Remote working has become the standard for many law firms – and business generally - due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rollout of vaccinations and a drop in the number of cases, employers are looking to bring their workers back to the office on a next to full-time basis.

Due to the normalisation of remote working and employees becoming accustomed to the flexibility of working from home, some are hoping to develop a hybrid work approach. Whether one works fully remotely, in the office, or a mix of both, each approach has its unique benefits and downsides.

Working through a pandemic as marketing professionals at a Canadian law firm has been very enlightening, as well as challenging. Our team has had the privilege of staying safe at home throughout the pandemic, only going into the office when necessary.

We have maintained productivity as a team in these circumstances and are ready to transition back into the office full-time. In this article we will discuss our personal experiences utilising a hybrid work approach as marketing professionals at a law firm, as well as our personal views on the pros and cons of hybrid work.

The pros

Our marketing and business development team has continually adapted to changing consumer trends including the rise in digital marketing efforts, not only because of the pandemic, but also the rise in use and reliance of collaborative technology.

Digital software, applications, and social media has become an increasingly popular tool for marketing departments, thus allowing us to seize the opportunity to almost work from virtually anywhere with internet.

Our experience with these applications has been overwhelmingly positive, using Microsoft Teams for virtual meetings and daily team communication, Asana for project management, and platforms such as Zoom and PheedLoop to hold virtual events. Whatever this new “normal” may be, this has resulted in a pivot for marketing professionals to become more flexible to adapt.

Despite the challenges of on boarding a new team during the pandemic, we are quite happy to say that our team has continued to be productive throughout the pandemic while working remotely. This success is in part due to the nature of our work, which is quite compatible with a virtual lifestyle. Our team has been selective when deciding when to go into the office; choosing to use our in-office days for socially distanced meetings and other occasions that foster team building and creativity.

They also found it quite useful to create an in-office schedule for our staff, planning when each team member is working in the office or working-from-home. This allowed us to plan our week accordingly around meetings and appointments, emphasizing the flexibility of a hybrid work environment.

Our team has had some freedom to choose when to go into the office, and we have noticed a more relaxed environment and a greater amount of trust between our peers, and with management. Other noticeable benefits of this arrangement include reduced time spent commuting, less need for sick days, and more time with family.

The cons

Navigating the “new normal” over the course of the pandemic has certainly had its downsides as well, with many people struggling with the significant amount of change and uncertainty due to the pandemic.

Although we have found success in a hybrid work environment, we have found that there is a risk of decreased productivity when working from home. The inevitable worry and uncertainty that comes along with living through a global pandemic affects us all, emphasising how important it is to maintain a work-life balance and to focus on one’s personal health.

The lack of in-person interaction that working from home brings forward the issue of culture erosion and the absence of the community-belonging that many employees get from working in the office. The field of marketing also centres itself around creativity and collaboration, so it may be difficult to maintain those things while working virtually.

We have worked to maintain the firm’s core values during this time, emphasising the importance of collegiality. We have maintained weekly marketing team meetings where members update their peers on their current projects, the status of their present workloads, and any questions or concerns they may have. These weekly meetings ensure we are familiar with each other’s work and can assist each other whenever needed.

It is also important to maintain rapport with the lawyers, students, and administrative staff at the firm, as the marketing and business development department is there to amplify the work that the lawyers are doing.

Many of these relationships are formed in person, at meetings and events, and are hard to recreate online. We have held multiple events and seminars online and have found remarkable success with these events. Using technology such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and PheedLoop have allowed us to have face-to-face meetings, share content, and have engaging conversations with others despite the pandemic restrictions.