How to Improve Communication in a Hybrid Workplace

The year 2020 taught us a lot about how we communicate in the workplace. We unknowingly exposed the holes in our communication tools when many of us shifted to a remote way of working, altered our working hours around caring and family requirements, and communicated largely through technology rather than face-to-face.

Smaller procedural modifications, such as remembering to write things down for absent team members, or more complicated behavioural changes to assist other team members feel more included, may be required to close these gaps. However, as we look to the future of work, these are issues that businesses will need to address if they are to successfully move to hybrid or remote-first cultures.

In this article, we examine how communication has evolved as a result of hybrid and remote-first workplaces, as well as recommendations for making these changes good.

 

1. By default, communication is more asynchronous.

Working remotely, as many of us have discovered, doesn't always happen at the same time for everyone. Although the world is always on these days, it doesn't imply your staff should be, or that they should miss important meetings because they're offline or in a different time zone.

While we have the technology to address the issue of connectivity, team communications, especially on applications like Slack, can quickly become fragmented and difficult to follow later.

Be more deliberate in any communication. This will help to reduce the transition. Organisations should encourage employees to assemble and polish their opinions in writing rather than reacting in real-time to discussions or topics that aren't time-sensitive, allowing individuals in other time zones to catch up and comment when they're next online.

This prevents a deluge of texts and perplexing back-and-forth. Investing in technology that supports this form of communication, such as shared inbox software, may also be a good idea.

 

2. It should be standard practice to jot down everything.

When it comes to communication effectiveness, working remotely threw us all a few curveballs. Anything said in remote or hybrid video meetings carries the risk of being misheard, miscommunicated, or simply lost in translation, and employees who are unable to attend must rely on secondhand knowledge.

This leads to unneeded frustration and prevents employees from performing at their best. Organisations must discover ways to document the knowledge-sharing process that occurs in traditional meeting formats and make it accessible across many platforms as they transition to a hybrid working model.

It may seem old-fashioned, but taking minutes and recording everything in writing helps guarantee that everyone understands the strategic and mutual goals, avoid unnecessary catch-up meetings, and, most importantly, maintain clarity.

 

3. It's crucial to be aware of your tone.

We've all had the experience of sending a text or email that was misunderstood—and it can happen at work, too. It's not always easy to detect intention or tone in written communication like Slack or an email, especially as teams around the world use technology to stay connected.

Because written papers have become a major source of knowledge-sharing and information in a hybrid or remote-first environment, clarity and empathy in written communication are critical.

In hybrid or remote-first working arrangements, clear, sympathetic written communication will be critical to an organisation's success. Organisations should focus on offering a best-practice tone of voice guide that serves as a model for staff on how to communicate effectively, empathetically, and politely in both one-on-one and public messaging.

Companies can take the lead in building a tone of voice framework that is both loyal to their company values and promotes a transparent culture by doing so.

Hybrid working is here to stay.

4. Different messages necessitate different formats.

Everything has its time and place. Organisations must leverage numerous communication techniques and platforms to enable their employees to fulfil their goals in a hybrid or remote-first environment; nevertheless, the greater goal should always be centred on encouraging compassionate and clear communication.

This applies to both social and professional situations. Sensitive interactions should not be done over Slack, just as an employee coaching session may be best delivered via video call.

In addition to establishing a tone best-practice guide to encourage clear, courteous communication, companies can take advantage of this opportunity to develop a framework for communication tools and technologies and how they should be used.

Multiple communication formats, such as video calls, messaging applications, and collaboration tools, are essential for allowing employees to express themselves while also ensuring that everyone is on the same page when it comes to interacting with one another.

 

5. Communicate with a focus on equity.

Employee engagement is influenced by a sense of belonging, according to decades of organisational research. However, when it comes to building inclusive employee experiences, hybrid and remote-first cultures might present some issues.

Technical concerns such as background noise, poor audio, and connection delays can make it difficult to interact successfully. Employees who work remotely, on the other hand, may feel more isolated, especially if the majority of the team is gathering in one conference room.

On a computer screen, facial emotions are more difficult to read, and it's not always easy to discern who's speaking if there are numerous individuals in the same room. These difficulties place hybrid and remote workers at a disadvantage, not only in terms of work, but also in terms of social relationships.

Organisations considering a shift to more hybrid working practices must establish communication methods that promote inclusion and employee equity at team and organisation-wide levels. They must examine remote employees' experiences and ensure that they are comparable to, if not identical to, those in the office.

To promote more equitable and inclusive communication, as many of these barriers as feasible must be removed, as well as an awareness of how different people like to communicate. For instance, employees can participate in team meetings on their own devices to eliminate background noise and poor audio, as well as to provide a more level playing field for social interactions.

 

Developing a More Effective Hybrid Working Model

Each of these suggestions exemplifies something essential to the modern working world: empathy. When designing company-wide policy, it's critical to consider the complete range of employee experiences to ensure that your employees feel catered to regardless of where they're located physically.

What has become evident since 2020, though, is the requirement for dependable feedback mechanisms. It's not only about how teams interact with one another; it's also about how employees have a role in how processes and policies are implemented. The most crucial step forward, if nothing else, is to ensure that your employees have a chance to voice up.

 

Source: Workday