The old adage “distance makes the heart grow fonder” has been proven true time after time the past couple years.
Distance from family, friends, coworkers, favorite activities and festivities have shown us how much we truly value togetherness. For many people, remote work — while celebrated for the flexibility it allows — eventually conjured these same wistful feelings.
The perks of remote work come with asterisks. The comforts of working from home are often accompanied by feeling siloed and disconnected from coworkers. The lack of a commute is certainly nice, but so are changes of scenery. Needless to say, fully remote work has lost some of its initial allure.
Fortunately, many companies have found a way to preserve the flexibility of remote work with the benefits only a communal workspace provides by offering a hybrid work arrangement. That’s great news for the 59 percent of the workforce who, according to a 2022 Gallup survey, prefer hybrid work to exclusively in-person or remote positions.
“We believe in a balance of uninterrupted focus time, collaboration and culture,” said Yvette Ramos, senior vice president of marketing at Core Digital Media. “Coming into the office and collaborating in person yields results, builds interdepartmental relationships and strengthens culture.”
Tiffany Melo echoed similar beliefs in the value of collaboration and connectedness by planning events and activities for everyone, including those who choose to work from home most of the time. And for Ken Shugerman, it’s simple: a hybrid work model is best for the safety and wellbeing of employees and their families.
Built In Los Angeles spoke to leaders at LA-based companies Core Digital Media, Beyond Limits and CreatorIQ to learn more about their unique approaches to hybrid work and its impact across their organizations.
Enterprises around the world use CreatorIQ’s Enterprise Creator Cloud platform to manage and optimize their influencer marketing. The Culver City-based company’s flexible work-from-home policy encourages employees to balance remote work with the benefits of their hub offices.
Tell me about CreatorIQ’s hybrid work arrangement.
The hybrid environment at CreatorIQ features a flexible work-from-home policy complemented by a series of added benefits such as a monthly wellness stipend, coworking space membership and a companywide “Focus Friday” initiative. Scheduled biweekly, Focus Fridays encourage employees to use the day for their needs, whether it’s dedicated to personal time or catching up on projects. In addition to working remotely, employees have the option to drop in at any of our hub offices across cities like Culver City, New York, San Francisco and London to connect with fellow team members in person.
In addition to working remotely, employees have the option to drop in at any of our hub offices to connect with fellow team members in person.”
Why did you choose this arrangement?
This system was initially a product of Covid-19, but during this transition we discovered the benefits of added work-life balance and the overall fulfillment of our employees. We knew we wanted to maintain it for the future of our workplace setup. With CreatorIQ’s flexible work-from-home policy, employees are taking advantage of more opportunities for personal activities ranging from additional family time to midday workouts and exploring new hobbies.
What lessons from the pandemic and remote work in general have influenced your hybrid work model?
The pandemic highlighted the value of facilitating successful day-to-day online interactions among our team members. While new guidelines and norms were being established, we invited employees to share feedback to ensure CreatorIQ’s virtual workplace remained an efficient and supportive environment for all. As we continuously work toward nurturing deeper connections between our team members, employees can regularly find invites for interactive team-building activities such as virtual trivia, bingo and group DIY projects delivered to their inboxes.
Playa Vista-based fintech company Core Digital Media has created a suite of products that help users navigate important financial decisions. Core Digital Media asks employees to come into the office twice a week while leaving the other days optional.
Tell me about Core Digital Media’s hybrid work arrangement.
Team members are required to come into the office twice a week, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the other days are optional. We are providing lunch both days for our team members. We also updated our HVAC system with a MERV-14 filter system. Finally, we have a dedicated day porter who is cleaning and sanitizing on a daily basis.
Why did you choose this arrangement?
We believe in a balance of uninterrupted focus time, collaboration and culture. Coming into the office and collaborating in person yields results, builds interdepartmental relationships and strengthens culture, while remote days allow more time to focus and adds flexibility.
We feel this hybrid model is a perfect blend of on-site collaboration and remote-focused work.
The pandemic helped us reflect on work-life balance and the value in flexibility as well as the need to connect in person and what we were missing without that piece.”
What lessons from the pandemic and remote work in general have influenced your hybrid work model?
The pandemic allowed us to understand the value in getting away from the office and getting work done without interruptions. It also helped us reflect on work-life balance and the value in flexibility as well as the need to connect in person with others and what we were missing without that piece. We are now better communicators and have an improved work model.
AI company Beyond Limits blends high-level AI techniques with human-centric cognitive reasoning to help businesses optimize their workforces and overcome logistical challenges. The Glendale-based company’s department heads decide which 3 days of the week employees come into the office.
Tell me about Beyond Limits’s hybrid work arrangement.
Our hybrid model consists of 3 days in the office and 2 days remote with our department heads determining which days you will be in the office.
Why did you choose this arrangement?
We chose this hybrid model for the safety of our employees and their families.
What lessons from the pandemic and remote work in general have influenced your hybrid work model?
We learned that we can be productive with the hybrid model as long as we keep an open line of communication.
