7 tips for managing a hybrid workforce

This article is part of a larger remote work series that focuses on best practices for implementing and managing a hybrid workforce.

Enabling employees to work from home offers many benefits for organisations: increased productivity, reduced operational costs, and higher staff retention, to name a few. However, managing a hybrid workforce also presents challenges, including access to information, accountability, social isolation, and at-home distractions.

Whilst it may seem instinctive at times to only focus on solutions that undoubtedly boost productivity, workplace wellbeing can also have a significant impact on your team's effectiveness. Finding solutions that support both productivity and well-being is more effective than focusing on one alone.

The role of wellbeing in employee productivity

Employee health and wellbeing is shown to have an impact on productivity in three key areas: absenteeism, presenteeism and employee engagement. Absenteeism is estimated to cost the Australian economy $44 billion annually, or $3,608 per worker, while presenteeism (when an employee comes to work sick) costs $35 billion annually in lost productivity.

Almost 60 per cent of workers experiencing an impact on their health and well-being reported being less productive at work. Engagement levels for these employees are also affected. In fact, those who attend work when sick are less engaged overall than those who take leave when sick, despite working less.

Mental health has also been particularly linked to productivity. A person's mental wellbeing can even have an impact on those around them, potentially affecting the whole team's productivity if someone is experiencing poor mental health.

Clearly, employee health and well-being impact productivity. So how do you prioritise both wellbeing and productivity when managing a hybrid workforce?

1. Establish expectations

Establishing expectations for remote teams is crucial for ensuring work gets done on time and reducing work-related stress. Creating a work-from-home policy that outlines these expectations, such as flexible work times, communication methods, collaboration tools, reporting structures and work processes, will help ensure that everyone is on the same page.

However, whilst a work-from-home policy is a good place to start, you should also consider the personal circumstances of your employees. Working parents may need more flexibility than others, whilst employees living by themselves may benefit from more face-to-face contact to combat loneliness. Modern Kyocera Digital Workplace Solutions enable you to maintain clear communication channels and policy documentation accessible to all team members, regardless of location.

2. Schedule daily check-ins

Daily check-ins with your remote team have the dual benefit of establishing daily work goals and reducing social isolation. Best done in the morning, these check-ins can help you ask how team members are doing with remote work, maintain a sense of community, and refocus on key priorities.

Video conferencing platforms integrated with Kyocera Cloud Packages make these daily touchpoints seamless, allowing managers to connect with distributed teams whilst maintaining the human element that's crucial for team cohesion.

3. Implement collaboration tools

Your remote team's collaborative productivity is only as good as the tools you give them. Creating shared workspaces through Enterprise Content Management and Document Management Systems will enable your team to work more efficiently by centralising data and documents, streamlining workflows, automating tasks, and improving data accuracy.

Other collaboration tools for remote teams include to-do list apps, scanning apps, e-signature tools, and instant messaging and video conferencing platforms. Different tools will benefit different teams, so it's worth doing your research, consulting experts on what will suit your organisation best, and asking your team for feedback on what works for them.

Kyocera Digital Workplace Solutions provides integrated platforms that combine document management, secure cloud storage and mobile capabilities, ensuring your hybrid workforce can collaborate effectively across any location. These solutions enable real-time document sharing, version control and secure access to critical business information, supporting productivity whilst maintaining security standards.

4. Trust your team

If you can't trust your team, then remote working is no longer effective. Not only will you be spending excessive energy micromanaging and worrying about whether work is being done, but your employees will also feel the added stress of being checked on constantly, which will affect their productivity, which will make you worry more... The cycle is vicious and unhelpful for all parties.

Some of your concerns can be addressed by setting expectations for communication: instant messages require a quick response; emails should be responded to within 4 hours; and let the team know when you're on 'do not disturb' for a few hours. But you also just need to trust your people. If they completed the work in the office, trust that they can complete it at home.

With process automation services, you can establish clear workflow tracking and performance metrics that provide visibility without micromanagement, allowing managers to maintain oversight whilst empowering employees with autonomy.

5. Provide opportunities for social interaction

Providing your employees with opportunities to talk with one another about non-work topics is crucial for countering feelings of loneliness and fostering a cohesive team. This is particularly important for maintaining team culture in hybrid work environments.

Allowing time at the beginning of daily check-ins to catch up with one another, particularly after the weekend, can help workers feel more connected. Other virtual events, such as birthday celebrations, coffee chats, team lunches, and after-work drinks, can also go a long way toward reducing feelings of isolation and increasing belonging.

6. Encourage employees to focus on physical and mental health

Physical and mental health is important for all employees, especially those balancing the demands of hybrid work arrangements. Encourage your employees to exercise regularly, eat well, get enough sleep, take regular breaks, maintain a routine, stay connected online, and maintain healthy boundaries between work and home life. If your employees know that their wellbeing is a priority and see you demonstrating this balance in your own life, then they're more likely to follow your example.

7. Offer encouragement and support

Working from home can be challenging for some, particularly for those new to hybrid work arrangements or who prefer the structure of an office environment. Checking in with your employees to see how they're coping with remote work and offering a listening ear can help manage anxiety.

Employees will often look to managers to determine how to react to changes in the work environment. Acknowledging workers' challenges and concerns, whilst also indicating your confidence and trust in their work and the team, will make managing your hybrid workforce significantly easier.

Building a resilient and productive hybrid work environment requires the right hardware, software and processes. Kyocera Digital Workplace Solutions offers comprehensive support for organisations managing hybrid teams, from secure document management and cloud collaboration platforms to advanced automation tools that streamline workflows across distributed workforces. These integrated solutions ensure your team can work effectively whether they're in the office, at home or in a third location, maintaining productivity and connection throughout.

Download our Guide to Hybrid Workplace Strategy for a step-by-step strategy for implementing an effective hybrid work model that equips your employees to work anywhere, any time.

KYOCERA Document Solutions provides document management solutions with long-life print technology that delivers greater productivity, reliability and uptime.