Getting Work Done in the Decade of Hybrid Working is Challenging and I Learned to Embrace It
1-Man consultants must work extra hard to stay close to our clients. Steal my simple approach.
Follow-through is not easy.
Imagine getting involved in an engagement from start to end. Imagine further having one consulting project lasting for a year or 2. We need mental stamina.
It’s tough, I know.
And time flies in the decade of Hybrid Working. The day ends before we figure out who’s here and who’s working from home.
The purpose of a hybrid workplace is to give employees flexibility in how and where they work and offer a better work-life balance. Employees should feel able to alternate between home and the office seamlessly in a hybrid work model — without a dip in productivity.
- What is hybrid work
My Perspective on Hybrid Working Arrangement
I support a hybrid working arrangement with both arms and legs. Let me explain.
The commute is a pain in the ass. People are packed like sardines in a can.
And it has gotten unreliable. My recent visit to the client’s Paris office had me experience 3 train strikes in 30 minutes.
It is the same 1 trip, by the way.
And there is no WiFi connection or 4G network for me to tap on.
From that angle, working from home is a great deal and a productivity booster.
Following Through on Work Progress and Engagement Updates is Not a Walk in the Park
Having clients in a hybrid working mode makes stakeholder communication 10x more challenging.
Mind you, clients need not report to you. But you need them to keep the engagement alive.
Need I mention that clients can disappear with ease if they choose to? Yes, they do. Pretty frequently too.
And so, this is the million-dollar question.
How do 1-Man consultants know that their client stakeholders are actively working to deliver the engagement tasks?
There is no simple answer.
It takes effort to align our clients to our work progress, and milestones, with deliverables tied to different phases of the consulting engagement.
This is what I do.
- I allocate 2 days of face time
- These 2 days consist of brainstorming, discussions, training workshops, and feedback
- The remaining tasks can be attended to online
There are activities requiring symbiotic communication. Think rapid fire Q & A. Think in-depth discussion on current business process gaps and how to close them.
It is easier to address such clarifications when you meet clients with different roles and positions on site. You can direct questions to them.
Their facial expression and body language tell you whether they are paying attention or not.
Virtual meetings?
Well… you will be lucky to see all their faces on Zoom or Google Meet. Chances are, 50% of them turned off their cameras and microphones.
You are probably left wondering if they are marking their attendance in silence.
Of course, there are ways we can continue our work with our consulting clients when they are rostered for the home office that day.
The Math Behind the Offline and Online Divide
Think about it this way.
Our communication touch points are 1-to-many. That is only natural, as we are 1-Man consultants, to begin with.
Simple math helps us determine the online or offline mode of working with our clients in a hybrid mode.
We know that virtual meetings are more effective when group sizes are smaller. Let us assume the following.
- You work with 12 client stakeholders
- You can handle up to 4 pax per virtual meeting
- Each discussion catch-up is 75 minutes in duration
Your total time commitment will be 75 minutes * (12 / 4) = 225 minutes.
You do not want to invest 300% more time repeating the same activity or presentation multiple times, right? Then you must identify those activities designed for small groups or individuals to work on at home right from the start.
This is my running list.
- Documentation
- Online training
- Research
- Review
As you can see, these are activities that require no collaboration in the first place. You can leave it to your consulting clients and let them work on the necessary.
Do check in via Zoom every now and then during their work-from-home days.
I make sure to schedule virtual meetings 2 weeks in advance so they will not walk their dogs when the time comes for our catch-up.
Parting Keynote
Working with consulting clients in a hybrid working mode is a challenge.
I believe it is a worthy adjustment to the new ways of business. Many believe hybrid working arrangements are here to stay. I concur.
The challenge comes when we have multiple consulting clients on such arrangements, and they work in the office on different days.
We must plan out our schedule in advance, knowing we meet Client A in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for face-to-face meetings with Client B.
I advise you to keep all interactive-based and progress-tracking update meetings in the face-to-face format. You get the biggest bang for your buck.
Individual activities can be assigned for clients to work on during home office days.
Your consolidated consulting engagement productivity should experience a stellar boost.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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