How To Create An Atmosphere Of Collaboration
Many companies are planning a hybrid workplace model, but it is crucial to keep employee engagement high wherever your people are physically located. A hybrid workplace combines on-site, in-person presence with remote work. With ongoing uncertainty about the pandemic and how long it will last, many companies are planning a hybrid workplace model for their offices in the coming months and years [1].
However, it is crucial to keep employee engagement high. Employee engagement can be loosely defined as employees' attachment to their company and the work they do there. Gallup has even developed a metric called the Q12 to measure employee engagement by asking 12 key questions.
Here's A Quick Look At Why You Should Care About Employee Engagement
- The link between employee engagement and employee retention is clear
Engaged employees are more likely to stay with a company than disengaged ones, so this factor influences your turnover costs directly. - The link between employee engagement and productivity is strong
If your people feel invested in working for you, they're more likely to give their all when completing tasks for you. This means increased productivity overall across your staff or team, which could lead to big benefits for your company or organization in terms of achieving goals faster or improving customer service [2]. - The link between employee engagement and creativity is evident as well
Managers who foster an environment where employees feel comfortable bringing new ideas forward will reap the benefits of increased creativity among staff members due to higher morale and excitement around work activities overall.
Employee Engagement In A Hybrid Workplace
Employee engagement—also called worker engagement—is a business management concept. An "engaged employee" is defined as one who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work and so takes positive action to further the organization's reputation and interests. In this article, we’ll explore how you can retain and enhance employee engagement in a hybrid workplace.
A hybrid workplace consists of employees who are both on-site (in the office) and remote (work from home). A hybrid model enables flexibility for both employers and employees, which will be essential if we’re to maintain high levels of engagement in the post-pandemic world.
Why Is Employee Engagement Important?
The concept of employee engagement is simple: it's the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization and its goals. That's what distinguishes an engaged workforce from a disengaged one, and why companies around the world are seeking ways to boost engagement among their employees.
Engagement is important because it has a knock-on effect on several other areas that impact your company, including productivity, turnover, customer satisfaction, and profits [3]. When employees are invested in their work, they're more likely to go above and beyond on a regular basis, compared with those who don't feel committed at all (or even feel negative toward the company).
Employee engagement can be measured by surveying employees about how they feel about their jobs. It's typically measured on a scale of 0–100%, but it can also be expressed as a net promoter score (NPS) of -100 to 100. Companies with high engagement include Basware (NPS score 85), Globoforce (NPS score 80), Nudge Rewards (NPS score 65), GitLab (NPS score 60), and Numero Uno Web Solutions (NPS score 50). In stark contrast, companies with low employee engagement include United Airlines (-59%), Ford Motor Company (-45%), AT&T (-38%), General Motors (-35%), and Philips Lighting (-18%).
4 Tactics For Elevating Employee Engagement In A Hybrid Workplace
1. Define Your Company Culture
Company culture can be defined as the values, priorities, and philosophy that guide an organization's practices. But what does company culture mean in practice? Company culture is a reflection of how employees act on behalf of the company's vision and mission. For example, Netflix was founded with a "freedom and responsibility" culture. This includes not having vacation policies or travel expense reports. The strategy is that employees should decide the best use of their time to watch movies in order to make recommendations for customers. Other companies with unique cultures include Southwest Airlines and Zappos, which are both known for customer service excellence.
However you define your organizational values, it's important to have them clearly articulated so your team can understand how they drive behavior every day at work. If there is no clear direction from leadership, team members may feel disconnected from their work and less motivated to collaborate across departments or locations, due to lack of clarity around what's expected of them.
2. Make Communication Accessible
One of the most important things to consider when determining what tools to use is whether or not you have a hybrid workforce. A hybrid workplace is one in which employees are required to use technology as well as meet traditional work requirements, and many workplaces are moving toward this model. Hybrid work can be intimidating, especially for managers who may feel that they aren't used to the way their employees interact with new technology. However, creating an effective hybrid workplace begins by ensuring that your people have access to all of the information and resources they need at their fingertips so that communication is up-to-date and instantaneously responsive.
In our experience, having a strong collaborative culture was essential for creating a successful hybrid workplace [4]. We were constantly trying to find ways to make communication accessible from wherever we were: on our phones, desktops, tablets, or laptops, no matter where we worked or what we were doing. We also made sure that everyone had the right tools available, be it email as a virtual network meeting place (think Google Allo) or Slack for team collaboration—both of which we used heavily in our office space.
These tools helped us create an environment in which employees could get more done every day because people weren't waiting for emails or responding three months later about something that had already been said hours earlier over Slack's private messaging system, which also meant being able to respond immediately if someone had urgent news from home (which happens sometimes). One of the main benefits of using these tools is removing nonessential time away from work; instead of spending time commuting between offices and headquarters, staff can stay connected with valuable information while working remotely and decrease travel costs along with personal expenses like meals out during lunch breaks [5]!
3. Listen Actively And Embrace Feedback
When your employees are engaged, they're more productive, committed, and satisfied. The only way to ascertain whether or not your employees are engaged is to listen actively. This isn't always easy and takes practice, but is essential for building a communicative workplace culture. If you'd like to build stronger relationships with your employees, here's a simple guide to becoming a better listener:
- Practice active listening yourself before teaching others.
Try getting into the habit of actively listening in casual conversations with friends and family members. Make eye contact and be attentive while they're speaking without interrupting them or trying to make their experience about you or your experiences in any way. - Make it comfortable for people to share their feedback with you.
Let them know that there's a safe space available where they can share things that are on their mind without judgment or repercussions (unless those repercussions will bring about positive change). - Be sure to follow up on any promises you make during these conversations.
People need to feel heard and taken seriously; establishing trust from this perspective can help foster real change in the workplace environment as well (in addition to being just ethically sound behavior).
4. Meet Employees’ Needs With Flexible Options
One of the biggest challenges in creating a hybrid workforce is meeting the needs and expectations of your employees. Just as employers need to meet the needs of their customers, you need to meet the expectations of your employees by providing the right tools. This means giving them the option to work where they feel most comfortable, whether that’s at home, in the office, or a combination of both.
Offering flexible hours and remote work options are key components of having a successful hybrid workforce. If you don’t have flexible scheduling or remote options available now, it’s time to start looking into how this can be implemented moving forward. Make sure your employees have access to the right technology so that they can work from anywhere if necessary.
Takeaway
If you're like me, you love working in a hybrid workplace. The convenience of telecommuting often creates a space where employees feel a high level of engagement with the company they work for. And while some people think that face-to-face interactions are necessary to experience a high level of engagement, the truth is that a lot of the time, remote employees have a better experience because those interactions don't get in the way of their productivity.
References:
[1] Why Is Training So Crucial In A Hybrid Workplace Model?
[2] Employee Engagement And How To Maximize Employee Happiness
[3] Understanding KPIs: 7 Important Customer Satisfaction Metrics You Must Measure
[4] Collaborative Culture: How To Effectively Work Together
[5] 32 Remote Work Tools for Happy and Productive Employees
