In two preceding articles [1] & [2], I set out how hybrid and dispersed working have eroded the capacity of managers to manage and explained why firms need better remedies than continually checking-in or traditional project management software. In this concluding piece, I explain how a new Work Management application from Belt, can give firms back the visibility and control that are the keys to effective people management and simultaneously allow lawyers to keep the flexibility of WFH.

In my previous article [1], I noted that hybrid working is here to stay, even though it severely disrupts traditional in-person people management and firms haven’t yet found a satisfactory way to overcome this. In this follow-up piece, I outline the thinking behind a new ‘best of both worlds’ solution that keeps the benefits of hybrid while helping firms negate the disadvantages.  

In 2020, law firms scrambled to enable remote working during Covid-19. Five years on and firm leaders' would rather have staff back in the office full-time, but by and large junior partners and associates don’t want to be there. This is a problem for firms, but not one caused by remote working per se, but that the issues really stem from firms not knowing how to manage remote working well.

Discussions around productivity tend to focus on technology, collaboration, and efficiency. Companies invest in project management software, AI-driven automation, and flexible work policies. Yet, many still struggle with employees missing deadlines, juggling competing priorities, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work.

The pandemic didn’t just change where we worked, it changed how we work and how we lead. Today’s teams are no longer bound by office walls.

For many firms, the shift to hybrid and distributed work environments was a necessary response to the pandemic. But now, five years on, one question lingers: Are hybrid teams failing, or have law firms failed to figure out how to manage them? The push to bring teams back into the office suggests the latter.