What are the Characteristics of an Effective Hybrid Workplace?

Remote work has been on the rise since the abrupt transition from physical to virtual workplace because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations and companies have seen the need to adapt to the virtual setup to continue their operations. With an effective hybrid workplace, the quality of work and the team’s engagement could be maintained in the post-pandemic.

What is a hybrid workplace?

A hybrid workplace is a flexible work setup or arrangement designed for employees to work either in-office or remotely, depending on their convenience. Most companies that have adopted this workplace model consider the setting at which employees are most productive — working at the office, remote work, or a combination of both.

The pandemic and post-pandemic hybrid workplace model is much more flexible than the workplace of the past. The physical workplace had forced employees to work shifts and environments that caged their comfort. On the other hand, remote work offers convenience but has also raised challenges for employees such as distractions, work-life imbalance, and isolation.

The idea of creating a hybrid workplace model could offer the best of both worlds. Employees can gauge where they could be more productive while increasing sociability.

What are the pros of adopting a hybrid workplace?

A hybrid workplace provides an option for employees to move back and forth between the office and their homes — empowering flexibility and support.

Increased Productivity of Employees

Selecting a setup that works best for employees, whether choosing the shift and place where they work, can help increase their productivity. In research conducted by Microsoft, they found that most employees felt that they had used their time better in a flexible setup. Most people reported that they have more time for their hobbies and families with remote working.

Moreover, adopting a hybrid workplace model enables most employees to reduce the time doing low-value activities such as commuting and trying to focus in a crowded office. Ensuring that employees are well-rested and less stressed at work can bring efficiencies to the organization.

Redefined Collaboration

Team members may have different preferences in communicating or collaborating. Some may choose to brainstorm in a single space, whereas others may prefer to take part asynchronously.

In remote and hybrid workplaces, accomplishing team tasks is now possible with platforms that allow centralized communication and collaboration among members. No one is left behind on tasks if they could not attend meetings. Such solutions can increase productivity, as there will be no need to replicate meetings to keep everyone on track.

Reduced Cost of Operation

In a hybrid workplace model, companies can experience lesser operation costs as the electricity and rent fees will be minimized — considering they will not operate at full capacity daily. Consequently, remote employees can cut down expenses for transportation, buying meals, and expensive rent rates to live near the office.

Apart from cutting costs, companies can also reduce their ecological footprint. By consuming lesser electricity, water, and in-office equipment, hybrid workplaces can positively impact the environment. Employees can also contribute to this by commuting less and consuming fewer takeout meals than in an in-office setup.

Work-Life Balance

One concern that most employees raise regarding full-time working remotely is the blurred line between work and personal lives. While remotely working can incur more time dedicated to work — no more dressing up and commuting — it can lead to committing to tasks past work hours. This can be unhealthy for employees as they could not rest properly and attend to their activities.

According to a Remote Work Survey by PwC, over half of the employees prefer working remotely at least thrice a week once the pandemic recedes. Spending time in the office on some days can help maintain a clear division between work and personal lives. Moreover, it can nurture employee engagement and company culture.

What are the characteristics of an effective hybrid workplace?

While the benefits of adopting a hybrid workplace can entice companies to implement this type of setup quickly, there are still considerations to note. Successful and effective hybrid workplaces should have the following characteristics.

Flexibility

Hybrid workplaces are built upon its core pillar — flexibility. Companies and organizations must accommodate methods and utilize tools to emulate the same experience for remote and in-office employees. This includes planning and facilitating flexible options for the employees regarding their preferences in work setups, modes of communication, and productivity tools.

To create an effective hybrid work setup, have a mindset of designing a workplace for remote work. In this way, it will be easier to incorporate the best practices on remote working with the existing in-office setup. In addition, ensure that all flexible policies are communicated to all the team members.

Inclusivity

An effective hybrid workplace ensures every employee has equal access and rights to the company’s information and resources, whether working in-office or remotely. When implementing a hybrid setup, intentionally design the workplace by ensuring that everyone can be seen and heard regardless of where they are, what language they speak, or if they have disabilities.

Collaboration

Shifting into a hybrid setup requires new ways of communication and collaboration. While individual productivity can be increased with a hybrid workplace, it must also foster collaboration among the members. Choosing the proper collaboration tools is crucial in accomplishing tasks, deliberating opinions, and developing skills.

Implement video conferencing platforms and project management tools to communicate tasks within the team better. Digital collaboration tools can ensure that each team member can partake in the discussion, whether working in-office or remotely.

Security

In a hybrid setup, the workforce is dispersed across different locations. Therefore, several devices will have to connect with your company’s information and resources — delivering more digital risks to the company. IoT devices used remotely are susceptible to cyber manipulation and, once compromised, can impact corporate resources.

An effective hybrid workplace ensures that the company is protected from digital risks. Look for solutions that have robust security features that will keep the corporate content protected while not compromising the efficiency and privacy of the employees.

Managed

In order to keep track of the employee’s experience with the hybrid workplace, you should have a process or tool that can simply help manage the users and their corporate activities when operating remotely. This includes setting access controls and permissions to the users and devices. This is to ensure the accountability and transparency of all the employees.

All the efforts made into building a hybrid workplace model must be measured to gauge its success and effectiveness. Data insights from employees and real-time analytics can contribute to making data-based decisions to improve the workplace experience.

Convene helps support an effective hybrid workplace

Implementing a hybrid setup requires elements that can make it more effective and accommodating to the entire team. A board portal, like Convene, is a smart tool that can help support flexibility and collaboration for in-office and remote employees. Convene offers features that empower engagement of team members wherever they are — allowing more efficient collaboration. Convene ensures that everyone is on track as it enables real-time notifications, documentation, and assigning of action items.

Board portal software, such as Convene, prioritize the security of the company. It ensures the protection of files and the privacy of the employees. Through setting up access controls and permissions, Convene helps manage hybrid work for employees wherever they are. Additionally, audit trails are generated to give insights on how to manage more effectively the hybrid setup.

Are you geared up to make the shift to hybrid? Convene can help you build an effective hybrid workplace. Schedule a consultation with us now.