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Hybrid workforce: Is your business failing its employees?
02 December 2024 Workplace Culture
Story by
Anna Dahlfors Global Head of HR, Vizrt
Anna Dahlfors, Global Head of HR from digital production company Vizrt believes hybrid workforces are not working as well as they can. But what is the answer and how can HR make hybrid happen?
Much of the key to business success lies with employees. Growth and profitability depend upon the talents and efforts of its colleague base, yet many employers are still finding it difficult to attract, support, motivate, and retain the people they need.
In the world of hybrid work, one of these challenges lies in engaging with the workforce. Despite the pandemic pushing hybrid work to become the norm almost five years ago, many businesses still haven’t nailed the skill of effective, engaging communications with a blended workforce. It’s a problem further amplified by workforces that are based across the globe too, spanning multiple time zones and company offices.
Digital technologies have accelerated changes in the traditional workplace, enabling flexible and hybrid working arrangements blended with a highly skilled workforce that draws the best talent from international markets. Despite these advancements, many colleagues still feel disconnected from their employer and colleagues. This is a major problem because that all-important sense of connection and meaningful engagement is crucial in driving employee motivation, collaboration and productivity.
It’s why in the era of hybrid working, creating and maintaining effective internal communications and meaningful employee engagement has become one of the most important challenges faced by businesses around the world.
The all-important ‘facetime’
Many businesses have fallen into the swing of hybrid work and have overlooked the important value of face-to-face interaction with – and between – employees. However, with distributed workforces and differing schedules, many employees are now far less likely to have that face time. This results in employees falling into the shadows, or worse – disconnecting from their employer and the wider organisation entirely. It’s why trends like ‘quiet quitting’ are considerably on the rise.
Recent research has shown that nearly seven out of ten employees feel the quality of communications they receive from their company affects how engaged they are as an employee. This is very telling for hybrid companies that have an over-reliance on emails and instant messaging tools like Microsoft Teams. Occasional office time and a 24/7 ‘always on’ approach through written instant messages isn’t usually an effective way to run a hybrid workforce that is effective and highly engaged.
That said, the practicalities of physically bringing everyone together at a global organisation is easier said than done. Logistically it is impractical, but it can be costly and not all that environmentally sustainable. But that isn’t to say that there isn’t a way to replicate that same valuable ‘facetime’ in other ways. Businesses tend to overlook how important video calls and other video-based communications are when it comes to connecting employees. We know this ourselves too – how disengaging is it when joining a company call only to find other participants have turned their cameras off?
Research also shows that 49% of employees agree that good quality video communication from their company has a positive impact on their motivation. Similarly, two-thirds feel that receiving business updates through video-based methods like Town Halls, webinars and more helps them to feel more aligned with their company’s vision and latest updates. It’s clear that face-to-face communications via video, in whichever shape or form, can play an important role in place of in-person contact, but businesses still aren’t doing enough to ensure it is effective.
Quality, not quantity
Ensuring that hybrid and remote workforces feel better connected and engaged isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, but something that is essential for keeping staff on board. Shockingly, four in ten employees say that poor efforts to connect with staff via video would make them consider leaving their job.
With the range of technology now on offer to businesses, it’s easy for them to find a way to better engage with their workforces, and employees are well aware of that too. In fact, their expectations – considering the tech innovations now available – are higher than ever, meaning they have little empathy for a business that is not successfully offering them the connection they need. On average, 48% of employees feel that an element of entertainment is important if a business is using video to facilitate effective hybrid working.
In an age of high production value news and sports content, an unusual shift is happening within the workforce. When interacting with video in the workplace, employees are beginning to categorise these corporate broadcasts into the same bucket as news and sports broadcasts and expect to be entertained. The same goes for the quality of video employees see on social media too, with high production value reels and TikToks making poor corporate videos look even more lacklustre in comparison. In fact, 48% of those surveyed feel that an element of entertainment is important, and 34% of employees say that elements like virtual reality would help them feel both entertained and engaged with their employer’s communications.
What’s clear is that there is a mismatch between what colleagues expect versus what companies are delivering. And, if these businesses continue delivering the bare minimum, they’ll soon see their talented workforce vote with their feet.
A cultural shift
As the transition to hybrid work once required a change in attitudes and expectations, the same shift needs to happen in terms of how businesses approach valuable facetime with employees. It’s obvious that hybrid work is here to stay, so the likelihood of getting everyone together in the office, face to face, five days a week is unlikely to ever happen again.
However, now is the time for businesses to take stock of how they can better replicate ‘in-person’ type experiences like all company get togethers and Town Halls, investing in new tools and methods to not only connect with employees in more meaningful ways, but to also provide them with the employee experiences they expect and deserve.