Improving your hybrid workplace should always be a priority no matter where you are in the process. As with anything, hybrid work can always be improved, and you have the opportunity to constantly enhance your space for your employees to create a more productive, welcoming, and pleasant environment.Â
This article will walk you through a few practical ways you can revamp your hybrid workspace to increase experience satisfaction.
Get to know employee needs, desires, and concerns
Making decisions can be as easy of a process as you’d like it to be, but just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s good. The less effort you put into trying to get the opinions of your team the more problems you will run into. That is why it is important to get to know the ways in which your employees think, as well as their specific needs, desires, and concerns. You will have to cater the changes to them to increase productivity. After all, they will be the ones who will have to rely on your hybrid work system.Â
A good way to get to know your employees’ needs is to survey them. You must remember to consistently survey your team and to make sure you survey everyone at all different levels of the company. This will ensure that you will get to know the concerns and needs of all of your employees and no person or department will be left out.
A few ways you can survey:Â
- Digital feedback channel on SlackÂ
- Workplace suggestion boxÂ
- Recurring short surveysÂ
- Longer more detailed surveys that happen less often
Create and nurture an inclusive and positive culture
In a regular working model, the company culture is fairly defined. However, in a hybrid work model, company culture will not be as easily formed. There will need to be some effort put into cultivating and nurturing a strong culture.Â
The first thing to do is define the company culture and seek mutual respect and trust from all employees. Then, set clear intentions on what the organization will require from its employees. They should know what the company’s priorities are and how to achieve what they are set out to.Â
You should try to build an environment of vulnerability and encouragement. Encourage office-based and remote workers to build on their working relationships proactively. Encourage them to also reach out to each other when they need help and recognize those who do.Â
Try to also create get-togethers, whether virtual or in-person, to get everyone familiar with one another and cultivate relationships. A hybrid workplace should foster an atmosphere of mutual support, trust, and respect, leaving no one behind.
Be organized
What is a workplace without some organization? Being organized is essential to creating a positive work experience. You must stay on top of things in order to have a functional productive workspace.Â
A good idea is to make sure everyone on your team understands who is responsible for what. Uncertainty can lead to misdirection, which can cause problems for your company. Have a key person or team from every department that can do most of the overall communication. These people or teams will also be the ones you turn to in case a bid decision needs to be made. You will consult with them to get an understanding of every department’s needs.Â
You should also make sure that your space is equipped with all the tools necessary for productivity and people know where to find them and how to use them. For example, if your company uses the printer on a regular basis, ensure that your employees know where it is located and how to operate it.Â
The key to staying organized is building good communication that will improve the flow of the experience, and keep everyone informed of updates and changes.
Implement technology for space management
Digital tools can help create a hybrid office environment that is filled with effective communication, productivity, and organization. With employees consistently switching between on-site and remote work, adequate organizational tools are a must as they will be able to fuse the two together for a smooth transition and operation. The challenge comes with providing the right tools and creating rules for engagement.Â
With a new office, there will be different space needs, as well as areas that will have to be booked out in order to avoid overcapacity.Â
Depending on how you’d like to organize your space, a great tool to use is a desk and room booking management software that can conduct all the bookings for you, and allow you to keep track of who is in the office or will be coming into the office, alongside who is using what area. This will improve your office space organization, as well as save time for your team that they can use to be productive.Â
A great software solution for this problem is Archie, a leading management software that can automate your office and manage bookings. Archie has many features that can help you transition your team into a hybrid work model, such as analytics that allow you to see how your space is being used, as well as many community features which can help keep your employees stay in touch with each other whether they are in-office or at home.
Conclusion
A hybrid workplace is always evolving with new needs arising. It is good to always stay on top of it in order to constantly improve the hybrid experience for your employees so that your company can grow and be at maximum productivity. Making sure your hybrid workspace is always improving can be challenging, however, it is worth the effort that you put into it as the experience will translate into the advancement of your company.