3 tips to build a harmonious hybrid workforce

Covid-19 has led companies to explore new options and working methods. After social distancing and several lockdowns, some of us already found things we love about working from home like flexibility, comfort spaces, and no commute.

Now that offices are reopening, we might also start looking forward to the good old days: social interactions, team collaboration, and of course, those coffee breaks.

As employees, we yearn for the best of both worlds: a certain degree of freedom and privacy, but also real-time recognition, teamwork, and in-person interactions.

While some would choose to work fully remote, the majority would prefer a balance where they are in the office for some of the week and at home for the remainder. This has led to the use of a relatively new term: hybrid working.

At Magic Map, we’ve applied hybrid working mode over the last ten years and have accumulated tips and tricks to ensure all tasks are running smoothly, efficiently, and completed within the expected time frames.

Include all team members

Nobody likes feeling left out by their friends or colleagues – even when our work role doesn’t really connect with the rest of the team. As leaders, it’s vital to ensure that all employees feel valued and appreciated every day. Creating a culture of recognition and celebration helps meet employees’ needs for inclusion, collaboration, and appreciation.

Frequent team building events, daily updates, and sometimes just a small compliment could help lift up employees’ moods after a long, exhausting working day. In addition, team building games are also a terrific way to get employees working together better and create a deep bonding between each member of the team.

Choose the right communication tools

Although employees have the option to come into the office, they’re still going to need a stable and easy-to-use communication tool to connect with colleagues while working outside of the office. Choosing the right communication tool for employees to collaborate and work on projects, regardless of time and location should be one of the most important tasks for employers to solve before allowing employees to work remotely.

Nowadays, companies have plenty of communication tools to choose from – such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Chanty, Google Chat, and many more. Those tools make communication in real-time a possibility, enabling employees to chat, share files, or call each other within a few, simple clicks.

Clarify all tasks and goals

Rather than structuring the workday around an office desk, the hybrid approach creates a flexible schedule in which employees have the freedom to manage their time in the most efficient way.

However, some employees have multiple projects or tasks that they need to handle at the same time. To keep all work on the right track, employees must understand their tasks correctly and have a clear vision of the project’s goals. It’s crucial that all team members can identify priorities, deliverables, and tasks they need to complete to meet project goals.

Today, popular project management tools like Basecamp, Asana, Monday or Trello are broadly used to create and manage an organised and transparent workflow. Those tools offer a wide range of rich features that simplify the complexities of managing a project and keep everyone informed and in the loop.

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Applying a new working approach might be less exciting and more challenging than we’ve thought. But once we have got the time to adjust, hybrid working will bring efficiency, productivity and eventually become a natural rhythm of our workflow.

Use the three tips above to embrace your hybrid workforce and enjoy the flexibility and freedom to work from any location, whether you’re at home, in the office, at a coffee shop, or somewhere else.