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New Study Shows SMEs Are Leading The Hybrid Work Revolution To Win The Talent Wars

New Study Shows SMEs Are Leading The Hybrid Work Revolution To Win The Talent Wars

Last updated on: January 12, 2023 at 7:12 am by Gleb Tsipursky

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New Study Shows SMEs Are Leading The Hybrid Work Revolution To Win The Talent Wars 2023-01-12T07:12:49-04:00 Gleb Tsipursky

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Hybrid work

As the world continues to navigate the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been faced with a particularly difficult economic environment. A new study by Vistage, published in January 2023, reveals that despite these challenges, 60% of SME CEOs are planning to increase headcount in the year ahead, with only 7% planning on reducing headcount. According to Vistage Chief Research Officer Joe Galvin, this is a significant shift from the trend of big companies making headlines with layoffs, as small and medium business CEOs are reluctant to lay off their hard-won new employees.

One key reason for this shift is the recognition that hiring challenges are impacting the ability of these businesses to operate at full capacity. With 61% of CEOs saying that hiring challenges are a major concern for their ability to operate effectively at full capacity, it’s clear that the availability of workers will remain tight, regardless of how the economy fluctuates. This is where hybrid work comes in.

Hybrid work, which combines remote work with in-office work, offers a way for SMEs to access a wider pool of talent and hire the best people faster. Consistent with prior quarters, 60% of SME CEOs are offering remote work options in order to attract and retain top talent. 5% have not yet implemented remote work options, but plan to implement them in 2023. This not only helps these businesses to operate at full capacity, but it also allows them to tap into the benefits of diversity and inclusion that come with a more dispersed workforce.

So what explains the commitment to remote work by SMEs? First and foremost, hybrid work allows businesses to access a wider pool of talent. This is particularly important in today’s tight labor market, where finding and retaining top talent can be a challenge. By offering remote work options, businesses can tap into a more diverse pool of qualified candidates, including those who may not be able to relocate or who may prefer to work from home for personal or professional reasons. This can help businesses to attract and retain top talent, even in a challenging economic environment.

Another reason why hybrid work is gaining popularity among SMEs is that it allows for greater flexibility and work-life balance. Many workers today are looking for more flexibility in their work arrangements, and hybrid work provides a way for businesses to meet this demand. By offering both remote and in-office work options, businesses can give employees the freedom to choose the work environment that best fits their needs. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and productivity, as employees are able to find a better balance between their work and personal lives.

Hybrid work can also have positive impacts on the environment. With more people working remotely, there is less need for long commutes and office space. This can reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts, making hybrid work a more sustainable option for businesses.

Of course, there are also potential drawbacks to hybrid work, and it’s important for businesses to consider these carefully before making the switch. One potential downside is that it can be more difficult to maintain a sense of teamwork and collaboration when some employees are working remotely. To mitigate this, it’s important for businesses to invest in the right technology and communication tools to ensure that all employees have the support they need to stay connected and productive.

Another potential drawback is the risk of burnout and overwork. With the blurring of boundaries between work and home, it can be harder for employees to switch off and take breaks. It’s important for businesses to set clear expectations around work hours and to encourage employees to take the time they need to rest and recharge.

One challenge to remote work lies in the principles of behavioral economics and the role of cognitive biases. Behavioral economics is a field that focuses on the ways in which people make decisions, and it has shed light on some of the underlying reasons why people might be resistant to change. One of these reasons is known as the status quo bias, which refers to the tendency to prefer things to stay the same. When it comes to work, this can lead people to resist change and cling to the familiar, even if it’s not in their best interest.

Status quo bias is an example of one of many cognitive biases, which are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, whereby inferences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion. These biases can lead people to make judgments and decisions that are not based on evidence or logical reasoning, and they can be particularly pernicious when it comes to hiring and retention decisions.

By embracing hybrid work, SMEs can overcome these biases and make more rational, evidence-based decisions about hiring and retention. By opening themselves up to a wider pool of talent, they can access a more diverse and qualified workforce, which can lead to better outcomes for the business as a whole.

In my work helping companies develop their hybrid workforce strategy and transition to hybrid work arrangements, I often find that leaders tend to have an exaggerated perspective of the problems associated with hybrid work. Once they learn about how to implement a hybrid-first, team-led model, instead of shoehorning traditional office-centric methods of collaboration into hybrid work, they find that hybrid work helps them improve productivity and retention while cutting costs, without harming teamwork, innovation, or organization culture.

In conclusion, the Vistage study shows that SMEs are increasingly turning to hybrid work as a way to access a wider pool of talent and increase flexibility and work-life balance. While there are potential drawbacks to this approach, careful planning and the right tools and strategies can help businesses to overcome these challenges and reap the many benefits of hybrid work. If you’re a business manager or HR professional considering making the switch to hybrid work, it’s important to carefully weigh the pros and cons and to invest in the right tools and strategies to ensure success.

Image Credit: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Originally Published In Forbes on Jan 9, 2023

Bio: Dr. Gleb Tsipursky helps leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. He serves as the CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts, which helps organizations adopt a hybrid-first culture, instead of incrementally improving on the traditional office-centric culture. A best-selling author of 7 books, he is especially well-known for his global best-sellers Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters (Career Press, 2019) and The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships (New Harbinger, 2020). His newest book is Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage (Intentional Insights, 2021). His writing was translated into Chinese, Korean, German, Russian, Polish, Spanish, French, and other languages. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in prominent venues. They include Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Inc. Magazine, Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes, and elsewhere. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for mid-size and large organizations ranging from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from his research background as a behavioral scientist. After spending 8 years getting a PhD and lecturing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he served for 7 years as a professor at the Ohio State University’s Decision Sciences Collaborative and History Department. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio (Go Bucks!). In his free time, he makes sure to spend abundant quality time with his wife to avoid his personal life turning into a disaster. Contact him at Gleb[at]DisasterAvoidanceExperts[dot]com, follow him on LinkedIn @dr-gleb-tsipursky, Twitter @gleb_tsipursky, Instagram @dr_gleb_tsipursky, Facebook @DrGlebTsipursky, Medium @dr_gleb_tsipursky, YouTube, and RSS, and get a free copy of the Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace by signing up for the free Wise Decision Maker Course at https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/newsletter/.

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About Dr. Gleb Tsipursky

Known as the Disaster Avoidance Expert, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is on a mission to protect leaders from dangerous judgment errors known as cognitive biases, which devastate bottom lines and bring down high-flying careers. His expertise and passion is developing the most effective and profitable decision-making strategies, based on pragmatic business experience and cutting-edge behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience, to empower leaders to avoid business disasters and maximize their bottom lines. You can learn more here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/glebtsipursky/ The bestselling author of several books, Dr. Tsipursky is best known for his national bestseller on avoiding disasters and achieving success in business and other life areas, The Truth Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide. His next book, Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters, is forthcoming with Career Press in November 2019. It’s the first book to focus on cognitive biases in business leadership and reveal how leaders can overcome these dangerous judgment errors effectively. After that he’s publishing The Blindspots Between Us: How to Overcome Unconscious Cognitive Bias and Build Better Relationships with New Harbinger in April 2020, the first book to focus on cognitive biases in professional and personal relationships and illustrate how we can defeat these dangerous judgment errors in our relationships. See more information here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/author-page/ Dr. Tsipursky’s cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 400 articles he published and over 350 interviews he gave to popular venues that include Fast Company, CBS News, Time, Scientific American, Psychology Today, The Conversation, Business Insider, Government Executive, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Inc. Magazine, and many others, as you can see here https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/media/ Dr. Tsipursky's expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, speaking, and training for businesses and nonprofits. He serves as the CEO of the boutique consulting, coaching, and training firm Disaster Avoidance Experts, which uses a proprietary methodology based on groundbreaking research to help leaders and organizations maximize their bottom lines by addressing potential threats, seizing unexpected opportunities, and resolving persistent personnel problems. His clients include Aflac, Balance Employment Assistance Provider, Edison Welding Institute, Fifth Third Bank, Honda, IBM, International Coaches Federation, Ohio Hospitals Association, National Association of Women Business Owners, Sentinel Real Estate, The Society for Human Resource Management, RealManage, The Columbus Foundation, Vistage, Wells Fargo, the World Wildlife Fund, and over a hundred others who achieve outstanding client results. You can learn more about that here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/about Dr. Tsipursky also has a strong research and teaching background in behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience with over 15 years in academia, including 7 years as a professor at the Ohio State University and before that a Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His dozens of peer-reviewed academic publications include journals such as Behavior and Social Issues, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, and International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy. His civic service includes over 4 years as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Intentional Insights, an educational nonprofit advocating for research-based decision-making in all life areas. He also co-founded the Pro-Truth Pledge, a civic project to promote truthfulness and integrity for individual professionals and leaders in the same way that the Better Business Bureau serves as a commitment for businesses. He serves on the Advisory Board of Canonical Debate Lab and Planet Purpose, and is on the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed journal Behavior and Social Issues. A highly in-demand international speaker, Dr. Tsipursky has over two decades of professional speaking experience across North America, Europe, and Australia. He gets top marks from audiences for his highly facilitative, interactive, and humor-filled speaking style and the way he thoroughly customizes speeches for diverse audiences. Meeting planners describe Dr. Tsipursky as "very relatable," as "a snap to work with," and as someone who "does everything that you would want a speaker to do." Drawing on best practices in adult learning, his programs address the wide spectrum of diverse learning styles, as attested by enthusiastic client testimonials and references. He regularly shares the stage with prominent leaders, for example recently speaking on a roundtable panel with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Elhadj As Sy, Chancellor of Austria Brigitte Bierlein, CEO of Penguin Random House Markus Dohle, and billionaire philanthropist and Chair of the Bertelsmann Management Company Liz Mohn. You can learn more about his speaking and see videos here: https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/speaking/ Dr. Tsipursky earned his PhD in the History of Behavioral Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011, his M.A. at Harvard University in 2004, and his B.A. at New York University in 2002. He lives in and travels from Columbus, OH. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, hiking, and playing with his two cats, and most importantly, he makes sure to spend abundant quality time with his wife to avoid disasters in his personal life. Learn more about him at https://DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/GlebTsipursky, contact him at Gleb[at]DisasterAvoidanceExperts[dot]com, follow him on Instagram @dr_gleb_tsipursky and Twitter @gleb_tsipursky. Most importantly, help yourself avoid disasters and maximize success, and get a free copy of the “Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace,” by signing up for his free Wise Decision Maker Course at https:// DisasterAvoidanceExperts.com/Subscribe You can read more about the author here.

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