The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a new method of operation in companies that has become the new normal and is here to stay. The work-from-home culture has caught on rapidly, with professionals in a variety of different sectors embracing it enthusiastically. However, this work model does have its drawbacks and challenges. Certain weak spots need special attention for your team to function at maximum efficiency when working remotely. For example, productivity drops significantly when employers and employees do not regularly communicate.
For this reason and others, many businesses are looking to implement a hybrid style of operation where employees work in a combination of work-from-home and in the office. Read on to learn some strategies to experiment with to boost morale and reap maximal benefits in your business!
- Think about your Desired Outcomes
When you choose to implement a hybrid model of working for your business, it is imperative to take this into consideration when you set your short-term and long-term goals. For example, you may need to make changes to your office to accommodate this work model.
Employee satisfaction is yet another significant outcome that most employers strive to achieve. To give this your best shot, you should set out a plan of action and designate different levels of importance to your various priorities.
- Provide a Healthier Work Environment
The pandemic has brought a number of critical factors to the fore. For employees to come back to the office, ensuring their health and safety is a non-negotiable. Enlist professional services like PHS, a leading provider of hygiene solutions, to help you deal with these issues. They can help you to set up systems and processes to ensure the highest levels of cleanliness and hygiene in the workplace.
- Improve Communication
Communication has always been a critical factor in any work place, be it offline or online. Its significance is further increased in a hybrid work model. Since instant communication becomes more challenging, this increases the chances of miscommunication and poorly delivered messages manifesting as potential roadblocks.
As a result, you need to figure out more effective methods of communication to keep your business running smoothly without hitting unnecessary snags. There are a range of established communication channels available to make this process smoother.
- Set Eligibilities
It is not usually practical to have multiple teams operating under the same work model, as all of them have different styles of goals to achieve. Therefore, when you run a business, always ensure that you allocate the most suitable working model to each team depending on their needs and whether it will be easy for them to switch to a different work location.
- Offer Technical Support
When employees work from the office, they will have access to a range of software and technical support to help them to do their job. However, this can present challenges when a hybrid method of work environment is adopted.
Employees working from home may face technical issues and find themselves without the support they need to resolve them. Under these conditions, the business can provide them with the back-end support that they need to ensure that workflow is not disrupted.
- Maintain All Usual Perks
Another great way to maintain a hybrid work model is to continue to provide all the benefits and amenities you have always given your employees. With reduced returns and profits due to economic downturn, cutting all your staff’s perks may seem like a good idea.
However, this can often be a false economy. Continuing to offer perks and benefits to your staff will keep them motivated and productive, helping to drive more profits and revenue. Furthermore, you can customize the benefits that you plan to offer your employees based on where they work. Benefits can be adapted to remote employees as appropriate.
- Prioritize Flexibility
Managing cooperative work methodologies between teams working across different locations can indeed be a trying task, both for the employer as well as the employee. Therefore, it is essential to work in tandem and keep all teams in the loop, as well as provide them with sufficient flexibility. Ensuring that you keep your work processes flexible will make things easier for everyone and, in turn, boost productivity as well as employee morale.
- Monitor Signs Of Burnout
This is one of the key factors that you should keep as a top priority while implementing a hybrid work culture. Regularly switches between different work locations might cause your employees stress and anxiety, and could even lead to burnout. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you maintain a safe space for them and prioritise their mental health.
As we move forward into the “new normal” businesses will need to adapt the changing landscape in a range of ways. Hybrid work models may well play a part. This can have many benefits for businesses, though it is important to manage this carefully.
