When we were hit by the pandemic in 2020, suddenly everything changed. Some 70% of the world’s workforce was forced to work remotely. We ended up spending more time on audio/video calls and other collaboration tools than in conference rooms and cubicles.
Now, even as the pandemic fears are receding and the organizations are getting ready to call back their employees, a vast majority of the workforce still wants to work from home or at least a part of their time. According to reports, 95% of workers in the US have expressed their desire to work remotely even after the pandemic, and the percentage of people who want to work from home at least once a week grew by 400% since 2010.
Organizations are now trying to find a compromise between remote and in-office and the hybrid work model is increasingly preferred. A report from Accenture shows 83% of workers prefer a hybrid model. Even as many organizations are making sincere efforts to adapt to hybrid working, good internal communication can make this transition seamless.
Internal communication plays a key role in employee productivity and work engagement. Though many reports show that remote work increased productivity, organizations were still concerned about their employees’ disengagement that affected over half of employees across the US during this time. So, the real question is – How do you communicate and engage employees in a hybrid workplace?
Using a powerful cloud-based internal communication tool like Clariti will help organizations manage their entire workforce (both remote and in-office) to communicate more effectively. Even when the pandemic struck the world without any warning, organizations that already had robust internal communications software managed anxiety and uncertainty caused by the crisis quite easily. Internal communication tools were the unsung heroes that helped organizations maintain employee engagement and productivity.
Criteria to make internal communication engaging for hybrid teams
1. No communication silos
Companies in their quest to equip their hybrid workforce with the best internal communication tools, end up subscribing to a lot of software, which results in communication silos. Since most businesses use various internal communication tools for their day-to-day communication, it is very easy to create silos of information. Searching across these silos is tedious, time-consuming and unproductive. IDC data shows that a knowledge worker spends about 2.5 hours per day searching, which is about 30% of their workday. For an organization that employs 50 workers, with an average annual salary of $60,000, the cost of unproductive searches amounts to $3 million per year.
McKinsey reported that employees spend 1.8 hours every day—9.3 hours per week, on average—searching and gathering information. This is a serious problem that affects your productivity and work-life balance. Hence the internal communication tool that you are using at your workplace should address this problem. Connected apps offer a simple but elegant solution to this painful search problem. If all your communication is in one place, you don’t have to keep searching for information and your productivity goes up automatically.
When you use an internal communication tool like Clariti, its content-rich subject chat feature helps users to avoid communication silos by providing a central repository for information and discussions. Rather than having separate conversations in different places, all users can access the same information and have discussions in one place. This helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that no important details are missed.
In addition, Clariti’s content-rich subject chat also helps to promote collaboration by allowing users to easily share files and ideas. By providing a central platform for communication, Clariti’s content-rich subject chat helps users to avoid communication silos and promotes collaboration. Without this, most of the employees will be wasting time toggling between different applications rather than doing productive work.
2. No searching across multiple channels
There are a lot of internal communications tools for hybrid teams available in the market like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Flock, etc. Though these tools bring communication like group chat, audio and video calling in one place, the related communications are not connected.
So, conversations from different communication channels remain disconnected though you use a single app. If you want to search for a presentation or a message from your colleague, you need to search multiple channels to get the information, wasting time.
Communication has no meaning without context. The hardest thing about communicating effectively is knowing how to “set the context”. This is especially true when the hybrid workforce connects with each other using multiple channels – such as email, social media, chat, etc. Managing this multi-channel communication ineffectively often leads to miscommunication and confusion.
Clariti’s content-rich subject chat feature will help you to avoid searching for information across multiple communication channels by allowing you to quickly and easily find the specific information you need. With Clariti’s content-rich subject chat, all you must do is remember the context of the communication and Clariti will provide you with a list of relevant emails, chat, files etc. This will save you valuable time and effort and allow you to get the information you need quickly and efficiently.
3. Make it easy to find the right information
The internal communication tool for hybrid teams that you are using should be able to help your remote workforce quickly find any information when they need it. Most of the time, employees spend a lot of time searching for files and documents or recreating the same files just because they can’t find them.
One of the best things about Clariti’s content-rich subject chat is that it provides context for your team’s discussions. Rather than just messaging back and forth, you can actually see the information that others are sharing. This makes it easy to find the right information and to understand the context of the conversation. In addition, the chat is searchable, so you can always go back and find specific information that you need. Overall, Clariti’s content-rich subject chat is a great way to stay organized and to ensure that you are always able to find the right information.
4. Leverage cloud communication technology
Having a cloud-based internal communications tool for hybrid teams will help you to reach all your remote workforce quickly and easily. When companies shift to the cloud for all their communication needs —email, group chat, audio calling, screen sharing, file sharing, and more—it doesn’t matter where users are.
They get the same experience from anywhere. Cloud tools are much safer than on-premises solutions. That’s because the cloud has more safety layers and protocols while also using encryption methods for data. There are fewer security breaches in the cloud tools when compared with physical servers on-site.
5. Provide seamless access to cloud documents
The internal communication tool that you are using at your workplace should integrate with all the major cloud storage drives such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, pCloud and Mega. So, when your team is working remotely, they don’t have to worry about having access to all their work.
Once you integrate your drives with your workplace communication tool, you will have instant access to all your files anywhere, anytime. This will remove a key productivity barrier.
6. Reduce unnecessary meetings
An Atlassian study recently found out that on average, employees waste about an hour a day in meetings. That comes down to 30 hours a month and over 300 hours in the whole year. The internal communication tool that you are using should have voice calling, screen sharing, group chats, and direct chats.
These features will help your hybrid workforce to be more productive by reducing unproductive meetings and expensive and time-consuming business travel.
Conclusion
With more and more companies adopting hybrid work with employees working remotely from different locations, this can present challenges for internal team communication. In today’s business world, team members may not always be able to meet in person. Internal communication tools, such as messaging platforms and team chat rooms, can help to overcome these challenges and boost productivity. By providing a central location for team members to share ideas and information, internal communication tools can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page. In addition, they can help to facilitate faster decision-making and reduce the need for unnecessary meetings. As a result, internal communication tools can be a valuable asset for hybrid teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you engage a hybrid team?
There are a few key things to keep in mind when engaging a hybrid team. First, it’s important to remember that not everyone on the team will be in the same location. This means that some team members may need to rely on video conferencing or other forms of virtual communication to participate fully.
Secondly, it’s important to make sure that everyone on the team has a clear understanding of the project goals and objectives. This will help to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal and prevents misunderstandings down the line.
Finally, it’s important to create an environment of trust and respect among team members. This means being supportive and flexible with each other, and always behaving in a professional manner. By following these tips, you can engage your hybrid team effectively and work together towards success.
How can you improve communication in remote and hybrid teams?
In today’s business world, more and more teams are working remotely or in hybrid arrangements, with some team members in the office and others working from home. This can present a challenge when it comes to communication. However, there are a few things that you can do to help improve communication in remote and hybrid teams. First, be clear and concise when communicating tasks or goals. Make sure that everyone on the team understands what is expected of them.
Second, use video conferencing whenever possible. This will help to foster a feeling of connection and collaboration.
Finally, try to connect with team members on a personal level. Get to know them as people, not just co-workers. By taking these steps, you can help to improve communication in remote and hybrid teams.
How can we engage employees in a hybrid environment?
As the workplace continues to evolve, so must our approach to employee engagement. In a hybrid environment, where some employees are working in the office and others are working remotely, it can be difficult to create a sense of unity and purpose. However, there are a few things that employers can do to engage employees in a hybrid environment.
First, make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of the company’s goals and objectives. Everyone should know what the company is trying to achieve and how their individual role contributes to that goal.
Secondly, provide opportunities for employees to interact with one another, whether that’s through virtual team-building exercises or social events.
Finally, give employees the flexibility to work in the way that suits them best. By respecting everyone’s individual needs and preferences, we can create a more engaged and productive workforce.
How can internal team communication be improved?
Communication is essential for any team to function efficiently. When team members can communicate effectively, they can share ideas and information more easily, work towards common goals, and resolve conflicts quickly. However, internal team communication can often be hampered by several factors, such as a lack of trust, different communication styles, and different deadlines. There are a few keyways to improve internal team communication, such as:
-Encouraging team members to share their ideas and thoughts openly
-Making sure that everyone is on the same page by holding regular meetings and sharing information regularly
-Respecting each other’s communication style preferences
By taking these steps, teams can start to improve their internal communication and work more effectively together.
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