ADP Research Institute’s global workforce report for 2023 states that around 64% of employed people work in a hybrid workplace.

This means hybrid working is becoming a rule rather than an exception. But, have organizations adapted to this arrangement? Are they doing enough to facilitate the smooth functioning of their hybrid teams?

A Deloitte survey from 2023 discovers that:

• 37% of hybrid workers feel disconnected from their on-site teammates.
• 30% of workers see communication barriers as the source of ineffective collaboration in a hybrid workplace.
• 25% of hybrid employees feel stressed and burnt out.

All of these problems create collaboration issues leading to reduced productivity and project completion delays, ultimately negatively affecting your company’s revenue.

This article outlines the top 9 methods you can implement today to improve communication and productivity within your hybrid organization. 

1. Check in With Your Employees

Building good communication within an organization starts with establishing an open relationship with every employee. This is why it is important to have regular check-ins or feedback sessions with each member of the team.

Structure your sessions and discuss everything from company and team to individual goals. Provide positive impressions as well as constructive criticism, always striving to maintain a supportive atmosphere.

To provide a fair evaluation of every employee’s performance, rely on PC monitoring software. More advanced tools of this kind automatically generate detailed productivity and performance reports. They also give you insight into workload distribution and recognize early signs of burnout so you can provide adequate and timely support.

2. Establish Clear Communication Policies

Define expectations for each aspect of team communication and document them in an employee handbook. Make it clear that every team member is expected to follow these rules.

Another important step in enforcing the procedures is sanctioning employees who repeatedly disobey them.

Your handbook should include as many details, including:

• The purpose of each communication channel (project updates, emergencies, fun content, etc.).
• The expected response times.
• Whether your employees are required to have cameras on in all meetings (or only, for example, in meetings with clients).
• Should all meetings have a video meeting link generated so remote teammates can also join.
• Should video meetings be recorded for those colleagues who aren’t present.
• Whether employees should indicate their work location every day.

3. Take Meeting Minutes

With video conferencing, it’s easy for a portion of information to be missed, misheard, and misunderstood. Just think of how many times a colleague lost internet connection in the middle of the meeting, how many times voices overlapped, etc.

To solve this problem, some companies introduced a practice of taking meeting notes. Participants take turns and after creating a document, send it via a messaging channel or email to others.

This way, everyone has a clear picture of the goals that were set and the info that was shared without any additional messaging.

4. Work on Improving Asynchronous Communication

Remote and hybrid work often means that people are present at different times throughout the day. Sometimes, recording a meeting or sharing notes can help employees catch up.

Still, it is also important to give everyone an equal chance to express their ideas. This is why you should consider taking asynchronous communication to another level.

For example, open a discussion via email or a messaging channel so everyone can give their contribution once they log in. Another convenient practice is providing feedback via a project management app so others can reply during their shift.

5. Rely on Communication & Collaboration Software

Remote and hybrid work is impossible without several types of communication tools. Rely on:

• Corporate messaging apps to improve immediate and informal communication.
• Video conferencing platforms for live meetings.
• Project management tools for easy project and task tracking as well as immediate discussion on certain tasks.

6. Be Aware of the Tone in Written Communication

Always keep in mind that written communication can’t convey the tone of your message. This is why some meaning gets lost if you don’t pay attention to how you are formulating your messages.

Pay special attention when providing feedback. Make sure you use affirmative language. This means avoiding unconstructive criticism and saying someone did a task wrong. Instead, restate what they should have done and ask if they understand or need some help.

A good rule of thumb is to always re-read the message before sending it to make sure its tone is right. Ensure you share this piece of advice with your employees too, so as to improve your team communication.

7. Implement Reflective Listening

Reflective listening simply means paying attention to what the other person is saying and trying to understand it as well as possible. It also involves repeating back what you understood to check if you are on the same page.

This communication principle is highly useful in any form of business communication, but hybrid teams may especially benefit from it. So, Tech Ai make sure you share it with your employees and have the HR team help them adopt it.

8. Work on Building Strong Team Connections

There are numerous activities you can organize to improve a sense of community and connection:

• Set aside time for virtual coffee or lunch breaks so employees can catch up.
• Organize online games that can help your team relax and decompress.
• Have gift exchanges such as Secret Santa and schedule video calls for gift unwrapping.
• Announce a company contest for something fun like the best Halloween costume.

These activities will help your teams stay connected and build stronger personal relationships. Consequently, you will boast tightly knit and more resilient teams.

9. Set up Quiet Time

When working in a hybrid environment, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with quick catch-ups and video conferences. This is missing the point of remote working.

To help your employees utilize the advantages of remote work, set up quiet time during the day. Employees should be encouraged to use this time for deep work without distractions like team meetings.

This policy should also reduce the digital fatigue in employees who are immersed in digital communication now more than ever.

Use these communication improvement methods strategically and constantly adjust them based on your team’s feedback. By doing so, you can identify and solve communication issues within your hybrid team and boost its cohesion, productivity, and efficiency.

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