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 Hybrid work is going to be the norm for many organisations in post-Covid times, in industries ranging from tech to pharmaceuticals to academia. Many companies and employees are excited about this mix of in-person and remote work. Microsoft's 2021 Work Trend Index found that 46% of the workforce is relocating because they can now work remotely. However it is imperative for small business owners and managers to focus on the important issues that make hybrid work a success or a nightmare. One of the most important aspects of hybrid work is cultural fit. New employees joining small companies on a hybrid basis should be able to embrace the company culture and values and feel part of a team. Managers should be able to use collaboration technologies and other methods to foster this feeling of inclusion. New female employees, for example, if choosing the hybrid method, should not be excluded from the company cultural integration. It is simpler for a company to integrate everyone working prior to the different lockdowns (although there are challenges) as these employees had already worked together closely prior to the pandemic. An increasingly important challenge is therefore how to socialise newcomers and integrate them into the company's culture, whether they're interns, entry-level hires, or seasoned executives. Businesses also have to maintain the balance between employees feeling isolated and feeling invaded with the new hybrid way of working. People want to feel connected and interact with each other even briefly. They want to feel they belong to a team and to a business. Virtual connections remove the sense of isolation. However, it is important for employees to have work/home boundaries. It can be discussed beforehand when people will work or when to answer emails and chats. It should be clear when they should be offline. Friendly connections can be rekindled by advocating weekly social time, such as a 20-minute window to discuss different, light-hearted but personal matters. Quizzes and games can also be launched to gather everyone and foster banter and the team spirit.  Finding the right tools and technology for employees to do their work in a hybrid environment is the first pre-requisite. There are numerous popular collaboration technologies such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Skype. Employers should start by asking employees if they feel they have the right tools and technology to do their jobs. It is also to be noted that employees can be at risk of virtual meeting fatigue or burnout. It is therefore important to monitor the virtual meetings usage and to be sensible in the management of virtual collaboration. Staff need to be upskilled regarding video conferencing systems to avoid frustration or disappointment. Also some people are more comfortable speaking up over screens than others and this factor should be taken in consideration when setting up virtual meetings in local, national or multi-lingual environments. Here, at Associate Planet, we want to help you create the right environment for hybrid work. We want to help you build your company's cultural fit and combat isolation for your employees with the use of the right technology. We can help upskill and train people. We are a boutique IT consultancy with decades of experience in helping small businesses such as yours. Call Richard today to find out more? Please do not hesitate to contact Richard. We can help you decide on your custom hybrid or remote work strategy? Richard MIoD Blog Archive:Blog: Hybrid Working - Tips for Employers Blog: Managing Remote Workers Today Blog: Employee Benifits of Working Remotely Or Flexibly Blog: Managing Remote Workers Today Blog: Bring Hybrid Working To The Workplace Without Hassle And Create A Productive Business Blog: Create a Security Culture Within Your Small Business - Septembert 2021 Blog: Improve Cost-Efficiency And Productivity With A Tailored CRM Using Microsoft 365 - August 2021 Blog: Use Technology To Promote Well Being At Work - June 2021 Blog: Choose Ai In The Workplace For A Meteoric Boost In Company Productivity - May 2021 Blog: Cloud Computing - Make it easy to work from anywhere - April 2021 Blog: Should Micro Businesses Worry About Cyber Security - March 2021 Blog: Flexible Working - The Future of Work - January 2021 Blog: Parental Controls - December 2020 Blog: Video Conferencing Etiquette - November 2020 Blog: Flexible Working - October 2020 Blog: Dont Be Alone - May 2020 Blog: Is your IT behaving itself? - May 2019 Blog: Lets do it - The Integrated Business - May 2018 Blog: Technology-What can we do to help ourselves - December 2017 Blog: Let's Simplify Technology - November 2017 Blog: Marketing and the SME - March 2017 Blog: Stay Safe - January 2017 Blog: The Year - December 2016 Blog: Marketing - September 2016 Blog: Digital Marketing - August 2016 Blog: Integrated Technology - June 2016 Blog: Cyber Security - March 2016 Blog: Introduction - March 2016 |
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