Essential Tech Tools For Workplace Hybridity

Over the last year, the business landscape has massively changed. Much of the world has shifted to the hybrid work model — a combination of remote and office-based work. Against a backdrop of social unrest, uncertainty and a raging pandemic, many companies have had no choice but to shift to a hybrid work model to protect employees.

A new concept in the workspace dynamic, hybridity, brings challenges. Though telework has existed since at least the 1990s, most companies to date have preferred to have their employees work in an office. The notion that teams of employees working together in a shared office space ensures collaboration and facilitates innovation is stubborn. One thing is for sure: Not all companies are equally good at remote work.

But what about employees? The social isolation of working from home brings risks, which require coping skills to mitigate. Humans are hard-wired for connection. Moreover, research shows that we perform best in collaboration. Productivity-optimizing tools are essential to success in a remote work setting. In this article, we will explore the tech tools that are needed for successful workplace hybridity.

Communication: Not Business As Usual

One challenge of working remotely is effective communication. Information should not get buried in messages. They must reach the person they are intended for. Gone are the days when we could enjoy a quick chat by the water cooler or have a heart-to-heart over our lunch break. With work shifting mostly to the confines of our homes, there are fewer opportunities for physical interaction.

Companies should make a conscious effort to implement a system for effective business communication. There are many business communication applications on the market, but one notable mention is Slack for organizing communication and ensuring collaboration. The chats will unfold for you as if they were happening in real time.

Staying well-informed in a hybrid setup can be difficult. There is always a fear of information mismatch or loss. Hybridity demands tools that bring clarity to business processes. Look for a solution that is not only usable but can easily be integrated with third-party services for more complex use cases.

Conferencing: Video Killed The Radio Star

The pandemic has taken more of our ability to behave as a human than ever. Restrictions on physical interactions have put us at odds with our instincts as humans. Who are we without our interactions? Enabling visual human interaction is important in the hybrid work model.

Videoconferencing applications such as ClickMeeting can help cover this spectrum elegantly. From hosting podcasts, scheduling meetings and recording calls to facilitating virtual events, applications like this can boost morale and productivity by "keeping up appearances" in the best possible way. That can take the form of a daily standup or a virtual team-building event.

Collaboration and critical thinking are the backbones of good business, but trust within teams is even more fundamental. However, hybrid work models have stretched this thin. Keeping teams interacting through videoconferencing applications can be a way to compensate for these shortcomings.

Project Management: Together Alone

The key to a successful business venture, at all times, is hiring employees who are self-reliant to deliver work on time. If your employees are failing to meet deadlines, chances are it is due to an information mismatch. One important business practice that decides the success of your business venture is project management. Particularly when you have a team spread across different parts of the world, setting the right expectations at the right time is of the essence.

Successful hybrid implementation of projects requires combining traditional project management with agile approaches. Tools like Jira can bring these worlds together for hybrid teams. Other options include using tools such as ClickUp to define deliverables, assign tasks, monitor outcomes and streamline workflows. Using these applications can make your job much easier. You can save time without micromanaging and confer a sense of accountability on your team.

Time Management: Flex Your Flexibility

Work-life balance in a post-Covid-19 world is a delicate act. When you have to juggle between work and home life, time management is paramount. What if your child's parent-teacher meeting collides with an important business call? To have the ability to be in control of your time and to know how to allocate to meet your goals is crucial to sustaining the hybrid work model.

Look for tech tools like Asana that can help fill this gap by tracking time, delegating tasks, sharing files and logging KPIs across remote and local office spaces, as these can be lifesavers for productivity and can even serve as a kind of personal accountability buddy.

Wrap-Up

These tech tools can help hybridity hold its own as a work model. Implementing them can keep your team humming like a finely calibrated motor, even in hybridity. In 2021, we are all tasked with making the best of a bad situation that is finally getting better.

*Article originally published on Forbes.com