How do you keep team culture strong in a hybrid world?
The
following is an extract from a post that I published recently on LinkedIn
The pandemic pushed companies and employees to work in a virtual environment, to adapt and to reflect on what the future workplace will look like, as well as its needs.
In the coming years, the percentage of remote work, hybrid work and the virtual culture will continue to grow.
This trend was already in place and growing on an international scale with internet and the growth of the gig economy. The difference is that online gig economy workers are mostly independent used to working remotely and have the necessary tools and skills for this.
In 2022, the double challenge faced by company management and HR is how to respond to the needs of those who prefer to continue with full remote or hybrid and those who prefer to be 100% office or onsite based, while keeping the company culture and the strength of team spirit intact.
Companies have started to reshape their culture to adapt to these different needs.
Companies who were reticent to remote, or
hybrid models are now more open, as it is a means of retaining employees who
This, however, can only truly work if employees feel a sense of belonging, valued, involved, supported, and perceived as an integral part of the team and the overall company objective.
Additionally, employees need access to collaboration tools and lifelong training on digital, language and soft skills.
From a personal standpoint, I have gained and continue to gain a lot from a partial virtual working environment. It opened a new world of learning.
It has made me more independent in terms
of organisation and digital skills, gaining experience and ease with communication
and collaboration tools such as Slack, Trello, Facebook Workplace, Microsoft
Teams and Zoom.
As part of the future of work, these are also tools which can bring the office to home or anywhere you are with a stable connection. They are great for virtual working groups, project management, sharing ideas, being innovative, mentoring or having a well needed virtual coffee break!
Whether working remote, hybrid or 100% onsite, getting up to scratch with digital skills is a way to stay up to date and competitive in the changing workplace landscape.
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