Maintaining hybrid and remote work culture

As the pandemic is unfolding in waves, maintaining a hybrid and remote work culture has been one of the most significant exercise for employers. Without a physical environment for employees and leaders to collaborate, socialise and connect, many employers have had to rethink their approach.

Here’s some of the ways in which employers can maintain a hybrid and remote work culture.

1. Define the new normal culture – Build Remote Inclusivity

Organisations should feel proud to be modern, innovative and a thought leader in being a hybrid workplace and develop the work culture to bring remote inclusivity. Employers should imbibe the culture and shared values of remote inclusivity among all employees and maintain a view of remote in everything they do.

2. Mental health and well being

As the hybrid and remote work culture is becoming new policy, organisations must prioritise wellbeing and mental health. Working remote brings pros and cons. It is important that organisations understand the cons, contextual to their workplace and take actions to neutralise them to amplify the pros.

With long time away from colleagues, socialising could be very different. Without cafeteria conversations or a chat in the lobby, most communications are now focused solely around work.

Organisations should focus on to replicate the corridor talks or socializing in the remote format. Try to run team-building exercise each week or book a social meeting for small talk and chats about their lives outside of work. Creating spaces where employees can still communicate socially and build relationships is critical to maintain a remote work culture.

3. Technical well being

Being remote should not lead an employee out of learning. Organisations must ensure that the training and learning programs are deployed across the hybrid model, ensure that the learning and upskilling is a continuous and equal opportunity process across.

4. Continuous feedback

A healthy culture develops from open and honest feedback from employees throughout the organisation. Manager will not know what is working and what isn’t, without a regular feedback built into hybrid and remote work culture.

Creating a culture of honesty, open discussion and frequent feedback gives the company an opportunity to grow and thrive. Individuals can learn and develop professionally, whilst teams become stronger and more in tune with each other.

Hence it is critical to build a right feedback mechanism. Regular one-on-ones, structured work allocation, work completion reviews and appreciation for good work is must in the hybrid work place.

5. Reward and recognition

Recognising and rewarding individual and team achievements is an important way to show gratitude and has a critical role to play. When people are operating in hybrid mode, this will need to be handled delicately to ensure any feelings of exclusion aren’t highlighted. Being remote should be part of inclusivity and being remote should be treated as normal.