Hybrid Work Model | Tips to Success

One of the biggest challenges in today’s Industrial Revolution is the rapid adoption of Virtual collaboration. According to the recent Owl Lab State of Remote Work report,

“In the U.S., 81% of those that WFH during the pandemic said they want a hybrid or remote working style once the pandemic is over. This shows there is a clear path forward post-pandemic“

As the pandemic begins to ease, traditional office jobs may never be the same – most companies are adopting a new combination of remote and on-site working, a hybrid work model – the majority said these will likely remain the norm.

Hybrid Teams

The main difference between remote and hybrid work is that remote work allows more flexibility and freedom to employees, whereas hybrid work allows employees to interact with their co-workers in the real world. Hybrid working arrangements balance the benefits of being in the office with the benefits of working from home. Some benefits of a hybrid work model include:

• Increased Productivity – Studies have proven that hybrid working increases productivity because the hybrid work structure is more efficient with the right tool – attributes their productivity to their flexible schedules
• Boost Employee Satisfaction – It’s clearly shown that post pandemic, modern employees are looking forward to more flexible work from home and in-office work for their work-life balance.
• Cost-effective – can help companies save on real estate, maintenance and operational costs.

Collaborative Work with Virtual Reality 

It’s important to develop a plan and strategy when switching to Hybrid. Identify your organization if virtual collaboration is possible and if suitable to your industries. For example, if your business is a fast-food chain, hybrid work arrangement may not be possible for your business because it requires the service of preparing food for customers. So, Hybrid work is not suitable for all industries. Other things to consider when switching to Hybrid work are:

• How do I make my team more collaborative?
• How do you manage customer service in your business?
• Is moving to cloud an advantage?

Formulate Findings and Recommendations

The next step involves proposing solutions to address constraints or considerations. Get the guide to the hybrid workplace to ensure the shift to hybrid work models goes smoothly:

1. Understand the demographics of your workplace
   Analyze and understand the demographics of your office before you officially launch new policies and plans related to hybrid work. Identify the number of employees comprised of your workforce: who will work remotely, in-office part-time and in-office most of the time. Develop a structural schedule for individual employees.
   
2. Establish Employee Support System
   When transitioning to a hybrid work model, it’s important to invest your time in communicating transparently and keeping your employees aligned with your mission and strategy to your workforce. To help improve collaboration in the hybrid workplace, here are 5 tips: communicate clearly, share project updates, ask for feedback during team meetings, allow each team member to express commitment and build trust amongst your Team.
   
3. Utilize Collaboration Tools
   Take time to find the right tools and implement the right processes to make hybrid work as productive as possible. With a distributed workforce, team dynamics can suffer without the right tools. Distributed doesn’t have to mean disconnected. The purpose of a collaboration tool is to support a group of two or more individuals to accomplish a common goal or objective. Encourage workers to adopt the system most suited for high productivity. Moving to a cloud is advantaged – it provides stringent security to your system and provides sophisticated automation for flexibility and productivity.
   
4. Set up goals for remote and hybrid teams
   Create a daily and weekly report to monitor the progress of individual and team contributions. Set deadlines to meet individual’s and team’s goals. To set boundaries, implement policies for employees on working hours – how and when they can work from the office or stay at home. Recognize personal differences. As individuals, workers are different. Some are most productive when working alone, while others give their best when working in a group. Engage your employees as a Team.
   
5. Hold regular meeting
   Hold regular meetings to remind employees they are working in a structured system and are accountable to management. This also reminds employees to keep engaged in their work. Use technology to your advantage – encourage video calls for team meetings.
   
6. Use Time Management Systems
   To track the performance and engagement of each employee, develop a structural schedule for individual employees – a time clock or web-based application used to track an employee’s work hours.

Adapting to the new normal

Switching to Remote or Hybrid work arrangement isn’t easy. A lot of patience is needed to reach your goals. Transparent communication and equipping your workforce with the right tool are keys to successful hybrid working arrangements. Invest in the Right Collaboration Platform – that is designed to provide all in one Unified Communications solution – Keep your team connected without losing project momentum and integrate calendar, appointment sheets, CRM, and other office applications that will help you stay organized and streamlined.

Looking for a Unified Communication solution? LG Talk provides a range of solutions that will help your business not only succeed but save on expenses at the same time. Learn more by contacting our support team today!