22.03.2022

How recruiters can find employees that excel at hybrid working

A survey of over 2,000 office workers found that almost half would leave a role for one that offers hybrid working. Three quarters have already been offered more flexibility.

David Bernard, the founder of behavioural assessment firm AssessFirst believes the issue presents recruiters with a new problem: finding staff that excel both at home and in the office.

Recruiters have already solved the first issue raised by demand for hybrid working: they are offering it. Hybrid working is not a short-term fix or a phase. It is what the modern worker wants, and what modern working looks like.

Data from a Reed survey reveals a 79% increase in vacancies that offered more flexibility. The idea that businesses need to embrace hybrid working appears to be widely accepted. This is a good start.

But there is another problem that is lurking in the productivity and sustainability of businesses. Hybrid working requires two key personality traits: the ability to work effectively in a team - and productively at home.

Presently, recruiters are not adjusting hires to fit these requirements. Understandably, seeking the ‘best’ candidate is prioritised.

And so qualifications, CVs and experience are given precedence, with little thought to the influence of different working environments.

The disfunction of the traditional recruitment process, and the lack of a method for identifying behavioural suitability to a vacancy means that business is unable to hire staff suited to this new reality.

A working environment, as demonstrated by Indeed, is made up of four elements. The physical area, facilities and equipment, working conditions and company culture.

We can then identify various types of working environment that inform that culture – from social environments, high-energy sales environments, academic, creative, and so on.

If we remove an employee accustomed to a certain culture, then what is the outcome? If the aim is consistent productivity, how can we be assured that the preferred candidate can deliver it?

Businesses need to recruit smarter and doing this requires data. The more data we collect, across several working environments, the more we can see – and predict – how each person will perform.

We can then use AI to analyse the profiles of top performers – including those that work reliably in more than one working environment. And once a company increases its volume of hybrid workers, it’s possible to continue that data collection, machine learning and predictive capability.

Consider feedback that informs you that a high performer increases productivity and results at home, for example. The incentives that you could offer that employee are obvious and rewarding for both parties.

So far, the shift to hybrid patterns of working has been met with employers offering the opportunity to do so. But this satisfies only half of the issue. Eventually, employers must consider the individual’s capacity and ability to work in multiple environments.

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