Due to the COVID pandemic, there is a shift in the flexibility of the workplaces. Companies were forced to adopt flexible work arrangements. Nowadays, most companies allow their employees to work from home, so flexible workplaces are becoming a new standard. Flexible workplaces enable employers to reduce their costs related to expenses such as travelling allowances and miscellaneous expenses. Moreover, it has provided opportunities to hire talent from anywhere globally.

Managers must learn some new management shifts and unlearn some old productivity metrics to make flexible work arrangements successful.

Here are the 4 management shifts that every manager should know for a productive, flexible workplace:

1. Shift from managing time to managing results: Managers have relied on monitoring the working hours in the traditional office system. They monitored employee performance by observing their work habits and working hours for productivity. With a flexible workspace system, the employees were given a flexible schedule to work to meet deadlines and targets. So, managers must focus on results rather than time-based evaluations to judge employee performance. This means setting clear expectations and goals to be achieved in a specific time frame.

2. Shift from Command and Control to Empowerment: Managers need to shift their command and control approach to empowerment. Employees must feel empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for their work. It can be done by giving them the resources and support they need and providing them with constructive and valuable feedback to continuously improve to bring desired results. This also means that you need to trust the employees that they will act responsibly and meet the deadlines.

3. Shift from micro-management to macro management: Traditionally, managers focus on micro-managing people at the workplace, but for a flexible workplace, managers need to shift their focus from micro-managing people to macro-managing them. This indicates that managers should emphasize results and timely completion of deadlines rather than micromanaging employee breaks and hours worked. Employees should be empowered to take ownership of their work and make decisions independently. Managers should provide guidance and support where necessary. Still, they should trust their employees to deliver high-quality work on time.

4. Shift from managing in-person to managing virtually: Managers must shift their focus from managing in-person to managing virtually in a flexible workplace arrangement, as employees cannot be physically present. This can be done using effective technology to facilitate communication, collaboration, and project management. Also, managers need to take the initiative to address possible problems with remote work, such as burnout, social isolation, and work-life balance.

Conclusion

Managing a flexible workplace requires a different strategy than managing a traditional office. Managers may ensure a successful and flexible workplace by moving their attention from managing time to managing results, from control to empowerment, tasks to managing processes, people to managing outcomes, and managing in-person to managing digitally. Check out Compliance Prime to learn more about hybrid workplace best practices to enhance performance and productivity.