Hybrid working: the reference during Covid, but no longer so commonplace today. However, good policy can simplify the “war on talent”. And where does AI fit into this hybrid experience?

At the beginning of 2020, all companies experienced a rollercoaster ride from an often rigid work rhythm in the office to suddenly 100 percent work from home. The pandemic is now two years behind us. Where are companies in introducing hybrid work? Can it help the War on Talents and does artificial intelligence play an important role in this?

“I think that if you don’t move to hybrid working today, you’re putting yourself out of the market as a company,” says Stefaan Arryn, VP People at Silverfin, a Visma company. “Every time I read news that companies are requiring employees to be in the office full time again, I roll my eyes.”

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 will also take part in the discussion organized by ITdaily.

Work hybrid or not?

“We often say that hybrid working is possible, but that depends on the employee status,” says Magerman. “At production sites, for example, this is hardly or not at all possible. Two standards and two weights, we can’t assume that everyone has access to it today.”

Should hybrid working be the norm? At Silverfin, part of Visma, they believe so. “Even before the pandemic, we were already working remotely with developers around the world. This is how we solve the IT talent shortage. There are no limits to working from home.”

Even before the pandemic, we were already collaborating remotely with developers around the world. This is how we solve the IT talent shortage. There are no limits to working from home.

Stefaan Arryn, VP People at Silverfin (part of Visma)

Magerman understands that, but points to other challenges at Dilaco. “We collect IT talent, which we then use flexibly for customers.” This customer wants the consultant to be in the office every day, then that has to happen.” He emphasizes in the interview that customers who request this may not always be the case get the ideal profile. The consultants themselves also want to work flexibly.

The rule applies to Van Puyenbroeck and Den Uijl: Eat your own dog food. “It would also be crazy to act differently if you create the key to hybrid working yourself: laptops, meeting solutions, peripherals for working from home and in the office, and so on.”

Develop work culture

Hybrid working is one thing, but according to Arryn, work culture is equally important and the two are connected. “At Silverfin, during the Corona crisis, we experimented with one additional day of vacation per month, which employees could choose for themselves. Great, they thought, until it turned out that 80 percent didn’t use that extra day. Not even me, by the way.”

“It turned out that losing work only brought more stress. Our plan to relieve stress backfired.” According to him, the solution was simple: shut down the company together on one fixed day a month. This way, no one works and the work doesn’t get left behind. He emphasizes that this works because the overall goal doesn’t change. “The goals remain the same, so it doesn’t cost the company any money to give a day off every month.”

Magerman recognizes that such an approach helps attract IT talent, but this approach doesn’t apply to everyone. “In our case, IT consultants go to work somewhere and customers are billed for the work per hour or per day. Giving an extra day of vacation every month costs Dilaco money.”

Grant additional vacation days?

An extra day of vacation per month can help attract IT talent, but at AFAS they take it one step further: a four-day week. According to AFAS, artificial intelligence can absorb this extra day. Even though we are at the cutting edge of technology with ITdaily, we find this decision particularly ambitious.

“Doesn’t five times eight hours of work become four times ten hours of work? I seriously wonder if AI can fill this extra working day today,” says Den Uijl.

One less working day per week, doesn’t five times eight hours of work become four times ten hours of work? I seriously wonder if AI can fill that extra workday today.

Sven Den Uijl, Channel Manager Benelux Smart Collaboration at Lenovo

Van Puyenbroeck wonders the same thing. “I am convinced that AI will make an incredible difference in the medium term. In an ideal world, someone who uses AI will be more productive. Using artificial intelligence should never be a bad idea.”

How should you approach AI?

According to Van Puyenbroeck, the danger lies in organizations that want to integrate AI in addition to the current situation. “People have to work the same hours and become more productive, which increases the workload even further. While AI offers exactly the opportunity to ensure that productivity can be increased while at the same time working less. “The heavy workload is a pendulum that is currently swinging and AI can help us with that.”

Today, companies pay close attention to solutions that are currently on the market. Van Puyenbroeck agrees that there are already solutions that bring success, but the holy grail is not there yet.

“The problem is that every company has its own holy grail needs. Everyone has to look for solutions that best fit current processes. That is the biggest challenge today. Employees are expected to be able to work with generic solutions such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, but this requires a completely different way of working.”

How should companies use AI today? And can you benefit from it in any way? “I think that many companies today are still struggling with this, no matter how loudly they say they are working on AI.” Van Puyenbroeck takes the words out of our mouths: a press release without the word “AI” is becoming increasingly rare.

Ease of use remains important

Magerman is aware that this is not the case with generic AI solutions like Copilot One size fits all is, but he emphasizes the importance of such tools. “Microsoft is taking a pioneering role in this. At ChatGPT you have to ask things. Copilot already proactively suggests things. That makes a big difference in terms of the experience and use of AI.”

Microsoft is taking a pioneering role in this. At ChatGPT you have to ask things. Copilot already proactively suggests things.

Willem Magerman, CTO at Dilaco

He points out integration with the Office suite and how you can achieve productivity gains today. “A busy day full of meetings? Copilot can create a summary of the 82 emails I CCed that day. You don’t have to ask, Copilot suggests it. This way you can ensure greater adoption of AI.”

“I am convinced that employee productivity will increase. Whether companies should allow shorter working hours is a different discussion.”

In search of the Holy Grail

The problem is that today every company is expected to work with artificial intelligence. “Oh dear, if you as an organization dare to say today that you are not working on AI, imagine that,” says Van Puyenbroeck sarcastically. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be blind to innovation. Companies that have their holy grail have already found, suddenly grow at lightning speed. SMEs can then suddenly harm large companies.”

Arryn expects companies to quickly jump on the AI ​​bandwagon. “If we as a software company don’t fully rely on artificial intelligence today, we will very quickly find ourselves in competition and overrun.”

Companies that have their holy grail have already found, suddenly grow at lightning speed. SMEs can then suddenly harm large companies.

Andreas Van Puyenbroeck, Category Manager Northwest Europe at HP

And so we get into a conflict: As an organization today you have to deal with AI, but at the same time you can’t expect too much from it. Every month brings new innovations. Maybe tomorrow will be the perfect day

Lay the perfect puzzle

Hybrid work, like AI, is a constantly evolving topic. “That is also necessary,” says Den Uijl. “Earlier this month, Amazon required all employees to be expected in the office every day from now on. That seems like too aggressive a solution to me. Many organizations are still looking for it. What about all the office space? What technology do you need to make the most of hybrid working? Only a few have put together the perfect puzzle today.”

There is no doubt that AI is or will become part of this puzzle. Artificial intelligence ensures productivity increases. When there is a sudden change in home office arrangements, it is often a trust issue. AI can then be the glue that keeps both employers and employees happy.

“Whoever puts together the perfect puzzle wins the war on talent,” emphasizes Den Uijl. “The puzzle is different for every organization. Learning from each other, adopting the right technology, using artificial intelligence – companies today cannot afford to watch from the sidelines.

This is the first editorial article in a three-part series on the topic of hybrid works. Click on our topic page to see all roundtable articles, the video and our partners.