Organizational workflow has drifted significantly ever since the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies have switched to moderate and safe ways of working environments to retain employees. Work from home culture has saved many micro and mega-companies. People could work from the comfort of their homes with their laptops and smart phones. Technology has played a significant role in making work easy and accessible from any corner of the world.
Then came the hybrid culture; flexible working conditions and environment for the employees. As it is self-explanatory that hybrid culture constitutes a mix of working from home and working onsite. The variation can be done weekly, on an alternate day or visiting on the will to submit reports. It gives an autonomous environment for an employee to carry on the official work and maintain a work-family life balance.
Hybrid work culture is a part of the new generation’s occupational trend, and it is rooted to start a new foundation of working culture. Ever since the lockdown, people have managed their team meetings, interviews, set goals, learning and made a presentation through video calls and smart phones. However, to make it a holistic design, there is a need to better the communication medium to enhance the operating mode.
Since communication in an organization plays an important role to create a professional balance of interaction with stakeholders, team members and clients, following the guidelines below would ease the urgency to improve the mode of communication and make it more proficient.
Timing is essential: Setting up the timing for work from home is very important as being punctual to the office. The remote working system gives the liberty to work according to will, but to attain exemplary professionalism and gain the trust of your HR and team; it’s vital to be present on time. It assures the timely updating of work, and there is better communication between teammates for projects.
Team interaction: Communication between team members is crucial. It helps in relieving workload and bridging the communication gap between members. Thus, scheduling a timely call and providing everyone with a chance to interact boosts employee confidence. Although there should be a timely onsite presence to interact socially with team members and indulge in activities that promote individual growth.
Weekly report: The hybrid model provides an exciting work environment with more mental peace and freedom to be more productive. However, to ensure the assurance and loyalty of an employee, it’s crucial to have a weekly one on one conversation, which shall keep them motivated and keep the work rate on track.
Embracing the newcomers: Newcomers to an organization will feel alienated unless they feel the company’s essence. They need to come to the office and understand the working culture. They should have timely interaction with the team and understand the ethos and methods of hybrid tools for work before commencing on remote working style.
Setting guidelines: Let’s face it, video call meetings and seminars are not as efficient as the actual appointment. There are many distractions like the chat pop-ups during a group meeting; one cannot concentrate on the speaker and keep track of the chats. To make the interaction more efficient, group meetings should be held at the office, or if it needs to be done online, there should be a single room on the same camera for communicating.
Reward Culture: Hybrid work culture has made people more efficient by giving people more personal time. However, to retain the employee’s loyalty, it is necessary to show that the company cares about their work. The company can do it by conducting a weekly or monthly reward system that tracks the work report.
Focusing on physical and mental health: A healthy group of individuals makes a company thrive in productivity and financial growth. Amidst the pandemic, people showed great strength in fighting against the virus and balancing a socio-economic balance. However, many people suffered from PTSD and mental fear after the pandemic. Remote work culture has made them feel safe, more efficient, and confident to face future challenges. There should be online and offline seminars on mental health and battling anxiety; it would educate the employee about their health condition and retain their trust in their company. It shows that the company cares about their employees!
These are affirmative measures to deploy the workforce for the company’s betterment. The employees love the new hybrid culture. It gives them time to explore themselves, be creative and enjoy their work. Although there are few demerits where people believe it disrupts the official and home life, people tend to overlap their working hours and personal time. You can’t say it’s wrong, but the modern generation values productivity over late hour work, and a hybrid environment provides them that freedom. Thus, it is necessary to include systematic changes to make Hybrid work culture a wholesome platform.
(The author is Mr. Gaurav Bhagat, Founder, Gaurav Bhagat Academy and the views expressed in this article are his own)
