The mandate for action toward hybrid work is clear and many organizations and their leaders have acknowledged that. What is less clear is what steps these companies need to take to move forward. A recent report¹ illustrates this with nine out of ten executives saying that they envision a hybrid work model going forward while only having a basic, high-level plan to move ahead. In fact, a third of these companies say that their organizations “lack alignment on a high-level vision among the top team” and “only one in ten organizations have begun communicating and piloting that vision”.

This presents an opportunity for the leaders and their teams in key functions such as technology strategy, people management, and operations to help drive the hybrid work vision for their organizations. Here’s a summary of those opportunities by function:

• CIO: Hybrid work is creating a convergence of collaboration, networking, and security technologies. Our employees need seamless access to apps and high-quality collaborative experiences, which makes it critical to secure remote work tools to protect customer and employee data always. CIOs can play the central role in helping their companies navigate the digital strategies for collaboration, networking, security, and others. This will result in more digitally savvy and agile organizations that can better meet the needs of employees, customers, and partners.
• CHRO: Understanding our employee needs and expectations is critical to retain top talent and expand the talent pool. Today’s employees want more flexibility and more of a voice in where, when, and how they work. But there is no one-size-fits-all. Work experiences, workstyles, and work preferences are as varied and personal as the individuals that comprise an organization’s workforce. By listening to employees and allowing teams to determine the hybrid work configurations that work best for them, companies can empower their people and teams to play to their strengths and focus on making work, work for them.
• COO: Hybrid work will redefine operations and facilities management significantly, especially as employees return to work at scale. Ensuring the safety and productivity of employees are the top priorities, which requires redesigning our workplaces to be human-centered and less office-centered. This will include building more dedicated collaboration spaces and more “smart” spaces for easier conferencing and less or smaller assigned workspaces. Therefore the COO can play an integral role in helping create a “human-centered” workplace that’s central to any hybrid work journey.

As you evolve the hybrid work strategy for your organization, Cisco suggests using the following five characteristics² that can serve as a useful framework or checklist for building the hybrid work solutions.

• Inclusive: offering equal experiences for everyone
• Flexible: adapting to any work style, role, environment
• Supportive: focusing on safety, empathy, and well-being
• Secure: being secure by design, private by default
• Managed: delivering modern infrastructure, frictionless administration