While remote work and flexible hours provide advantages such as lowering workplace stress and enabling people to spend more time improving their health, they also present certain challenges. Maintaining productivity with a team that has flexible work schedules is a major challenge for managers.
According to the Future of Work December 2021 Survey, 74% of workers will hunt for other employment if they are compelled to work in the office three or more days each week. Businesses, both big and small, are still experiencing this. Recently, tech workers have protested harsh workplace rules and, in some cases, have even resigned.
Everyone is aware that hybrid and flexible work are the most preferred working arrangements for personnel. Still, they are also the most challenging for businesses to execute in a way that fosters productivity, inclusiveness, connection, and engagement.
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It may be arduous to strike a balance between the flexibility that a remote work environment affords employees and the requirement to make sure they are effectively used and productive in order to accomplish corporate objectives and provide excellent customer service.
But enterprises will only reach the sweet spot of remote work when they develop a system that balances giving staff the freedom to set their own schedules and assisting them in making the most of their work time.
Here are some ways to develop a positive culture in remote workplaces.
Design digital HQ
The design of the digital HQ influences Employee Experience (EX) and the convenience of conducting work, much as the design of a physical HQ. Companies may decrease the amount of time spent navigating systems, which has an impact on the bottom line by removing barriers and simplifying access.
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Employees in the IT industry now communicate, collaborate, onboard, network, brainstorm, and plan online. Emails, chats, channels, and video conferences are all part of every day’s work. To interact and function effectively as a hybrid team without being able to pop by someone’s desk for a quick query or commandeer a space for an on-the-spot brainstorm, it’s critical to implement integrated digital solutions.
Tech executives should configure their systems to reduce friction, simplify access and sharing, enhance team alignment, promote collaboration, and allow remote work. The demand for technology solutions that facilitate efficient hybrid collaboration will rise.
Firms must maintain the employee experience at the forefront of their minds when they deploy new technological solutions and initiatives. For instance, many remote businesses are experimenting with systems that track employee productivity, but doing so may come out as intrusive and breed mistrust among coworkers.
Leverage a robust technological platform to track KPIs
Employers can really see where their time is going and make adjustments thanks to the use of time monitoring technologies. A primary objective should be maintaining focus, and time tracking may assist companies in doing so.
Organizations can plan and estimate upcoming activities and projects more easily when they can track their time incrementally. This ensures that the sales department provides clients with a reasonable estimate for chargeable effort.
Train managers
In order to promote flexibility and promote productivity, it is crucial to train leaders from the top down. Hybrid managers need to consciously create a culture of trust and understanding throughout the team as a whole. The manager’s position is evolving quickly in this new work environment, where they must balance and assist both physical and virtual teams.
Businesses must create a specialized hybrid working curriculum based on scenarios that enable leaders to practice having these crucial discussions and interactions with hybrid teams. Furthermore, leaders must ask their staff for feedback on what’s going well and where there is room for improvement. A quick check-in can boost team performance and improve real-time management for leaders.