5 key factors to maintain a healthy hybrid workplace culture
Maintaining a healthy organizational culture has become even more important with remote work and hybrid work coming into play. Building and maintaining a positive organizational culture is difficult because it must take into account the complexities of hybrid work models like employee burnout, employee inequity etc. Focusing on the below pointers will help lessen the scope of such negative outcomes.
Eliminating employee ambiguities:
The new normal of working comes with a lot of uncertainties and scepticism attached to it. “Will remote working limit access to my resources? How will ad-hoc communication take place?”, these are some vital questions that is sure to create a sense of apprehension in the minds of employees. Since there are two modes of working when it comes to “hybrid office” the conventional office dynamics has gone for a toss and a new improved system of work has to be fostered in order to manage any chaos.
If an organization has some teams that work primarily in the same location and others that work entirely remotely, it must ensure that all employees have the same experience or risk managing two or more completely different cultures. Companies that have employees work some days on-site and some days remotely, for example, will need to consider how to create consistent experiences across the spectrum. This will help employees clear the air of any doubts or ambiguities they may have, as well as boost their motivation to work proactively.
Choosing high-touch communication as a priority:
Open communication is a fundamental part of any organization. Wherein in a hybrid workplace it can be a double-edged sword, because leadership teams have to strike the right balance between micromanagement and consistent communication. From texts to video conference meetings, it is important to build strong bonds of trust amongst people who we don’t meet face-to-face on a daily basis. Not just top-down but communication across teams in an organization should be a strategic priority and constantly worked on to maintain connections in a hybrid work setup.
Providing tools, services, and experiences that are consistent:
If your teams’ tools vary significantly depending on their work mode or location, this could be the source of future work problems. When it comes to technology tools and services that enable hybrid work, the management should ensure that employees have a consistent experience with the right tools, which enable the desired collaborative interactions and create equity, so no one feels left out. The management should also be mindful of any equity concerns that employee might have and provide avenues for employees to voice feedback and make adjustments through continuous iterations to better employee productivity and improvement. Our NeOffice Hybrid Workplace solutions can come in-handy here, to facilitate quick team meetings, collect valuable employee feedback and share notable company updates.
Creating a strategy to deal with conflicts:
A sign of healthy workplace culture is one that can effectively mediate and resolve disputes. Addressing conflict for organization when everyone is not in the same location all the time is an arduous task. If you’re dealing with inherently difficult issues, opt for high-bandwidth channels (video calls) over low-bandwidth channels (text messages), which are inherently less personal. This will help to smooth things over and relieve any tension or unpleasantness that may be present in the employee’s mind, as well as demonstrate that the company genuinely cares about their needs.
Implementing a harmonious workflow:
There should also be a set of shared patterns or processes for how work is done that are consistent across on-site and remote work. This will differ depending on the team’s function and organization. However, radically different ways of doing things should not exist based on a person’s location. Utilizing office automation tools like scheduling and rostering tools will help in setting up a regularized system for employees- that can be tailored to individuals and teams- rather than just doing it on an ad-hoc basis.
All of these elements work together to keep the hybrid workforce engaged, involved, and connected.
Agiledge NeOffice is complete hybrid workplace automation solutions that enables organization to manage their Seat or Desk inventory. Employees can be rostered to seat or allowed to hot desk or hotel their seats. They could also book their parking slots, cafeteria seats and meeting room booking. The solution is cloud hosted and available as a mobile app (iOS & android) and web app.
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