The Hybrid Work Conundrum

As organizations navigate the hybrid work landscape, they face a unique set of challenges. These challenges can be categorized into different sections.

Balancing Employee Preferences.

Employees have diverse preferences when it comes to working remotely or at the office. Some prefer to work from home, while others thrive in an office environment. Some departments can work better collaboratively on certain tasks. These tasks occur on certain days of the week or the month or the quarter or the year. Striking a balance between the preferences of the various teams, supervisors and the organizational risks can be difficult. Implementing a one-size-fits-all approach typically lead to general dissatisfaction among employees, ultimately affecting productivity and employee retention.

Impact on Company Culture.

What is culture? Whatever version of the word you understand and agree on, the shift to hybrid work poses a risk to company culture, as it can lead to a disconnect between employees and teams and departments working from different locations. Defining, building and maintaining a strong company culture is essential for fostering collaboration, innovation, and a sense of belonging among employees.

The Role of a Consultant in Hybrid Work Risk Management

Hiring a consultant to manage the risks associated with hybrid work is essential for several reasons:

Expertise and Experience.

A consultant with expertise in hybrid work risk management can help organizations navigate the complex landscape of hybrid work, providing valuable insights and strategies to address the various challenges.

Objective Viewpoint.

An external consultant can provide an objective viewpoint, identifying potential risks and areas of improvement that may be overlooked by internal teams. This objectivity can help organizations make informed decisions and implement effective risk management strategies.

Tailored Solutions.

A consultant can work with organizations to develop tailored solutions that address their specific needs and concerns based on a multiplicity of risks and factors across stakeholders, ensuring that their hybrid work model is both efficient and effective.

Ongoing Support.

As hybrid work continues to evolve, organizations may require ongoing support and guidance to manage risks effectively. A consultant can provide this ongoing support, helping organizations adapt to changing circumstances and ensuring long-term success.

Compliance and Security.

With employees working from different locations, organizations need to ensure that they comply with various regulations and maintain the security of their data and systems. At the same time, policies need to be rejigged to update these policies. More importantly, the policies need to be restructured to avoid gaps and holes This can be challenging, as remote and hybrid work can lead to an increased risk of data or policy breaches and other threats.

Hybrid Work – Supporting Technology

Hybrid work requires organizations to invest in the necessary infrastructure and technology to support both remote and in-office employees. This includes setting up a robust IT infrastructure, providing employees with the necessary tools and equipment, and ensuring seamless communication and collaboration between teams.

The Need for a Software Application

In addition to hiring a consultant, organizations need a comprehensive software application to manage hybrid work risks effectively. A software application can help organizations.

Optimize Seat Booking and Allocations.

Effective communication and collaboration are essential for hybrid work success. A software application can help streamline these processes, ensuring that employees can easily share information, collaborate on projects, and stay connected, regardless of their location.

Integrate Operational Policies, Laws, Regulations, Compliances.

A software application can help organizations monitor and manage compliance with various regulations, ensuring that they stay up to date with the latest requirements and maintain the necessary documentation.

Track and Manage Usage and Discipline.

A software application can help organizations monitor and manage compliance with various regulations, ensuring that they stay up to date with the latest requirements and maintain the necessary documentation.

Manage Team Preferences and Reservations

A software application can help organizations monitor and manage compliance with various regulations, ensuring that they stay up to date with the latest requirements and maintain the necessary documentation.

Consider Employee Preferences and Commutes

A software application can help organizations monitor and manage compliance with various regulations, ensuring that they stay up to date with the latest requirements and maintain the necessary documentation.

Enhance and Ease Supervision

A software application can help organizations enhance their security measures, providing tools and features that can help detect and prevent potential threats, such as data breaches and cyberattacks.

Remind, Manage & Co-ordinate

A software application can help organizations enhance their security measures, providing tools and features that can help detect and prevent potential threats, such as data breaches and cyberattacks.

Integrate and Manage Off-Premise Work and Leaves

To ensure the success of a hybrid work model, organizations need to track and measure employee performance. A software application can help organizations collect and analyze data on employee productivity, engagement, and satisfaction, allowing them to make informed decisions and implement improvements.

Provide Flexibility and Scalability

A software application can provide organizations with the flexibility and scalability they need to adapt to changing circumstances and accommodate the evolving needs of their workforce.

Conclusion

As hybrid work becomes increasingly prevalent, organizations must prioritize hybrid work risk management as a one-time exercise supported by a software application for the long term to ensure the success of their workforce and business operations. Hiring a consultant with expertise in this area is essential for navigating the complex landscape of hybrid work, while a comprehensive software application can help organizations manage and mitigate risks effectively. By implementing these strategies, organizations can successfully manage the hybrid work conundrum and create a flexible, productive, and satisfied workforce.

The post Hybrid Work and Risk Management. appeared first on Jackstien Practices, India.

Beyond the hasty switch of the earlier days of the pandemic, organizations worldwide are attempting to embrace hybrid work models with more care that combines remote and in-office work to maintain productivity, employee engagement, and business continuity.

Hybrid work consultant services have emerged as a critical service, helping businesses navigate this transitional period and effectively mitigate the risks associated with these new ways of working. It is, after all, a specialized domain that requires knowledge of multiple areas as well as how each area relates to every other.

Consulting experts need to be well-versed in the challenges and opportunities presented by this new working landscape to offer valuable insights and practical solutions to help businesses adapt to the future of work, rebuild their internal processes to suit hybrid work and build a more resilient workplace cum workforce. We detail some of the top strategies for effective risk management in hybrid work environments. But first let’s get the basics out of the way.

Flexibility is a wide term

Flexibility may refer to the time when you work. 

Flexibility may refer to the space where you work from.

Flexibility may refer to how you deliver.

Time-based flexibility may exist either within defined limits or it may be fully discretionary.

Space-based flexibility (i.e. where do you work) may similarly exist within defined limits or may be fully discretionary.

To be sure, the term flexibility may even refer to the fact that you may provide the agreed outcome or work-product using any process of your choosing but without the freedom to choose the space or the time in which you carry out the said process (think about 9 to 5 research labs)

Thus, Hybrid work models, the way typically referred to, are just one form of flexibility and typically refers to flexibility in terms of the space where you work rather than the time when you work. Hybrid work arrangements are thus flexible working arrangements that enable employees to work from various locations, including the office, home, or other remote locations rather than at various times of their choosing.

This approach empowers employees with the autonomy (fully discretionary or within defined boundaries) to choose their work environment based on their preferences and job requirements.

Hybrid work models can take several forms, such as splitting time between remote work, being in the primary office, or being at satellite offices closer to employees’ homes.

Adopting a hybrid work model offers several benefits, including increased employee satisfaction, reduced overhead costs, and access to a broader talent pool. However, it also presents certain challenges, such as managing remote and distributed teams, maintaining effective communication, and ensuring data security. As a result, businesses have needed to develop robust risk management strategies to navigate the complexities of hybrid work successfully. Unfortunately, this has not proven easy and businesses continue to struggle.

The importance of risk management in hybrid work environments

Risk management is a crucial aspect of any business operation, but it becomes even more critical in hybrid work environments. The shift to remote work has introduced new risks and amplified existing ones.

These include process breakdowns, communication lapses and delays, cybersecurity threats and weakened cohesion either impacts product output or timelines or both.

Thus, organizations must identify, assess, and mitigate these risks to ensure business continuity and maintain a healthy hybrid work environment.

Effective risk management in hybrid work environments requires a proactive approach that anticipates potential challenges and addresses them before they escalate. By keeping a pulse on the evolving landscape, organizations can adapt and respond to emerging risks and opportunities, fostering a resilient and adaptable workforce.

Top strategies for effective risk management in hybrid work

a. Identifying potential Hybrid work and workplace risks

The first step in effective risk management is identifying the potential risks associated with hybrid work environments. Some common risks include team cohesion, communication breakdown, weakened discipline, data breaches, loss of productivity, communication challenges, and employee disengagement. Conducting a comprehensive risk assessment to identify these risks and their potential impact on the organization.

This assessment should involve input from various stakeholders, including employees, managers, and IT teams, to ensure a thorough understanding of potential risks. Organizations should also stay informed about industry trends and best practices to anticipate and address emerging risks proactively.

b. Implementing preventative measures

Once potential risks have been identified, organizations must develop and implement preventative measures to mitigate their impact. This may include establishing and updating IT infrastructure and security protocols, identifying and restructuring critical processes, setting a hybrid work policy, establishing clear communication and work guidelines, establishing clear contact points and responsibilities and, crucially, adaptation training for change management.

It is critical to have a proactive approach to risk management of hybrid work, continuously reviewing and updating preventative measures in response to changing circumstances. This requires one to stay informed about best practices, industry trends, and emerging technologies that can help mitigate risks effectively.

c. Continuously monitoring and assessing Hybrid workplace risks for distributed teams

Risk management is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and assessment. Organizations need to establish regular risk assessment schedules, ensuring that all stakeholders are involved in the process. This helps maintain a comprehensive understanding of the organization’s risk landscape and enables timely responses to emerging risks.

In addition to routine assessments, organizations should establish a policy (backed by channels) for employees to report potential risks or concerns. This promotes a culture of risk awareness and empowers employees to contribute to the organization’s risk management efforts.

Advice on communication and collaboration in hybrid work and distributed team structures

Effective communication and collaboration are vital for maintaining productivity and employee engagement in hybrid work environments. Hybrid work consulting experts recommend several strategies to facilitate communication and collaboration, such as:

• Establishing clear communication guidelines and expectations.
• Preferred communication channels, response times
• Meeting protocols including preferred mediums.
• Check-ins structures and team meetings to maintain connections .
• Identifying and securing the right collaboration tools and platforms for the right workflows.

By fostering a culture of effective communication and collaboration, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with remote work and maintain a cohesive, engaged workforce.

Leveraging technology for risk management in hybrid workspaces

Technology plays a crucial role in managing risks associated with hybrid work environments. From collaboration platforms and communication tools to advanced cybersecurity measures, organizations must leverage the right technology solutions to support their hybrid work models effectively.

Most importantly, Hybrid work needs a central command structure that manages the crucial ‘work’ element along with the workplace element. While tools vary by need, intent and output required, the central structure needs to hold it all together.

Unfortunately, in most cases, this role is performed by seat-booking apps, which are really poor substitutes that provide the illusion of structure.

Training and development for remote/ hybrid employees and distributed teams

Employee training and development are vital components of risk management in hybrid work environments. By providing employees with the necessary skills and knowledge, organizations can better equip them to navigate the challenges of remote work and contribute to the organization’s risk management efforts.

Hybrid work consulting experts recommend the following training and development strategies for employees in a hybrid work environment:

• Providing regular adaptation training on how remote, hybrid or distributed teams work and relate to each other.
• Training and development programs to supervisors to manage a distributed workforce.
• Understanding what changes and why to equip employees to find solutions better
• Providing cybersecurity best practices to help employees safeguard sensitive data and prevent breaches.
• Training sessions on effective communication and collaboration techniques in a distributed environment, ensuring employees can work together efficiently.
• Providing resources and support for employees to manage their work, home, finances and to maintain balance

How hybrid work consulting services can help your business

Hybrid work consultant services can provide invaluable support to businesses navigating the complexities of the future of work. Experts offer tailored solutions and strategies using systems thinking to help organizations manage risks effectively, implement successful hybrid work models, and build a resilient and adaptable workforce. Some of the key benefits of engaging hybrid work consulting services include:

• Access to expert knowledge and insights on the latest trends and best practices in hybrid work.
• Asking the right questions before arriving at the solutions and risk management strategies.
• Customized risk management strategies designed to address the unique challenges and risks facing your organization.
• Assistance in selecting and implementing the right technology solutions to support your hybrid work model.
• Guidance on developing and implementing effective communication and collaboration strategies to maintain productivity and employee engagement.

Partnering with hybrid work consulting experts enables organizations can confidently embrace the future of work and its challenges, ensuring productivity, continuity and success in the evolving landscape.

Conclusion: Embracing the future of work and its challenges with confidence

The future of work is undeniably complex, with hybrid work models presenting both opportunities and challenges for businesses worldwide. By leveraging the expertise of hybrid work consulting experts and implementing robust risk management strategies, organizations can confidently navigate this new landscape, ensuring business continuity and success. By identifying potential risks, implementing preventative measures, continuously monitoring and assessing risks, and fostering effective communication and collaboration, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with hybrid work environments.

In addition, organizations must prioritize employee training and development, building a resilient and adaptable workforce that can respond to change and navigate challenges effectively. By partnering with hybrid work consulting services, businesses can access expert knowledge and insights, customized risk management strategies, and guidance on selecting and implementing the right technology solutions and communication and collaboration strategies.

While the future of work is undoubtedly challenging, with the right strategies in place, businesses can embrace this new landscape with confidence, build a more resilient and adaptable work structure and ensure long-term success in the evolving business landscape.

If you are looking to navigate the complexities of hybrid work environments and build a more resilient and adaptable workforce, contact our team of hybrid work consulting experts today. We offer tailored solutions and strategies to help your organization mitigate risks, implement successful hybrid work models, and thrive in the future of work.

The post Top Hybrid Work Risk Management Strategies appeared first on Jackstien Practices, India.

The article can be found at https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/-organizations-are-people-too-says-jackstien-practices-nishant-shah-on-hybrid-work-news-203471 and is replicated below for easy reference.

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When Raina (name changed) requested to combine her personal leave with an off-site work arrangement at work, little did she know that the whole Hybrid Workspace program was soon to reach a tipping point. 

Here’s what happened; several similar requests had come in. The supervisors agreed to grant only some of these requests and staggered work across branches or across days to meet quarter end pressures. However, when the things quickly took a turn for the worse during the quarter end. Some of their offices creaked under the pressure of the influx of people demanding resources while other offices lay unused and empty, gathering dust and expenditure. Missed deadlines, angry clientele, blame-games and finger-pointing erupted and escalated to one resignation and one dismissal. The company had little choice but to suspend the Hybrid Work program till they could figure out how to avoid recurrences like these.

While the world has settled in to agree that Hybrid Work is the happy median, the devil, as the saying goes, is always in the details. This is evidenced plentifully by the debates raging across every channel. 

Organizations rightly worry about risk and sustainability but at the same time, don’t want to lose the benefits Hybrid Work provides. The Hybrid Work idea has universal appeal. While there are many superficial products in the market, they are largely limited to seat-reservations or co-ordination meant to serve the flexibility needs of the employees.  Real tools to help organizations protect their interests at the same time are non-existent.

Uncharted Waters
As questions and debates rage on, we discussed with Nishant Shah, Managing Partner of Jackstien Practices and Consulting International what it takes to create and sustain a Hybrid workspace. 

The problem, says Nishant Shah, is that when one discusses Hybrid work, they tend to look only at people’s needs and ignore the organization’s needs. Organizations have their own priorities, fears and risks just like people; they need to protect the interests and address the fears of its management, owners, shareholders, regulators, creditors and other employees. “In that sense, organizations are people too” smiles Nishant. 

At The Helm
Nishant Shah a former banker, advocates strongly in favour of Hybrid Work as the Future of Work. He ought to know. Jackstien Practices are a premier transition management firm but not just any transition firm; they focus on transitioning organizations to the future of work with remote and hybrid work as the focal points of their transformation expertise for distributed teams and distributed infrastructure. 

“Imagine this in your mind; the goal is to reach a state where an organization operates in a productive, sustainable and profitable Hybrid Work infrastructure” says Nishant Shah. He continues “Now imagine that the bike that takes you there runs on the two primary wheels of ‘technology’ and ‘people’ with an engine intricately designed of several complicated parts… parts consisting of frameworks like expense and asset management, productivity management, statutory, legal and regulatory management, policy, tax management, operating risk management and sustainability initiatives. We transform your organization into this vehicle so you can reach the Hybrid-work goal.”

After five years in Citibank, Nishant moved to Standard Chartered in 2006 and thereafter to JPMorgan Chase Bank. Thirteen years later, in 2020, he moved out of his role as Executive Director and India Head of Operating Risk at JPMorgan Chase India and founded Jackstien Practices & Consulting International. The impact of the firm’s unique specialisation gained them the highly coveted Indian Achievers Award less than two years later. A futurist, Nishant says his inspiration to found the firm came from “the joy of aligning hundreds of moving parts; (because) I loved resolving issues on behalf of two groups who wanted what they wanted irrespective of the other side’s point of view.”

Anchoring the Hybrid Workspace
Unfortunately, a system to design, manage, or set the parameters to fruitfully anchor a Hybrid workspace didn’t exist. The light touch systems that do exist have not found favour, presumably because they are rather lop-sided and focus only on user convenience instead of also ensuring the best interest of the employer organizations. “Complexities underlying such system add up at the ground-level because such systems need to be reactive to change and do so in a controlled manner” feels Nishant. 

Partner-Ship
Muzammil Patel is the Managing Partner of Acies Consulting LLP, an award-winning firm that focuses on cutting edge technology. Muzammil has himself spent thirteen years in Deloitte and Ernst and Young, two of the Big Four firms where he worked as a Management Consultant. As a senior Management Consultant in Deloitte, Muzammil had first-hand experience in risk-managing the many moving parts that constitute large organizations.

Nishant and Muzammil combined expertise of their respective organizations to incorporate Jonosfero International LLP, a Joint Venture between these two new-age firms. With several key products in the pipeline, the first mountain Jonosfero International plans to scale is a big one; developing a system to create and sustainably manage Hybrid Workspaces from an organization’s viewpoint.

Undock and Sail-Forth?
Leaving the restrictive shores of on-premise work requires the right tools before undocking. Nishant feels Jonosfero International has what it takes to create just such a technology tool, code-named work.IS. Only time will tell whether work.IS, which Nishant says stands for “Work In-Situ”, lives up to its promise. The pedigree is certainly promising.

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The post Outlook India – 20.Jun.2022 appeared first on Jackstien Practices, India.

The coverage can be found on https://theindiasaga.com/saga-corner/the-new-struggle/ and is replicated below for reference.

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The world seems to have settled in to agree that Hybrid is the best form of Remote Work. That’s the New Normal.

However, many differences persist in the approach. These differences are visible in the empty offices today. And that is the New Struggle.

From all employers to all employees having different ideas years ago, we have now reached a point today where the world has come to grips with what Remote and Hybrid work is.

Nishant Shah, former banker and Managing Partner of Jackstien Practices, has been speaking publicly about the key distinctions between work vs workplace in the context of Remote or Hybrid work. His posts on the popular social media platform LinkedIn have garnered much attention as the world continues to evolve a mid-ground between what organizations and its people want. 

With attrition rates at all-time highs, seemingly linked to corporate’s plans towards return to office premises, the push and pull grows stronger. The more one chases ‘normalization,’ the further it seems to feel.

There is a gap, often characterized as a generational gap, with some yearning for a return to what they perceived as the ‘good old days’ It is now apparent that those days are never coming back, one more aspect of the world irrevocably changed by the pandemic. In fact, with the world now realizing the stand-alone value of remote work outside of the context of the pandemic, the very definition of ‘gooddays’ has changed, and these models will only grow.

Nishant’s thoughts in this direction started during his days in Standard Chartered way back in 2006. Before moving to Standard Chartered, Nishant had spent six years across three departments in four separate locations in Citibank, where, according to him, cross-learning across departments was an ingrained way of life. As Core Banking Systems rolled out, Nishant says that he started “feeling a lack of value in moving geographies even as I saw the level of resources required to support this geographical spread”.

However, even as the years progressed, remote and hybrid work remained the domain of a few niche international IT firms. This, even as metro-dwellers continued to suffer the stresses of commute living in cities where home ownership was largely becoming a mere pipedream for the newer generation. As history will no-doubt show, the pandemic accelerated the changes that took years to materialize in the eCommerce space.

Moving to JPMorgan in 2007 and rising to Head of Operating Risk amidst internationally emerging financial and operational trends, Nishant Shah says that “the benefits, as well as the problems and complexities of such infrastructures, became a field of study for me”.

Questions remain on what the ideal model of work is, how everything should fit together, how and which model to adopt and how to re-adapt staff. More questions arise as businesses struggle with these questions at an organization-wide level. 

The struggle, as they say, is real. The older generation prefers to go back to established ways even at the increased costs of hundreds of millions but face dissent from the younger generation who are the backbone in the IT, ITES and BFSI sectors. We can see these struggles playing out in real-time as behemoths like TCS and Infosys try to combat record attrition rates as high as 27%. We can see these struggles play out in empty offices.

It is no wonder that firms like Jackstien Practices now specialize in consulting on all things remote and hybrid work. From technical and technological, operational risks to costs-balancing. 

Basic folksy tips about giving people freedom and flexibility can only go so far. To help organizations effectively transition, there is a need for strong technical assessment and advice to maintain smooth operational productivity. After all, organizations need to protect all their stakeholders even as they struggle to adapt to the accelerating pace of change.

The new normal brings with it a new struggle. The difference this time around is that the new struggle, unlike those in the past, is for improvement rather than mere survival.

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The post The India Saga – 30.May.2022 appeared first on Jackstien Practices, India.

The article can be found at https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/infotainment/article/the-holy-union-tech-and-consulting-23223556 and is replicated below for ease.

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When former banker Nishant Shah moved on from his lucrative career as Head of Operating Risk in JPMorgan India, to start his own firm, he was faced with what is often known as the ‘consulting conundrum.’ The conundrum is that while risk management and consulting expertise solves problems and creates gain for clients in the shorter term, it needs to be supported by well-designed technology to sustain those benefits over the long-term.

At the same time, stand-alone technological solutions are inadequate. This is because, to be able to deploy the underlying technology meaningfully, subject matter expertise is critical. Imagine engineers trying to create hearing aids without the expertise of an audiologist or, say, developers attempting to program contract management software without a lawyer.
A meaningful marriage of consulting and technology is difficult but essential. However, it remains rare, maybe because it is so difficult.

Nishant Shah founded Jackstien Practices, a risk and transition management firm with a stated mission of, amongst others, helping organisations and businesses design and adapt to the new world of remote and hybrid work.

In discussion with Nishant, we realised that remote and hybrid work was a field of study that affected every aspect of work as we know it today, much like law, finance, or psychology. There was, however, precious little by way of expertise in this domain. Ideally placed to fill this gap as an industry and operating risk expert and consummate futurist, Nishant had recognised the advent of remote and hybrid work future years ago and founded Jackstien Practices as the marriage of his passions.

“Four hours on the road everyday gave me enough time to think it through” he jokes.

However, the consulting conundrum remained. The immediate next step for Shah was to find the right technology partners to design high quality software solutions for his domain in Banking, Financial Service, and Insurance. The BFSI sector expends upwards of Rs 750,000 million annually, a figure that will likely increase to combat the threat of the FinTech sector.
To rise to the challenge of servicing this industry, Jackstien Practices and Acies Consulting joined forces to create a new entity.

Acies Consulting, a relatively young company are already leaders in their own right. Acies is an award-winning company led by industry stalwarts with more than a century of combined expertise in finance and technology.

The new entity, christened Jonosfero International LLP was founded this year, a product of domain expertise and technology as the answer to the consulting conundrum.
Jonosfero International is already far along the path towards releasing its top tier solutions, with plans to grow to a $350 million entity in under five years, surpassing international best practices in intelligent design.

“For technology solutions, basic design briefs are the easy part if you want to create systems that are just one thing to one person” says Nishant Shah who is the CEO of Jonosfero International “For truly usable multi-faceted systems, it takes expertise to combine enterprise controls with intuitive systems that work for everyone, from sales personnel to compliance departments to HR departments to finance departments”

Hybrid work is one of the most complex challenges organizations face. At the same time, it is one of the most rewarding opportunities as well.

“We put a lot of thought into designing a multi-faceted Hybrid work system for our clients, with every function assessed separately against its own unique parameters to design the perfect hybrid work architecture that works for organizations, functions, and individuals. Crucially, there is a need for sustainable technology that helps maintain and build on our design architecture. For example, many applications today claim to help manage hybrid work but are limited to helping reserve ‘hot-desks.’ In that sense, they are simply versions of applications used to book seats in a theatre. These basic systems feel inadequate because they don’t help to design, manage, or set the parameters based on which the organization can protect its financial, operational, people, stakeholder, and regulatory interests on a day-to-day basis. Building such a system has proven a challenge worldwide and at Jonosfero International, we aim to be the first to do it” says Nishant Shah.

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