5 Tips to Implementing  Hybrid Work Technology Effectively

Hybrid work technology has greatly transformed the working landscape of the 2020s. As of last year, more than 71 percent of US employees work in a hybrid environment. The employee engagement for hybrid work siginificantly increased over time.

There are clear benefits to this type of arrangement, from increased employee engagement in hybrid work to reduced overhead costs.

The biggest benefit for employees is simply being able to work from home on certain days. This results in a more improved work-life balance and improves morale in the office. Employers also have the same option for themselves.

That said, transitioning to a successful hybrid model comes with its own challenges. Having the right combination of essential tools and management strategies will be critical in making a smart office for hybrid teams.

What are the Best Ways to Implement Hybrid Workplace Technology?

Creating strategies for implementing hybrid work usually relies on two principles. These are real estate optimization and employee experience. Nowadays, by utilizing hybrid office communication platforms.

In the former, companies analyze factors like growth, their portfolio, and their cost efficiency to create the best office setup. Managers factor in individual preferences, task requirements, and communication styles.

With these principles in mind, here are the ways you can make your hybrid work tools work for you and see your hybrid work culture improve significantly.

1. Talk to your Team

Hybrid work technology is only as good as the strategy behind it. The best way to implement any hybrid workplace solutions is to gather feedback first.

Keeping employees in the loop regarding any changes you want to make is always important. This is especially true when rolling out hybrid work policies. Better yet, be sure to ask for their input.

If you’re not sure which questions to ask, here are a few to get the discussion started:

• If your office space were closer to your home, would you prefer to use that instead of commuting?
• Would you prefer to work onsite to focus on your own or collaborate with your colleagues?
• In a week, how many days would you expect to be onsite?

2. Consider the Key Features Needed in Hybrid Work Technology

For human resource officers and facility managers, driving employee engagement in hybrid work can be done with hybrid tools.

The good news is they have plenty of options when choosing technology for hybrid work. Everything from collaboration tools to messaging platforms and project management can be great for maximizing productivity.

That said, with so many options, how do you choose the right combination of remote and office collaboration tools?

Here are a few factors worth thinking about:

• Compatibility – Your company will be using different tools at the same time, and any workplace tech should be compatible with other pieces of hybrid work technology.
• Ease of use – Outside of a tool’s core features, you should factor in ease of use when choosing your remote collaboration software. Good tools shouldn’t be too complicated or frustrating for users.
• Support – Any good workplace tool should have ongoing customer support. Because technical problems can happen at any time, it’s important to have expert assistance for everything to run smoothly.
• Mobile apps – Workplace chat apps, task management tools, and calendars should all have mobile apps. This ensures that employees can be fully productive anytime, anywhere.

3. Collaboration is Key

Hybrid work culture and operations are best supported by teams communicating and collaborating with the help of hybrid work technology. They can do this seamlessly with the help of technology for hybrid work. 

For example, payroll teams need to work together with HR and IT teams to best meet employee needs.

Surveys and open forums are also ways employees can collaborate with the help of hybrid office communication platforms. Giving them the space to share their insights can pinpoint specific needs and lead to the best solutions.

4. Focus on Connection

One of the biggest hybrid workforce challenges any manager can face is creating a work environment that values communication.

Any hybrid workplace will inevitably see certain teams working from home while others are working onsite. Keeping teams connected with each other ensures engagement and keeps morale high.

The good news is you can use hybrid work technology to achieve this goal. Here’s how:

1. Establish a clear in-office policy – A centralized system gives you much-needed data for optimizing workflow. You can leverage occupancy data to determine the basis for your in-office policies.
2. Creating tailored experiences for employees – Converting certain rooms or spaces to accommodate employee preferences can help them become more productive.
3. Consolidate your workplace solutions – Companies can struggle with too many legacy systems. Consolidating them with cloud-based hybrid solutions can give users a much easier time with navigation.

5. Invest in Creating a Positive Workplace Culture

Having a positive hybrid work culture can give your company the edge it needs to succeed and surpass multiple hybrid workforce challenges.

That said, you need to define your company’s culture intentionally. In-person or virtual team-building activities and implementing the right remote and office collaboration tools can go a long way.  

Three elements make up a great workplace environment and culture:

• Space – Employees can connect and socialize in Physical and virtual spaces. Purposeful spaces for focus or teamwork can greatly improve the overall experience.  
• Technology – A smart office for hybrid teams relies on hybrid work technology. In particular, space management and collaboration tools allow for more efficient and effective teamwork.
• People – There’s no workplace without people. Keeping employees engaged through team-building exercises and regular activities can make them feel more connected, physically or virtually.

Why is Hybrid Work Technology So Important?

In a nutshell, hybrid work is a type of office arrangement that lets employees split up work time. They can work in-office on certain days, while on other days they can choose to work remotely.

While this arrangement seems simple enough, it has resulted in a huge shift towards how people see work. According to a Gallup study in 2024, nine out of ten remote-capable employees prefer it.

However, facility managers often need to invest in the right tools to maintain this type of work arrangement. Here’s why remote collaboration software and other hybrid tools are so critical for long-term success:

1. It Empowers Productivity Anytime, Anywhere

Hybrid work technology lets employees work anytime, anywhere. It empowers teams to coordinate projects, share files, and even hold meetings no matter where they are.

Project leads don’t need to wait until their teams clock into the office the next day. They can simply send the file into a shared cloud-based drive and access it from different areas.

Hybrid work can be especially beneficial for employees who need to visit multiple locations. Thanks to remote collaboration software, they can tend to ongoing projects and pending tasks while out on the field. 

2. Work-Life Balance for Employees and Employers

Remote and office collaboration tools offer a secondary benefit of promoting a work-life balance.  With hybrid work, less time is spent commuting to and from the office.

For teams who live hours away, this means more time spent working and less time spent in traffic. Employees with families, in particular, can appreciate hybrid work because it offers more time to care for their loved ones.

Hybrid work technology can also empower project leads and facility managers alike. They can oversee their respective teams more actively because they aren’t strictly limited to a 9-5 shift.

3. Huge Cost Savings for Companies

Commercial real estate costs can easily take up a huge part of any company’s budget. For many small to medium-sized companies, it can be a huge consideration and a limiting factor.

Companies can especially benefit from implementing hybrid work solutions to reduce costs. They can opt for smaller offices while still retaining their teams.

The benefit of hybrid work also extends to more than real estate costs. For instance, companies can also save more on utilities and office supplies. As a result, they can scale up despite having limited office space. 

How Has Hybrid Work Transformed Workplaces Today?

The future of work technology is hybrid work, and it’s here to stay. Today’s offices are now striving to create a smart office for hybrid teams as more companies shift towards hybrid work.

Here are the ways hybrid work and hybrid work technology have changed the average office today:

1. Companies Have More Space to Utilize

Office attendance remains lower than it was before the pandemic. While attendance can vary by city, employees are now choosing to work from home more often.

This has resulted in the shift from remote work to hybrid work. However, the lowered in-office attendance isn’t always a bad thing.

The shift in work arrangements can instead encourage office planners to be more creative. For example, facility managers can come up with optimizing limited space, like creating small meeting rooms for hybrid work.

2. Employees See Work Differently Now

With the digital workplace transformation, employees see work much differently than before the pandemic.

For instance, they may view flexibility as more important than other considerations, like career progression and enjoyment. They may also prefer settings where they can be more open about physical and mental health.

Workers with hybrid arrangements tend to be more satisfied with digital workplace transformation, and employees now expect some form of flexibility at work. With this flexibility, employees have since considered the office setting a means for social interaction.

What are the Examples of Hybrid Work Technology?

Technology is the backbone that makes this type of work arrangement possible.

This is because, with hybrid work, employees aren’t always in the same room all the time. Investing in technology for hybrid work should be a priority for your office should you want to consider this work arrangement.

The good news is there are plenty of software solutions to help your company coordinate and manage all kinds of projects, goals, and functions. You can typically put hybrid work tools into the following categories:

1. Project Management Tools

Project management tools are a great way to keep everyone on the same page with projects and goals. You can think of hybrid work management software as being like other types of management software.

On top of that, they also give project leads a viable platform for performance tracking.

That said, these tools can come in all shapes and sizes, making it crucial to choose the right one based on your needs. Some project management tools are quite specific with their functions, while others can be more flexible.

2. Collaboration Tools

Perhaps the most important examples of hybrid work technology are collaboration and communication tools. After all, collaboration and communication go hand-in-hand. Messaging and communication tools like Skype, Slack, and Zoom also fall into this category. Another one is for meetings, such as small meeting rooms for hybrid work, which streamlines live and real-time collaboration.

Document sharing and management apps are also in this category, which are essentially cloud-based hybrid solutions. Because information access is crucial, file-sharing solutions like Google Drive should top the list.

These collaboration tools are a great example of flexible work technology. They let users stay on top of tasks anytime, anywhere, especially when they’re on the go.

3. Calendar and Payroll Tools

Calendar and payroll tools give companies more tools to streamline projects and various office functions but in a different way.  

Calendar solutions are a great example of hybrid work tools that you should get for your hybrid office. This flexible work technology gives teams an up-to-date overview of projects and goals.

Meanwhile, payroll tools allow companies to pay their employees more efficiently. Because it directly handles the company’s finances, it needs to be accurate and reflect all payments in real-time.

4. Cybersecurity Tools

One of the most important hybrid workplace solutions you must consider is cybersecurity. Keeping it secure prevents potential losses in revenue or even compromising company assets or financial information.

To keep your data safe, it’s worth investing in tools that help you with the following functions:

• Network security – Network security is all about protecting your internal channels from unauthorized access. These often include firewalls, two-factor authentication (2FA), and antivirus programs.
• Mobile and app security – Security flaws in smartphones and apps can potentially leak critical data, from user location to banking details.
• Internet-of-Things security – Hybrid work technology includes a surprising amount of hardware. Whether it’s room displays or RFID tags, it’s worth investing the resources to keep their connections secure.

The Bottom Line

The future of work technology is now flexible work, and both hybrid and remote work arrangements are here to stay. With reliable technology at your disposal, you can boost your company’s employee engagement for hybrid work.

While they can offer huge benefits to employers and employees, they do require careful planning to be effective. To support this shift, hybrid work technology is here to make offices more streamlined and agile.

Getting started on hybrid work is easier than ever before. For companies looking to take their workplace functions to the next level, there’s no better time to look for the best-fitting hybrid work management software than now. 

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