By John Thackeray
Introduction
An organization can become more productive by championing a hybrid model workplace that fosters and promotes a culture of inclusivity and trust. At the heart of a hybrid workforce model, are the ideas of shared ownership and trust, which can help the organization break down long-standing beliefs about productivity and performance.
Trust is one of the most important ingredients in this model and this can be facilitated by delivering creative management strategies and exhibiting clear behavioral standards. This trust requires management strategies to place a greater emphasis on behavioral standards such as accountability, transparency, and communication, creating a culture, whereby employees feel safe and appreciated within an inclusive environment.
Trust and Management Strategie
Maintaining greater leadership communication and visibility: Create new ways to engage informally with your employees. By defining and embracing new behaviors, that are observable to all, and by deliberately making space for virtual employees to engage in informal interactions—leaders can facilitate social cohesion and trust-building in their teams.
Establish team rituals to cement a strong bond of personal relationships enabling team members to have fun in a safe environment, thus improving morale. Ensuring that the transitions between respective team norms for onsite and remote are as smooth as possible, gives employees a cohesive experience, that feels designed, not random but shared.
Fostering an open environment by letting employees’ voices be heard e.g. by means of a virtual “Lunch and Learn” opportunity or a “Fly By” opportunity with an executive, thus enabling the employees, the opportunity, to share in a safe mode.
Re-evaluate your procedures and policies ensuring that the content is consistent, resilient and fit for purpose in the hybrid workplace. e.g. The importance of On Boarding has never been greater in the emphasis of team and trust, setting out and reinforcing cultural values in terms of expectations and requires considerable procedural changes to previous practices.
Measuring performance on outcomes: Instead of focusing on tasks or hours worked, focus on the outcomes and the quality of results. By focusing on results over style, regardless of location, a more productive, engaging, and meaningful work culture can be evidenced and shared. Success is evidenced by means of clear and transparent (“KPI’S’), key performance indicators.
Conclusion
In order to be more productive, the culture must embrace the hybrid model with a mindset of shared ownership and trust, principles, which in turn SHOULD complement, the existing values of the organization.