The hybrid workplace and the new reality in recruitment

We are in the middle of a new reality in recruitment. Sweden and the world are slowly opening up, and more and more workplaces have gone from on-site to hybrid.

Right now many companies find that their established recruitment processes no longer work: it is hard to attract applications, many drop out during the process and candidates ask difficult questions about hybrid work. On 25 November, Dagens Industri reported that job sites are flooded with ads, while the number of jobs a job seeker applies for has fallen from three or four a month to one or two. At the same time, candidates sometimes decline when the answers about hybrid work are wrong or too vague. So how much do we really need to change to turn the trend?

WHAT IS HYBRID, AND DOES IT WORK FOR EVERYONE?

In the new reality of hybrid work, we need to remember that far from all organisations can offer hybrid work. We have doctors who need to be at the hospital, preschool teachers who work with children at the preschool and bus drivers who drive the buses we ride. Because candidate demand for hybrid work is so strong, working life risks becoming unequal depending on whether you can work from home or not. If a doctor chooses between working for a digital healthcare provider or a health centre where they need to be on site all the time, the health centre needs to offer strong advantages, or why not let the doctor do their admin from home? Every organisation needs to think about how it can become more hybrid.

Perhaps the hardest thing is that it is all still so new. No one knows what hybrid actually means. What is flexible remote really? Everyone has different ideas. There is a clear difference between hybrid meaning one day at the office and the rest at home, and hybrid meaning four days at the office and one day at home.

HOW THE PARTICIPANTS AT EMPLOYER BRANDING TALKS ANSWERED

At our fourth Employer Branding Talk, Oddwork’s Madeleine Linge, Senior Talent Manager, and Jesper Forslund, COO, discussed the topic with Lovisa Ehrenborg, one of the west coast’s most successful and empathetic tech recruiters and founder of Ehrenborg Search. There is no clear definition of hybrid work, so during the event we asked the audience: What does hybrid work mean to you?

54% of participants felt that two days at the office should count as hybrid, 37% said three days, 5% said one day and only 4% felt that four days at the office and one at home is hybrid work.

Besides tips for successful recruitment and onboarding, the team also discussed whether you are allowed to take a power nap at work, how hybrid work affects gender equality and how managers tend to favour employees who are at the office more often. For more on that, watch the recording here.

LOVISA’S AND MADDE’S TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING IN A HYBRID REALITY

1. Clarity in job ads
State in the job ad what the options are for working from home versus at the office. Some candidates immediately filter out workplaces that don’t present themselves as hybrid.

2. Meet the candidate halfway
If you recruit for an organisation where hybrid work is not possible, do what you can to meet candidates halfway so you don’t lose people for the wrong reasons. There are usually other things that matter to the person; try to meet those instead.

3. Agree on guidelines
If the management team doesn’t set guidelines and lets middle managers decide, subcultures can emerge. If your middle managers are to decide, give them guidelines and support. Agree on what the culture should be and follow up.

4. Make sure there is an expert in the room
To give new hires the right conditions in a hybrid organisation, we recommend having a specialist present digitally to create a culture of asking questions. It also makes onboarding new employees easier.

5. KPI: how many questions can you ask in your first week?
Junior people should have clear expectations and be encouraged to ask lots of questions during onboarding. Silly or smart, ask, ask, ask! Feel free to measure the number of questions per week during the first months.

6. Put the retro in the calendar!
Retros are a given for many, but sometimes they fall between the cracks. Put the retro in the calendar and reflect at regular intervals and after bigger projects. We need to reflect more, especially as a group.

7. The motivation analysis
Finding out what drives each person in your team can be extremely important for retaining and developing your employees. It also lets you tailor your recruitments and leadership.

8. Love the mini-conference
With all the talk about being at the office or not, we have to put in a word for the mini-conference. At Oddwork we recently tried the concept Oddays, where for three days we gathered as many healthy employees as we could at the office. It was hugely appreciated, and many who hadn’t seen each other for almost two years got the chance to meet and hang out.

9. Remember your existing employees
Finally, we want to remind you to take care of your existing employees. It is easy for new hires to step into a new reality while those already in place remain in the old one. Make sure everyone is included when it is time for new guidelines.

Questions, or want to get in touch with us about recruitment or employer branding? Email kontakt@oddwork.se.

About Madeleine

Madeleine Linge is Oddwork’s Senior Talent Manager, focused on tech recruitment. Connect with Madde here.

About Lovisa

Lovisa Ehrenborg is the founder of Ehrenborg Search and one of West Sweden’s most successful tech recruiters. Connect with Lovisa here.

About Jesper

Jesper Forslund is Oddwork’s COO and, before Oddwork, worked mainly in SaaS and tech. Connect with Jesper here.

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