Getting to work has never been as flexible as it is today. Traditional working models have now been replaced with a hybrid system, giving productivity a new dimension. A hybrid working model is a mixture of onsite and remote working. This model allows employees to work from the comfort of their homes while keeping up with their onsite colleagues.
So far, the hybrid system has worked favorably, with over 40% of employees enjoying this work schedule in the last two years. However, a hybrid work model has had its challenges despite its perks. It is the actual text of your management skills as you balance work and those submitting from home.
For a frictionless workplace, here’s what you should consider adopting.
1. Delegate Adequately
You can’t juggle tasks haphazardly, providing one team with a large chunk of work while the other gets minimal responsibilities. This unfair division of labor will impact productivity and make employees resent working for you. Delegation depends on the type of work. You may let your work from home employees handle tasks that they can diligently do, such as meeting with international clients, marketing, and submitting project proposals. Office workers may handle more financial tasks and meet local clients.
You can rotate projects as you wish but become an expert manager. Unless you polish your skills, it may become difficult to pick and choose an assignment. Since only a third of managers are considered good at delegation by their team, help yourself by doing an Online General MBA Program to be an asset to your employees.
A degree can help you learn the basics of leadership and cultivate relationships between your employees and clients. It will also help you analyze risks, profits, and cash flow enough to decide the trajectory of workflow. It is the stepping stone you need to become an effective manager.
2. Provide The Team With Sufficient Tools
You can’t expect work from home employees to do their job without adequate resources. It’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Therefore, as a manager, you must provide employees with the essential tools required for everyday tasks. These include a laptop with the latest operating system, Wi-Fi connection, headset, webcams, and all the software your remote workers will need to accomplish their tasks.
However, if you have designers on board, you will need to go the extra mile for them. You need to invest a little more in maintaining creativity standards. Provide your employees with digital tablets, styluses, and software like Photoshop and Illustrator. These provisions will help them work with clients, team members, and content creators without compromising quality. Never leave your employees in a position where they must pay for high-end contrivances out of pocket.
3. Set A Framework Of Rules
Your employees need to know how to handle work in a hybrid schedule. You can’t expect employees working from home to complete daily tasks leisurely. At the same time, office workers should also have the freedom to maintain their daily checklist. It would help if you took the initiative and brief your workers on what they need to do.
Real-time, responsive communication will keep employees in the loop and streamline all the documents that need approval. Integrating applications that allow instant messaging will also keep the workplace efficiency at the maximum. A transparent system informs your employees about their daily tasks, weekly goals, and what you want to be accomplished within the quarter.
4. Get Better At Communication
Communication is two sides of the same coin. One side is all about the work you delegate, while the other is about employees expressing their concerns. No matter where your employees are working from, communication should remain robust. Miscommunication, lack of proper guidelines, and discussions can reduce productivity. You also risk losing up to 18% of sales when your employees are unsure of what to do.
Try keeping meetings as much as possible and establish a workplace chatroom, so ideas never stop flowing. While talking to your employees, show empathy – inquire about their general well-being without launching right into work. You wouldn’t want your staff to feel they mean nothing to you or your company.
5. Introduce More Automation
As your company evolves to incorporate a more hybrid system, you must become tech-savvy. Remote working will not be possible unless you have the means to facilitate it. It would help if you looked into getting tools like cloud networks or the Google workspace so that employees can get the relevant information, guidelines, and files as needed. Applications like Google Docs allow employees to work collaboratively, showing edits in real-time without missing a beat.
Online platforms will keep all your employees on the same page and ensure that you stay abreast of their progress. Automation saves you from spending countless hours handling manual data while making backups on confidential information.
Over 30% of American businesses agree that automation reduces labor costs. For any thriving business, saving costs is essential. Applications like Zoom and Google Meet ensure your employees conduct meetings without missing appointments and frustrating clients. In this manner, you can see how better automation lies at the core of a successful hybrid team.
6. Keep Fair Reward Mechanisms
Employees like to feel appreciated. 1 in 2 American workers feel disengaged at work, and when you keep an unfair reward system, you add to this statistic. Office-based incentives such as celebratory parties, lunches, and discounts at country clubs can make remote workers feel isolated. This kind of demotivation may also cause them to feel like their contribution does not matter as much.
You can remedy the disparity by providing equal benefits for all your employees. You may hold a blend of virtual parties and in-person parties. When providing lunch for your work employees, send delivery packages for remote workers. You may also host a web movie night. These incentives will encourage employees to feel more included and less alienated from their peers. It also prevents feelings of discontent from arising in your remote employees.
Final Thoughts
Hybrid teams are the future of the business sector. These teams create a unique atmosphere that boosts productivity and saves you high costs. However, managing a hybrid team can get tricky. Therefore, you need to top your skills to ensure your business doesn’t backtrack.
You will need to appropriately delegate while providing your team with the resources to do work. Work on better communication channels that don’t leave your employees stranded. Look towards automation to save you time from mundane and repetitive tasks. When rewarding your employees, consider those who work from home and the office. With these few measures, you will maintain a harmonious environment and happy employees willing to stay with you for the long haul.