Hybrid remote-onsite work environments are not a new concept, but COVID-19 has made them common. Successfully support your remote and onsite staff with our guide to managing hybrid workforces.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses were already beginning to adopt hybrid onsite-remote workforces. The pandemic has only sped up this process, forcing even more businesses to quickly adapt their working models. Luckily, technology has advanced to a point where many (but not all) business roles can function completely virtually.
As businesses navigate this new terrain, what can they do to best support their hybrid teams while providing the right resources for each work environment?
The Evolution of Hybrid Work Environments
Hybrid work environments are not a new concept, but organizations have begun to embrace them more as technology advances and remote work is de-stigmatized.
In a survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29% of wage and salaried workers in 2017-2018 had the option to work occasionally from home, but only 15% actually utilized it. In fact, only 2% of the 10,000 survey respondents identified as working remotely full-time.
These numbers were reflective of the pre-COVID stigma surrounding remote and hybrid environments. Many enterprises didn’t have tools to support remote workers and were skeptical about the productivity of non-office employees.
As COVID-19 began to pose health and security concerns for nonessential staff, businesses had to re-evaluate their remote working policies. By May of 2020, 60% of economic activity in the U.S. was driven by remote workers.
The quick response from businesses to accommodate remote employees was critical in our national response to COVID-19. It was not only economically essential, it was also pivotal in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and promoting safe work practices.
Not all jobs can be carried out remotely, however. In a poll conducted by SIEPR, only 51% of respondents reported they could work from home with 80% or higher job efficiency. Jobs in healthcare, transportation, and business services were disproportionately affected by work from home limitations. This left many organizations in the difficult position of determining what portion of their workforce had to operate in-person and which roles could be done effectively digitally. Moreover, businesses had to adapt processes to support their growing remote workforces.
In cases where businesses could not transition to fully remote work, they began embracing hybrid work environments, forcing them to adopt a dynamic approach to support their staffs’ evolving needs.
How to Manage a Hybrid Environment
Even as businesses look ahead to the post-COVID-19 world, signs overwhelmingly suggest that remote and hybrid work environments are here to stay. With this in mind, the following actionable steps will help businesses support the unique needs of a hybrid work environment.
Establish Collaboration Policies for Hybrid Teams
One of the key foundations of successful work practices is clear communication and collaboration. With distributed teams, in-person communication is replaced with digital substitutes, which can often lead to more team conflict and a lack of employee social identity.
As businesses began adopting hybrid workforces, many feared it would impact overall productivity or create harmful silos for their teams. In reality, 73% of executives considered the shift to remote work successful.
Businesses found that employees were still communicating effectively, but they sometimes lacked the tools to collaborate effectively. It’s important to ensure virtual and hybrid teams remain socially connected during COVID, but businesses should take this a step further by encouraging cross-team and cross-department digital collaboration.
Start by establishing a set of collaboration policies and providing supporting resources that allow them to work asynchronously. Not all policies have to be as in-depth as GitLab’s, but they should be documented and routinely communicated, and encouraged by leadership. Next, businesses should invest in proven resources such as virtual meeting tools and project management solutions that encourage distributed collaboration.
Invest in Technology That Supports a Hybrid Workforce
Employees working from home need digital tools and software that allow them to maintain work continuity in their remote environment. Paper processes should be upgraded to digital solutions that can support all employees, regardless of their work location.
Many employers feared that remote staff would have less productivity when they were out of the office environment. In fact, a survey by PwC found that 44% of employees have seen higher productivity since transitioning their workforces to remote working.
When asked what tools were most important for remote productivity, employers cited technology and equipment. Investing in technology that supports both onsite and remote staff is critical for a hybrid organization to maintain productivity and set their teams up for success.
Add an All-In-One Virtual Wellness Program
As workplace dynamics shift, employees undergo a lot of change and uncertainty. They have to adjust to new procedures and tools, which can require tough behavior changes. It can be even harder for organizations to understand and prioritize the health and wellbeing of their teams when employees are distributed.
Businesses should utilize a customized all-in-one virtual wellness program to holistically support new behavior changes and prioritize employee health in hybrid environments. CoreHealth’s sophisticated APIs and integrated marketplace, for example, allow employers to completely customize their wellness program and optimize employee engagement.
Virtual wellness programs connect your hybrid teams through health assessments, self-help programs, biometric management, incentives, social collaboration, and more. Employees can choose their own benefits and create personalized programs based on their preferences and their unique working conditions.
Create a Helpful, Not Harmful, Hybrid Environment
COVID-19 has radically affected workplace dynamics and helped de-stigmatize remote and hybrid work environments. Many believe that these changes will carry forward beyond the pandemic, making it a priority for businesses to adopt long-term practices to support these hybrid remote-onsite work environments.
Managing a distributed workforce can be challenging, but with clear communication, the right technology, and digital health and wellness programs, businesses will be prepared to adapt to evolving circumstances while supporting the effective collaboration and health of their hybrid teams.
If you’re looking to support the well-being of your hybrid or distributed teams, contact us to learn more about our all-in-one virtual wellness programs.
About CoreHealth Technologies
CoreHealth Technologies Inc. is a total well-being technology company trusted by global providers to power their health and wellness programs. Our wellness portals help maximize health, engagement and productivity for 3+ million employees worldwide. We believe people are the driving force of organizations and supporting them to make behavior changes to improve employee health is in everyone’s best interest. With the most flexibility, customizations and integrations of any software in its class, CoreHealth’s all-in-one wellness platform helps grow great wellness companies. Simple to sophisticated, based on you. For more information, visit the CoreHealth website or YouTube Channel.
