How are we going to make this hybrid work thing work? For starters, you need to establish what type of hybrid work model your organization is using. Did you know there were different types? Let’s explore!
Remote First 🏡➡🏢
The remote-first option means remote work is the main priority. The company will still keep their physical office space, but only for the employees who want to come in or must be there.
Operating as remote-first means the company acts as a fully remote workplace with its employees spread out across the globe.
Office Occasional 🏢🤷♂️
Just like it sounds, this means employees visit the office occasionally. The idea here is that employees come into the office a few times a week, splitting their time between the office and home. These offices are set up non-traditionally, in the sense that offices are not claimed by individuals. The layout of the office is very casual, with hot-desking enabled at each desk. Many employees can make their own schedules and work where they please.
The office occasional model is how our Canadian office operates. The office houses the majority of our Sales and Marketing team plus the entire Business Success team. Each department has its own set of loose schedules. For example, Business Success works in the office Monday through Thursday and on Fridays from home. Marketing spends most of the time working remotely, and the Sales team is in the office more frequently.
Office-First, Remote Allowed 🏢➡🏡
Last but not least is the ‘office-first, remote allowed’ working model. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, this option was the traditional office model. Employees mainly work in the office but are allowed to do so remotely (as needed). But if we learned anything from our stint of working from home, employees now know where and when they are most productive.
Soon we may see this model turn into office-occasional. Many employees enjoyed working from home and are not looking forward to going back to the office, especially not full-time.
Nonetheless, whichever hybrid-blended option you chose, ensure your company has a plan and procedures set in place. Creating policies that help and encourage hybrid working will ensure a smooth transition for employees.
As mentioned above, we had a hybrid work model in place even before the pandemic hit. Many, if not all, of our Account Managers work remotely across the globe! As the restrictions are lifting, our Canadian office is providing all of these options to our employees. We are encouraging a more flexible work-life balance. Do you want to learn some of our recommendations? Keep reading!
Collaboration Tools
We wouldn’t be a unified communications blog if we didn’t mention collaboration software, right? Make sure that your employees have the right tools in their toolbox to get their jobs done effectively and efficiently. But to ensure hybrid working is smooth, you’ll need to incorporate more than just UC apps like gloCOM.
You’re going to need software applications like Jira and Google Drive. Employees can track the progress of projects, create tasks, work in sprints and more. With GDrive, you can share files, collaborate on documents, and utilize all the other tools Google offers.
Document Management
When your employees are across the country (or, in our case, the globe), they do not have the luxury of accessing the same physical document. Therefore, it must be available virtually. As mentioned in the collaboration tools section, Google Drive is an excellent tool for document management. Employees can collaborate, store, and create documents simultaneously. Aside from docs, Google Drive also includes sheets, slides, synchronization with calendar and more.
Work Hard Play Hard
If you follow us on social media, you probably know we are a fun crew of team members! We attend many trade shows, and before COVID-19, we would often jump in the car or on a plane to help a new partner get up and running with training and installation.
We promote a work-life balance by allowing our employees to have an autonomous work lifestyle. As long as the job gets done (which it always does), we don’t mind where our employees do it! Recently we began operating within an agile framework where team members have each other’s backs. Projects are completed in sprints and encourage flexibility.
Are you interested in learning more about the way we work? Explore our current opportunities here.
