Is the hybrid workplace here to stay?

Businessman working from home office

The pandemic changed operating rhythms for businesses, with one of the biggest changes impacting where we work. Lockdowns and social distancing forced businesses to adopt remote and hybrid working arrangements, and now what started as an obligation for businesses appears to be here to stay.   

Expectations for flexible working arrangements have changed

The forced remote working model woke a lot of businesses up to the fact that not only could employees do their job from home, but flexibility and a degree of trust could potentially enhance productivity. Now that things have returned to normal, some businesses would prefer to have their staff return to the office and the old status quo. However, more businesses understand that employees are unwilling to let go of the flexibility that came with remote working. In many cases, some businesses are staffed with people who acknowledge the benefits of traditional face-to-face collaboration, but still value the ability to work remotely when needed.

Thus the hybrid model has entered the mainstream.

How a hybrid approach can impact efficiency and productivity in the workplace  

With the right processes and technology in place, the hybrid workplace can be a prosperous environment for businesses, helping to:

  • boost productivity 
  • reduce costs 
  • support accessibility for employees
  • help streamline security 
  • provide consistent customer service 
  • consolidate systems across the business
  • enable fast scaling up or down.

However, without the right tools to connect your team, systems, and processes, the lines of communication can start to become unclear. This can impact on productivity and means businesses can run the risk of internal issues bleeding into external tasks, impacting customer service.  

In a post-pandemic world, businesses will need to build on the contingency plans put together during the pandemic to establish more robust systems and processes to support teams, allowing them to connect and collaborate to maintain and improve efficiencies, regardless of where they are. 

How to keep your team connected no matter where they are

Today, technology has evolved to support working from more places. Unified communications tools (like Telstra IP Telephony, Telstra Calling for Office 365, and Cloud PBX Calling) enable your team to email, chat, make calls and video conference all in one platform. 

Leveraging technology like unified communications can help bring your team together in one platform, no matter where they are connecting from. 

While communication tools themselves can be the key to a successful hybrid workplace, communicating these initiatives with your team is important too. Once you’ve got everyone connecting on the right tech, the next step is to set up your processes for communicating on these channels to maintain a cohesive team culture. 

For some businesses, scheduling in some time in at the end of the day for a debrief and water cooler might be the way to go. For others, setting up a group chat where people can drop in throughout the day might be more appropriate.  

Including your team in the process can help bolster buy-in and improve the integration of a hybrid work model. Keeping your team involved in discussions, and administrating polls or surveys can also help ensure that the systems and processes being put in place are having a positive effect. 

How TBTC Melbourne South can help

At TBTC Melbourne South, our technology experts can help provide a solution to support your hybrid workplace. Firstly, we’ll take the time to get to know your business and your strategic goals. We’ll ask questions like how many people you have working remotely and connecting to your network, the applications you need to run your business, and your plans for the future. Ready to get started? Talk to us today

Ready to learn more? Let’s talk.

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