Hybrid working: the reference during covid, but not so evident today. However, good policies can simplify the war on talent. And where does AI fit into that hybrid experience?
All organizations have gone through the rollercoaster in the early 2020s from an often-fixed work rhythm in the office to suddenly working 100 percent from home. The pandemic is now two years behind us. Where do companies stand in embracing hybrid work? Can it help the war on talent, and does artificial intelligence have an important role in it?
“I think you price yourself out of the market for a piece as a company if you don’t embrace hybrid working today,” says Stefaan Arryn, VP of People at Silverfin. “Every time I read news that companies are once again requiring their employees to be in the office full-time, I hope they’re doing it for the right reason. Because they believe that’s important to the company culture, and not because they don’t trust people to work from elsewhere.”
Also taking part in the roundtable discussion organized by ITdaily are Andreas Van Puyenbroeck, Category Manager North West Europe at HP, Willem Magerman, CTO at Dilaco and Sven Den Uijl, Channel Manager Benelux Smart Collaboration at Lenovo.
To work hybrid or not to work hybrid?
“We all often shout that hybrid working is here to stay, but that’s from a servant status,” Magerman says. “On production sites, for example, that’s barely if at all possible. Two sizes and two weights, we can’t assume that everyone has access to that today.”
Should hybrid working be the norm? At Silverfin, part of Visma, they think so. “Even before the pandemic, we were working with developers around the world via telecommuting. This is how we solve the shortage of IT talent. Working from home has no limits.”
Even before the pandemic, we were working with developers around the world via telecommuting. This is how we solve the shortage of IT talent. Telecommuting has no limits.
Stefaan Arryn, VP People at Silverfin (part of Visma)
Magerman understands that, but points to other challenges within Dilaco. “We collect IT talent that we then flexibly deploy to clients. If that client wants the consultant in the office every day, that has to happen.” He does emphasize in the conversation that clients who demand that may not always get the ideal profile. After all, the consultants themselves also want to work flexibly.
At Van Puyenbroeck and Den Uijl, the rule is both: eat your own dog food. It would also be crazy to operate otherwise when you make the key to hybrid work yourself: laptops, meeting solutions, peripherals for home and office work, and so on.’
Developing work culture
Hybrid working is one, but work culture is equally important, according to Arryn, and both are connected. “At Silverfin, we experimented during covid with an extra day of leave per month that employees could choose for themselves. Cool, you’d think, until it turned out that 80 percent didn’t use that extra day. Neither did I myself, for that matter.”
“What turned out: because the work stayed put, it just brought more stress. Our plan to eliminate the stress was counterproductive.” The solution, he says, was simple: close the company collectively one fixed day a month. That way, no one works and the work doesn’t get stuck. He does stress that it works because the overall goal doesn’t change. “Targets remain the same, so it doesn’t cost the company money to give a leave day every month.”
Magerman understands that such an approach works to snare IT talent, but it is not for everyone. “With us, IT consultants go to work somewhere and clients are billed by the hour or day that it works. Giving an extra day off every month costs Dilaco money.”
Giving extra leave days?
An extra day off per month can help attract IT talent to you, but at AFAS they’re taking it a step further: a four-day work week. According to AFAS, artificial intelligence can accommodate that extra day. Despite being at the cutting edge of technology with ITdaily, we think this decision is particularly ambitious.
“Then don’t five times eight hours of work become four times 10 hours of work? I sincerely wonder if AI can fill that extra workday as early as today,” Den Uijl said.
One less working day per week, won’t five times eight hours of work become four times ten hours of work? I sincerely wonder if AI can fill that extra workday as early as today.
Sven Den Uijl, Channel Manager Benelux Smart Collaboration at Lenovo
Van Puyenbroeck wonders the same thing. “I am convinced that AI is going to make an incredible difference in the medium term. In an ideal world, someone who uses AI is more productive. Embracing artificial intelligence should never be a bad idea.”
How should you tackle AI?
The danger, according to Van Puyenbroeck, lies in organizations that want to integrate AI on top of what the situation is now. “People are going to have to work just as long and become more productive, further increasing the workload. That while AI is just the opportunity to make sure productivity can go up while working less. “The high workload is a pendulum swinging right now and AI can help us.”
Organizations today look very much at solutions that are on the market today. Van Puyenbroeck agrees that there are already solutions that are making gains, but the holy grail is not there yet.
“The problem is that each company needs his or her own holy grail. Each has to look for solutions that best fit their current processes. That’s the biggest challenge today. Employees are expected to be able to work with generic solutions like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, but that requires a very different way of working.”
How should organizations use AI today? And in what ways can you take advantage of it? “I think a lot of companies are still struggling with that today, no matter how loudly they are already shouting that they are working with AI.” Van Puyenbroeck takes the words out of our mouths: a press release without the word AI in it is becoming rare.
Ease of use remains important
Magerman understands that generic AI solutions such as Copilot are not a one-size-fits-all, but he does emphasize the importance of such tools. “Microsoft is playing a pioneering role in this. With ChatGPT, you have to ask for things. Copilot already suggests things proactively. That’s a world of difference in terms of experience as well as in terms of embracing AI.”
Microsoft is playing a leading role in this. With ChatGPT, you have to ask for things. Copilot already suggests things proactively.
Willem Magerman, CTO at Dilaco
He points to integration with the Office suite and how you can make productivity gains there today. “A busy day of meetings? Copilot can create a summary of the 82 emails I was in cc that day. You don’t have to ask, Copilot suggests. That’s how you can make sure AI is better embraced.”
“I am convinced that worker productivity will increase. Whether companies should allow for shorter hours to be worked is another discussion.”
In search of the holy grail
The problem is that today every company is expected to get started with artificial intelligence. “Oh woe if, as an organization today, you dare to say you’re not doing AI, imagine,” Van Puyenbroeck says sarcastically. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be blind to innovation. Companies that have already found their holy grail suddenly grow at lightning speed. SMEs can then suddenly hurt big companies.”
Arryn expects companies to get on the AI train quickly. “If we as a software company do not fully commit to artificial intelligence today, we will be competed and swamped very quickly.”
Companies that have already found their holy grail suddenly grow at lightning speed. SMEs can then suddenly hurt big companies.
Andreas Van Puyenbroeck, Category Manager North West Europe at HP
And so we arrive at a dichotomy: you need to be engaged with AI today as an organization, but at the same time you should not expect too much from it. Every month brings new innovations. Maybe tomorrow the perfect
Creating the perfect puzzle
Hybrid work, like AI, is a topic that is constantly evolving. “It should,” says Den Uijl. “Earlier this month, Amazon mandated that all employees be expected in the office every day from now on. That seems too aggressive a solution to me. A lot of organizations are still searching in this. What about all the office space? What technology do you need to get the most out of hybrid working. Few have put the perfect puzzle in place today.”
What there is no doubt about is that AI is or will be a part of that puzzle. Artificial intelligence creates productivity gains. When there is a sudden change in work-at-home policies, it is often a confidence issue. AI can then be the glue to keep both employer and employee happy.
“Whoever creates the perfect puzzle wins the war on talent,” Den Uijl emphasizes. “For every organization, that puzzle is different. Learning from each other, bringing in the right technology, embracing artificial intelligence, organizations today cannot afford to sit on the sidelines watching.
This is the first editorial in a series of three on the topic of hybrid working. Click on our theme page to see all the articles from the roundtable, the video and our partners.