So, how’s the whole hybrid thing going for you?
Missing the power of being in a customer environment?
Missing having the opportunity to bring people into a meeting or say a quick hi?
Or, as we have all done in the past, seeing a supplier and thinking ‘I need to talk to them’.
In truth, it was always likely that a mix of work from home and work from the office would fit the bill for some but not others.
And it seems our experience of the last six months has shown that to be the case.
In short, it was never about all or nothing.
And – thanks to tech – it has been proven that ‘hybrid’ can mean pretty much whatever we want it to mean.
“For me, hybrid working is about creating a truly differentiating culture that is valued by our people AND our customers,” says Paul Gibbs, Director of Sales at UK-based hosted telephony provider MyPhones, which is deeply-invested in getting the balance right.
“That means leveraging BOTH sides of the coin. Of course, the ability to work from home has drastically improved everyone’s work-life balance, which in turn has increased productivity not reduced it.
“But the physical office experience is vital too, as is the face-to-face meeting with partners and customers.
“The challenge AND the opportunity lies in getting that blend right on an organisation-by-organisation basis.”
Interestingly, Gibbs himself has this month spent several days back on the road; completing a series of face-to-face meetings with partners, customers and prospects all over the UK.
He says the rediscovery of face-to-face interaction has been a welcome step in the hybrid journey for him AND those with whom he met.
“I think it’s really important to foster whatever type of relationship a customer or partner wants,” he says.
“Recently, more and more emails in my inbox are concluding with the sign-off line: ‘Happy to meet face-to-face’.
“The reality is that many of those emailers are actually seeking a face-to-face but of course want to simultaneously continue to offer an online option.
“Over the past several months I have been in email and virtual conversation with an important new prospect.
“Things had been going well but slowly. Then one day he suddenly said: ‘Why don’t we just get together and get this deal done.’
