With metrics for COVID-19 improving, many companies are starting to consider returning to work in person. But most employees and employers agree it won’t look like it did before.
Indeed, research shows a large chunk of companies today are sizing their physical offices down, as more people work from home all the time or part of the week. And hybrid offices, arrangements where team members are in two or three days a week and work remotely the rest of the time, seem to be the wave of the future.
However, experts say that business owners and managers should not approach hybrid offices the same way they do completely remote set-ups.
“While there are very specific benefits to hybrid offices, they come with their own set of challenges,” says Michele Havner, director of marketing at Eturi, the maker of Motiv, a recently-introduced app that small- and mid-sized business owners are using to improve productivity.
Motiv is a mobile dashboard that delivers important productivity metrics to CEOs, managers and leaders. The tool’s reporting focuses on providing conference call activity and email summaries and integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, with many additional integrations and features slated for future release. Havner says that such tools function as a virtual corner office vantage point, helping to smooth out communication, collaboration and workflow issues created by hybrid arrangements and decentralized workspaces.
Equally important to communication is simply being mindful that hybrid offices can cause challenging dynamics among team members. Taking steps to address those issues preemptively can save headaches down the line. This includes making everyone accountable for meeting goals and deadlines. It might also mean offering the same perks to in-office and work-from-home staffers, while giving those who come into a centralized workspace the same level of flexibility remote work affords.
Easily adopted by small- and medium-sized businesses, which have been underserved by existing productivity solutions, Motiv is available through the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. To learn more, visit motivapp.com.
While hybrid offices can ultimately reduce costs and help keep employees healthy and safe, business owners will need to stay flexible and keep their workforce focused. Leveraging tools that facilitate hybrid work situations will be a key to success for companies as they move forward.
