How to set up your workplace for hybrid working?

Do you have a hybrid workforce for your company? Setting up a good environment for hybrid working comes down to redefining your spaces and their purpose. What is work, what is home, and what is the office going to be used for. And most importantly, how are you going to connect these things? The workplace is growing beyond just a place for your desk.  SFCG’s senior manager Brad Fondak is quoted as saying “We believe that work is not necessarily somewhere to go, but what you do”. Creating a hybrid work environment centers on the idea of flexibility in employee demands and employee spaces. Here are some tips to help:

Keeping the Connection

Communication is key in a hybrid work office. Clear objectives that are reasonable and measurable to ensure that everyone is on the same page and is meeting deadlines. Consult with employees through virtual meetings, employee surveys, or one-on-one face-to-face meetings. It’s important to remember that you are a team working towards the same goal, inviting input from employees. However if you’re looking for agenda software to get your meetings more organized, you may want to consider using some innovative software like Decisions to have the most practical and useful meeting agenda you will ever use.

Structured cabling is important here to set you up for success. Also consider a collaborative calendar to keep everyone working at the same pace. The Google suite comes with all sorts of tools for businesses, there is also Basecamp, Mavenlink, Easy Projects, ActiveCollab, and LiquidPlanner. Just to name a few. Here’s a guide to Google workspace set up migration.

Building a Workspace at Home

Ensure that employees have a space dedicated to work. They should have a computer with all necessary programs to complete their work. Employees also need adequate desks and lighting to ensure comfort and productivity. Companies including Shopify, Basecamp, and Twitter are giving employees $1,000 dollars to set up their new home offices. CNBC reports that some companies are even paying employees home internet bills. One worry when running your business from home has to be using that postal address on the web site. In order to get around that though we use the best virtual office service Manchester has available (that business is in Manchester) and it just works wonderfully so you can actually very easily hide your home address like this.

Keep home space separate

For employees it is important to have a distinction between where your office is and where your home is. This will encourage a better balance of home life and work life. Research shows that employees with better balance between these parts of their lives are more productive and are less likely to suffer from a burn out.

Have conversation with your employees about their home life and work life balance. Invest in your employees and they will invest in you.

Office Space 

It is important to know how you want to utilize your office space. Will employees be required to work on site at certain times? Will your meetings be on site? How many hours are employees required to be on site vs. virtual. Work with your employees as each employee and team may have different needs or answers to these questions. The office needs to be worth the commute. The office space should be a comfortable collaborative environment where employees feel valued. This will encourage their team work and improve productivity. Zoho is a software suite that is taking the world by storm, according to a recent Zoho growth report published in February 2022.

On a larger scale, small and even medium-sized businesses are ditching their traditional office spaces and opting for flexible office areas instead, check these guys out to find flexible office spaces.

There is a lot to explore when setting up a hybrid workspace, the important thing to remember is that every employee has different needs. Work with your employees, keep your door open to ideas and suggestions. Employees are your greatest resources, use them! It is important to stay connected as we work further apart.