The Hybrid Office: How To Maintain Your Company Culture

Hybrid Office: Over the last year and a half, the impacts of Covid-19 have been felt in all aspects of society. Our working lives have been dramatically affected, with most companies moving to a form of remote work.

However, as life tries to get back to normal, many companies see the hybrid workplace as the optimal solution for the future. Here’s how to maintain your company culture with this new way of working.

What Does A Hybrid Workplace Mean?

The hybrid workplace model appears to be a future way of working for many companies, but what does it mean? The hybrid workplace, or hybrid office, is a space that supports a workforce that works in different locations, be it from home, abroad, or in the office space. This highly flexible design appeals to most modern workers and is being adopted by many companies around the world.

How To Maintain Your Company Culture In A Hybrid Office?

One of the concerns about the hybrid workplace is the impact on company culture. Workplace culture is a shared set of values ​​and attitudes toward work that is highly important to employee well-being and productivity, with 88% of employees believing that company culture is important to the workplace. success. 

So What Can These New Hybrid Workplaces Do To Ensure Their Culture Is Clear

• Foster collaboration: 

Foster and develop a sense of community and collaboration, whether working in the office or remotely. You can encourage people from different departments to work together and share their ideas. Organize work activities where it is necessary to interact and be supported by colleagues. Successful teams can sometimes be broken up and reorganized to make room for others to encourage collaboration across the entire workforce. An employee can keep in touch with other team members, either in person or online, so they don’t feel alone and uninspired.

• Value Communication:  

While this can be a challenge with an agile workforce, there are ways to ensure clear communication continues wherever your workers are. Holding regular meetings that include all staff members, whether on Zoom or in the office, is important to establishing or maintaining a workplace culture. Each worker must participate and have the opportunity to express their ideas. 

 Information needs to be shared to discuss any new plans. Keep in mind that workers feel undervalued if decisions that may affect their daily work life are made without their input.

• Give rewards and recognition:  

Establishing a positive and therefore successful office culture is a process that should not develop on its own. It should be a set of values ​​and behaviors rather than a workplace personality that should filter through the office hierarchy; from leadership, through management, to the workforce. Just as we raise a child with praise, encouragement, rewards, and recognition, these same motivators, when instigated by leaders and managers, will help embed the chosen workplace culture. A reward for timely completion of a project, such as a bonus or time off, should certainly act as an encouragement and help create a happier workforce.

• Foster freedom:  

Your workplace culture makes your company unique, and naturally, you want it to be shared and appreciated by the entire workforce, whether in the office or working remotely. People respond well when they are empowered by work, confident, and free to motivate themselves and work in ways that best fit their work-life balance. Elements of office culture that are transferable, such as support, appreciation, and other positive qualities you want to foster, are what makes an employee happy and engaged.

• Hire the right people:  

It is important that during the hiring process, you explain the important features of your office culture, your policies, and your business philosophy so that your employees know what to expect and fit in happily. Take the time to develop a more considerate hiring process. This will ensure that you can identify the right people to not only do the job but also fit into the desired culture. Employees can benefit from being given time to complete training regularly and being encouraged to advance within the company.

• Employ the right tools:  

Managing your employees, making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time, and organizing calls and meetings online or in the office takes a lot of organization. However, you need to make sure that your workplace culture survives the new style of work. It can be difficult to support workers, ensure their well-being and keep them up to date with their remote work. A workplace management system can help organize desk and meeting room reservations along with managing your visitors. This type of technology can help make the transition to an agile workforce much easier.