Workplace trends come and go, but one that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon is a hybrid working environment. Now, thousands of businesses from across the world have adopted this new approach to working. Now, staff can trade in their office space, in return for working remotely part of the time
This working environment offers a lot of benefits to both the business and employees. So, it is clear to see why so many companies are choosing to adopt this approach. If your small business is planning to transition to a hybrid working environment, here are some things you should consider.
Make A Clear and Precise Plan
Regardless of the size of your business, you will need to draft a clear plan of how you want this transition to work. Saying you want to adopt this approach to working is great, but how will you make this happen? There are a few things that your plan should include, such as how will you determine who works in the office, who works remotely and when.
Secondly, how will you track who is in the office and what will you do to accommodate them? When it comes to employees working in the office, you will need to ensure that you have enough space and resources available. A plan is a crucial part of the transition. You can learn more about how to draft your plan through some online research.
Support The Role of Your Line Managers
This transition is one that requires a lot of thought and precise planning. It can be easy to focus solely on our employees, that we forget to support our line managers during this process. After all, for HR managers this is going to be a big change. Not all employees will be in the same place at the same time and sorting out important admin tasks like holiday entitlement and absences can become tricky.
However, there is something that you can do to help. Acquiring the use of online HR software can support HR managers in their role. Not only does it put all of the important employee data in one place, but it also is a cloud-based solution.
So, employees can access the software, whether they’re in the office, at home, or further afield. Myhrtoolkit offer an online HR software system that can help you make your hybrid working transition run smoothly. Say goodbye to endless amounts of paperwork and hello to a more clear and organised system.
Bring Your Team Together
If you want your team to work effectively with one another, then you will need to do your bit to help them create strong relationships. Just because some people work from home whilst others are in the office, this does not mean that they cannot build strong personal relationships with one another.
Instead, you should create opportunities for your staff to connect and you can achieve this in several ways. You can host weekly team-building events like an online quiz or a games room. Those working from home can video conference in. There are plenty of online team building activities out there. All it takes is a quick online search to find them.
Enable Collaboration
Once your hybrid working plan is up and running, you will need to ensure that your team members can still collaborate effectively, no matter where they are in the country. So, you should already have the right technologies in place to enable them to do this.
For example, do your employees have a software that allows them to communicate with one another and collaborate effectively on a daily basis? There are plenty of technologies out there that allow you to do this like Microsoft Teams and Slack. To find out which technologies work well for your business, you will need to conduct research and trial a few different ones to help you find the right fit for your company.
Welcome Constructive Criticism with Open Arms
Some of your employees will adhere to this transition better than others. For some, a hybrid environment is a totally new style of work. It can be difficult for them to adapt to it. So, you should still be making your employees feel like a priority by listening to their opinions.
Don’t be afraid to welcome feedback from your employees. The information that they can give you is valuable, and it can help you to make significant changes that will benefit your team. You will tend to find that this can result in a boost in productivity levels and staff morale.
Increased productivity levels are important for any business. Not only does it show you that your employees are engaged but it also increases that all-important profitability.
There are plenty of ways that you can boost productivity in the workplace and switching to a hybrid working environment is one of them. It is recommended that you conduct some research of your own to find out more ways that you can help your team thrive in a hybrid working environment
