How to Approach Benchmarking for Hybrid Jobs

While a few companies plan to have jobs that combine different tasks, most hybrid roles happen because they're needed. These roles are often offered when someone leaves a company, especially if they've been there for a while.

When someone leaves, their tasks don't leave with them. And when the company doesn't find a replacement, their tasks get assigned among their former coworkers. Without a new person to take over, coworkers often take on more work to keep things going smoothly. People who possess various skills can end up in a hybrid role because they can manage different tasks.

Advantages of Hybrid Roles

Why are hybrid roles gaining popularity in today's changing workforce? The answer is simple: because they bring great benefits for both companies and employees such as doing more work and spending less money.

Different Points of View

In a hybrid role, you utilize skills from different areas, which helps solve problems in innovative ways. It's like having a team of experts from different fields, but with only one person doing the job.

Improved Productivity

When someone works in a hybrid role, they learn more skills to do their job better and faster. They don't require help from others, which means more work gets done in less time.

Keeping Employees Happy

People prefer jobs where they can learn and grow. Hybrid roles give chances to learn new things, which keep employees happy. When they feel that they can do more and their efforts are valued, they're more likely to stick around longer.

Saving Money

Hybrid roles save money for companies. Instead of hiring two people for two jobs, they can opt to hire one person for a hybrid role. This means they spend less on salaries and other costs, which is good for the company's finances.

Challenges of Hybrid Roles

Hybrid roles have many good points, but they bring some tough challenges that must not be ignored. These include unfair judgments, problems with setting boundaries, and taking care of hybrid workers' well-being.

Unfair Judgments

Hybrid roles can be hard because they combine different types of work. Sometimes, people with regular job titles don't understand all the tasks someone in a hybrid role does. This can make them unfairly judge the hybrid worker, thinking they're not as good as others. Because of "unconscious bias," they judge hybrid workers without realizing it based on stereotypes. It's important to remember that just because a role is different doesn't mean it's not important.

To deal with this, you can conduct training to raise awareness and activities to help everyone in the workplace understand each other better. This way, unfair judgments can go down, and teamwork can get better.

Setting Boundaries

Hybrid roles cover different areas in a company, not just one. This mix-up can make it hard to know who does what, and sometimes, it can even cause arguments about who's responsible for what. Such a situation makes it difficult because everyone has their own ideas about what each role must do.

To make things clearer and reduce fights, it's important to say exactly what each part of a hybrid worker's job is about. Having regular meetings to check how work is divided can help as well. This way, people can talk about their tasks and make sure everyone knows what they're supposed to do, cutting down on misunderstandings and fights.

Taking Care of Workers

Companies need to look after hybrid workers' well-being. These jobs can be tough because they have many demands from different parts of the company. This can make workers stressed out when they're not careful.

When workers have to do different things, they can get tired out quickly and may even burn out. To stop this from happening, managers must provide support such as counseling, wellness programs, or flexible schedules. These help hybrid workers recharge and do their best, which is good for both them and the company.

Four Ways to Price Hybrid Jobs

No matter which method you choose, the first thing to do is figure out why you're combining two jobs into one. Use a simple example of combining an HR Manager with an Office Coordinator and look at a few methods.

Blending Method

With this method, you start by looking at each job separately, and then combine the market data together to come up with a new price. When the job has clear parts that are different, you can give each part the right amount of importance before combining: say, 40 percent for HR Manager and 60 percent for Office Coordinator.

This works best for companies that want a fair balance between what the market pays and what's fair inside the company. But when one or both jobs aren't common in the market and the data doesn't make you confident, this may not be the best way for you.

Highest Level Role Method

Imagine you're advertising this job to people outside the company. Are you looking for someone who's mainly an Office Coordinator but knows some HR Manager job, or the other way around? Usually, the job with more responsibility drives the pay in the market. If that's the case for you, it's best to give the job the title of the higher-level role. So, in this example, you'd call it HR Manager. This works well for companies that want to pay like other companies in the market.

Internal Equity Method

Sometimes, your hybrid job is so special that you can't find a good match or mix of market data that makes sense. In such cases, you may decide to match the roles to what's already in your company. Having a system where jobs are ranked helps you place your job where it fits best. This works for companies that care a lot about internal equity as well as for companies that struggle to match what the market pays.

Premiums & Discounts

This one is more complicated. When you know a lot about the market and you understand what certain skills are worth, you can add extra money for skills that are not common for the job you're combining. Another option is to adjust the pay by 10 to 15 percent when your job matches best with one that's a level up or down.

Hybrid jobs are always unique because they come from specific business needs that regular jobs can't meet. No matter which method you use to price these jobs, having the right tools and knowing different methods will help you find a fair pay range. Tools from various resources such as Salary.com can make this process easier and help you find the right mix of data.