How to Thrive in the Hybrid Workplace: A Leader’s Survival Guide
Source: Freepik
Welcome to the future of work: the hybrid workplace.
As a leader of a hybrid team, you have the power to shape the success of this unique work arrangement.
A hybrid workplace is an environment blending remote and in-person work. Of course, all hybrid workplaces operate differently, yet all embrace flexibility and technology.
Our intention isn't to create another piece filled with hybrid work stats return-to-office trends – you've seen enough of those. Instead, we'll arm you with practical strategies to navigate this new work landscape.
Of course, there are a few hybrid workplace trends you can’t ignore:
Hybrid work is gaining steam: According to Gartner, 80% of organizations use some form of hybrid work.
Shifts in real estate: Since the COVID-19 work-from-home mandates, many businesses have permanently closed their offices. While this trend could continue, offices are beginning to look and feel more like home.
Increasingly, offices are rethinking interior design to include:
Comfortable armchairs and couches
Plants and greenspaces
Ceilings and windows for natural light
Spaces designed to encourage socialization
Asynchronous work increases: Asynchronous work does not require real-time interaction to complete tasks. In this mode of collaboration, there is no need for immediate responses.
Strategies and Solutions to Hybrid Workforce Challenges
Challenge 1: Collaboration
Science journal, Nature, analyzed Microsoft remote workers from September 2019-June 2020. The report found remote work can lead to more static and siloed collaboration – a troubling thought for leaders of hybrid teams as well.
The study also found a decrease in synchronous collaboration. Responses did not occur in real-time, causing workflows to slow.
Interdepartmental engagement also decreased. Collaboration and communication were hindered between departments, siloing critical information flow.
Since the time of this report, more hybrid work tools have developed that help us collaborate effectively despite your team's location. With these tools have come new tech frustrations.
Everyone has been on a video call where a camera or microphone fails. Technical difficulties can hamper collaboration efforts and be frustrating to those involved. In some cases, attendees might miss critical information.
How to Collaborate in a Hybrid Workplace
The right tools can help optimize collaboration in a hybrid workplace.
Take Stormboard, for example. Teams leverage the Stormboard collaboration platform during both remote and in-person meetings. Contributors can add ideas to the collaboration space when inspiration strikes (no matter when that might be).
Physical offices and boardrooms may need to change to accommodate employees that are both physically present and at home simultaneously. Investing in meeting software and audio-visual equipment may be valuable to hold effective hybrid meetings.
Training on new remote software can help prevent frustration and hesitation with using a new SaaS tool, and prevent feelings of tool fatigue.
Finally, providing home-based employees with a stipend to set up a home office could help ensure productivity and prevent technical issues that could hamper productivity.
Challenge 2: Communication
Image source: Freepik
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we became accustomed to asynchronous forms of communication. With communication modes such as email or IM, it is more difficult to convey complex information than face-to-face scenarios.
Remote communication poses yet another challenge: context.
During in-person interactions, we use other modes of communication, i.e., body language and tone of voice. These communication cues lend context to our words.
In video calls, we miss cues that occur naturally in human connection. In the case of hybrid settings, where workers are apart, this could affect how employees perceive each other and lead to conflict.
How to Effectively Communicate in a Hybrid Workplace
Communication is an essential skill in today's hybrid workplace, facilitating:
Understanding
Collaboration
Goal alignment
Team unity
Etc.
On top of leveraging communication technology, leaders can also meet frequently with teams to connect and share updates. Regular check-ins, 1:1s, and group calls keep you on top of team progress and help create a collaborative culture. Giving each team member a voice and time to share updates encourages conversation and welcomes diverse perspectives.
Document and share communication guidelines to keep communication uniform. For instance, you might document:
Dedicated communication channels
Expectations around response timeframes
How employees should talk to each other
Hybrid Work Doesn’t Have to Hurt Collaboration
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Overcoming Hybrid Collaboration Challenges eBook.
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Challenge 3: Human Connection and Separation
In home offices, you don't see coworkers at break time. Nor do you get the same level of human interaction during a Zoom call. Small in-office interactions add a level of socialization to the workday.
For some, this creates a level of rapport among colleagues. Some may even miss in-person interactions and personally feel more socially fulfilled in-office.
The shift to remote work may have blurred the lines between life and work. Some remote workers reported increased levels of burnout occurring during the pandemic shift to remote work. McKinsey studied this phenomenon and named it 'the great exhaustion".
Some remote workers say they feel perceived as "slacking off" by working from home. Thus, they feel more likely to be fired when faced with possible layoffs. Such feelings could further impact negative feelings around work, well-being, and company loyalty.
In extreme cases, it could affect job satisfaction and employee productivity.
How to Connect Members of a Hybrid Team
In hybrid workplaces, there is a balance between human connection and space from work. Hybrid models may be favorable to employee health and well-being.
To further prevent feelings of separation, hybrid leaders may want to:
Engage in training to help spot signs of burnout
Be proactive in showing concern for everyone
Give opportunity for employees to share personal updates
Set up policies to ensure separation from work
Hybrid leaders can further foster team connection by encouraging:
Conversation around non-work responsibilities and interests
Group networking sessions and shared coffee breaks
Hosting team-building activities, i.e., virtual gaming events
Hosting regular check-ins – i.e. 1:1s, social activities, team standups
There are also unconventional approaches to solving employee loneliness for remote team members. For example, scheduling Zoom coworking timeslots so that employees can ask questions. Or renting coworking spaces for employees in the same geographies.
Challenge 4: Equity and Trust
In a 2022 survey, 41% of C-suite leaders said remote employees are less likely to be considered for promotion.
“People in positions of power tend to treat workers who are physically closer to them more favorably and stems from the antiquated assumption that those who work remotely are less productive than those who work from the office.” -Harvard Business Review
Hybrid leaders can't physically supervise what remote employees are up to. Leaders may call into question whether employees are productive on home-office days. In turn, these fears could breed a culture of mistrust and micromanagement.
How to Create Equity and Trust in a Hybrid Workplace
You know that "time at desk" does not indicate work quality. Measure employee performance by KPI achievement instead. Work with your team and directors to set:
Objectives
Targets
And exchange feedback
Promoting an environment of trust and fairness involves frequent communication and information sharing, including:
Sharing critical information and what is to come
Encouraging open and regular communication for sharing concerns, updates, and asking questions
Make meetings equitable by ensuring that everyone gets the same view and information. Some companies require all employees to be on video calls regardless of location, so everyone can see what's happening.
As an aside – Stormboard is great for this! It gives everyone the same view of a project canvas no matter where they work.
Managers can also show that they are engaged in remote work by working from home. Leaders can also be mindful of unconscious biases that could impact judgment.
Identify and verbalize biases in your company's decision-making. Then work to promote a mix of remote and in-office staff.
Source: Freepik
Challenge 5: Security
In hybrid workplaces, employees work from different locations, often accessing company systems and data through multiple devices and networks. All these access points expand potential attack surfaces and provide more opportunities for cybercriminals to target vulnerabilities.
While an employee may have a private home network or personal device, it may have a lower level of security than corporate networks.
Hybrid work environments could also present challenges in detecting and preventing insider threats. The separation between physical office spaces and remote locations can make it harder for IT to monitor employee activity and detect suspicious behavior.
How to Create a Security Hybrid Workplace
Cisco realized they had to reapproach cybersecurity and implement new protocols to operate securely in a hybrid setting.
To protect your hybrid workforce, you could:
Provide cybersecurity training to all staff
Enforce strong password policies
Restrict personal device usage on company networks
Perform router tests during employee onboarding
Grant access based on job requirements
Keep software updated and patched
Use secure collaboration and communication tools
Conduct regular security audits
How to Build a Hybrid Workplace Strategy That Works
Today's hybrid workplace faces challenges with:
Collaboration
Communication
Physical separation
Trust and fairness
Cybersecurity
We covered some strategies hybrid leaders can take to overcome these challenges. For instance:
Using synchronous and asynchronous tools to collaborate
Setting clear guidelines for communication
Initiating activities that foster connection
Upholding fairness in decision-making
Taking appropriate cybersecurity measures to address weaknesses
With these strategies, leaders can create a thriving remote workplace.
Get the Right Tools to Support Your Hybrid Team
Stormboard is a work-from-anywhere collaboration platform.
Used by 1000s of hybrid teams for communication, collaboration, and connection.
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