occasionally visit the office. Others work from fixed office locations.
According to a recent survey, 55% of the United States employees want a mix of both home and office location work. In the UK, 37% of the employees wish for a regular home-work setup. China’s expert analyst estimated that the hybrid model would observe 60/40 segregation of remote/on-location work within the next ten years.
In the current situation, the hybrid work model is beneficial for both employees and organizations. The workers face less exposure to the outside world, minimizing the spread of the coronavirus. The employees enjoy freedom and flexibility and can have a proper work-life balance. It reduces their travel cost and the hassle of commuting. Organizations will see better collaboration as the focus will be on team-building. The working days at the office will be dedicated to the task that requires teams to be physically present on the site. Other tasks can be done through useful tools designed for a remote team.
An HR manager in the USA claims that people with time can adapt to both home and office work, but it’s quite challenging when you have to juggle between the both. Therefore, organizations need to plan strategically to maintain and prosper through this kind of work model. Otherwise, the companies will neither have sufficient on-site work nor will their employees be able to deliver high-quality work from remote locations.
Seamless communication is the key to a cost-effective hybrid workplace — leverage technological innovations like Google workplace to the collaborative work platform. Hire a team that not only understands the criticality of dynamic business situations but also uses technology responsibly. Connecting with a platform like Skuad that provides a pool of highly skilled professionals can simplify complex work arrangements for remote setups.
Split Teams
The global team that comes together to fulfill a common organizational goal.
Split teams work from different locations without any geographical constraints. Another split workplace arrangement scenario is when different groups from different backgrounds and different time zones work for the same organization. You may choose to segregate the staff according to the tasks.
Split teams can be segregated based on time, schedule, location, and tasks. A time-based split arrangement occurs when a group of employees arrives and leaves the office simultaneously. The physical distance-based arrangement happens when employees work on different floors or work remotely from separate locations. This type of setup is beneficial for organizations that need their employees to be physically present to perform the tasks, like infrastructure operations, manufacturing industries, and essential products industries.
The risk in this type of work model arises when only a few employees possess the skills to complete the project independently. Other team members will then either wait for the key person’s approval or err in making a decision. Risk arises when the employees placed on different floors do not abide by the rules of time management and social distancing. Face-to-face meetings are considerably reduced in this arrangement; hence proper knowledge of tools and technology is essential for every employee.
Training employees to work independently and be highly decisive in various crucial situations is the key to making the work model effective.
Establish clear, achievable, and time-based targets and assign tasks according to the skills of the workers. Ask team leaders to review operating status, crisis, and risk management updates regularly. Assign one day in a week to identify, analyze, discuss, and resolve various business issues. Adopt innovative technology to work on cloud platforms and ensure that the managers and the employees are on the same page.
Fully Remote Team
The teams that work entirely from home or other remote locations are called fully remote or fixed teams.
This is beneficial to the companies that do not require the physical presence of the employees. One such software company is GitLab, which is office-less for approximately ten years now. This company currently has over 1,300 people working from 66 countries. The company has also published a book on the best practices for remote work. This book has seen thousands of downloads recently as organizations grapple with a sustainable remote work strategy post-COVID.
According to a Harvard business study, the employees’ completed an extra day’s work every week when working remotely. The employees are more productive and indulge in deep work while being apart from conventional work environments. The remote meeting setups are more effective than in-person meetings as the employees need to keep the key points and discuss issues that matter the most. The organizational heads can retain and attract the best talents from all over the world to contribute to their growing business and leave the rest of the employee management task to local EORs (Employers od Record).
Embracing the features and technology involved in this type of work model is essential, or else the miscommunication and technical gap can be a potential harm to the organizations. This type of work model does not work for sectors that need the physical presence of the employees.
On A Final Note
While selecting a particular type of remote setup for your organization, do keep in mind that not all employees are ready to go remote instantly. You may need to provide training to existing employees and consider hiring experienced remote workers. You may additionally reach out to organizations like Skuad to manage the difficult tasks of taxation, compliance, and remote payroll so you can focus on your success!
