The rapid shift to hybrid working has disrupted the traditional workplace. While these changes have delivered flexibility and convenience for many employees, they have also presented new challenges for organizations.
As we move forward, it is essential to identify effective hybrid workplace solutions to address these challenges and foster a resilient and thriving work environment.
The challenges of hybrid work
One of the primary challenges of hybrid work is ensuring effective communication and collaboration across distributed teams. With employees dispersed across different locations and time zones, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of connection as in a traditional office setting. This can lead to misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and a decline in overall productivity.
Another challenge is maintaining a strong company culture in a hybrid environment. Fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose is essential for employee engagement and morale. However, when employees are not physically present in the office, it can be more difficult to cultivate these elements.
Hybrid workplace solutions
To overcome these challenges and reap the benefits of hybrid work, organizations need to adopt a strategic approach. Here are some key solutions to consider:
Building Resilience in the Hybrid Workplace
By implementing these solutions, organizations can create a resilient hybrid workplace that supports employee well-being, productivity, and innovation. Here are some additional strategies to foster resilience:
Embrace a learning mindset: Encourage continuous learning and development to adapt to the evolving nature of work in a hybrid environment.
Emphasize employee well-being: Provide resources and support programs to promote mental health, physical fitness, and work-life balance.
Measure and evaluate: Regularly assess the effectiveness of hybrid work practices and make adjustments as needed to optimize performance and employee satisfaction.
How to use technology to create the perfect hybrid workplace
A workplace management software solution such as Rendezvous Workspace helps create a thriving hybrid working environment in a number of ways:
Meeting room management
More than ever, meeting rooms have become a central hub for staff to meet face to face and exchange ideas. A workplace management system helps create the perfect meeting experience.
Relying on manual or ad hoc computerized solutions based around Outlook and/or Excel can lead to frustrating situations such as the double bookings of rooms. Having a workspace management software solution in place ensures that this kind of annoyance never happens.
Having a booking process determined by a workplace management system means never having to waste time looking for a meeting room on site. Thanks to its intuitive user interface staff can make even the most complex bookings in less than five minutes. All the information they need to make an informed decision is at their fingertips.
The workplace management software seamlessly integrates with other key hybrid workplace technology solutions such as occupancy sensors, digital signage and desk panels. Leaders can see how the meeting rooms are being utilized, staff and visitors get a wonderful digital experience and staff get a simple and intuitive desk check in/out experience.
The technology takes care of the little extras required for a successful meeting. Thanks to its intuitive user interface, the Rendezvous Workspace enables staff to quickly book refreshments and AV equipment in one swift process.
Hybrid working has made video conferencing mainstream. It seems that everyone is jumping on video call these days. Thanks to seamless integration between the Rendezvous Workspace management software and hybrid workplace technology such as Teams, Webex and Zoom, hybrid meetings can be scheduled with ease. The solution manages multi-location and multi-time zone meetings with ease.
Hot desk management
A key feature of the new hybrid working environment is that of hot desking. It is flexible and in a hybrid working environment where office occupancy is much lower it makes perfect sense not to have allocated desks.
A workplace management system enables organizations to manage their hot desks by enabling staff to easily book their desks using mobile apps.
Integration between the workplace management system and desk panels gives staff an easy-to-understand check in/out process as they can see at a glance whether a desk is occupied, out for cleaning or free – thanks to traffic light style color-coding. The staff member then simply swipes an RFID card or scans a QR code or uses the in-app feature to check in or out.
Mobile first approach
Hybrid workers are not tethered to a desk. Rendezvous Workspace deploys a mobile-first approach so today’s agile workers can easily book desks, meeting rooms, services and video conferences with a few taps on the dedicated mobile apps wherever they happen to be.
Our floorplan booking interface makes it even easier to find and book an available desk. Users can see at a glance which desks are available and book one in seconds.
Outlook integration
Rendezvous Workspace integrates seamlessly with Outlook Exchange/365. Any meeting room or desk booking made in the workspace management software is automatically updated in Outlook. All meeting attendees are notified automatically of the meeting and any subsequent changes.
What is more, bookings can also be made directly from Outlook – ideal for staff who want to maintain their Outlook-based workflow.
Find a colleague
Hybrid working can sometimes be challenging when it comes to knowing people’s schedules. Rendezvous Workspace has a unique find a colleague feature which enables staff to locate their colleagues on the floor plan. They can then choose whether to book a desk near them or whether they need to book a video conference (if they are not in the office). This feature removes uncertainty about locating colleagues.
Space utilization
Another challenge that is inherent in the hybrid working world is space utilization. Occupancy levels are by the very nature of hybrid working going to be lower than they were three years ago.
Workplace leaders need to ensure that expensive real estate is not under-utilized while at the same time ensuring that their existing space meets the needs of business.
Workplace management software ensures that supply always meets demand. Having a booking process for rooms and desks guarantees this.
On the other hand, the workplace management software solution needs to be flexible. Ghost meetings and desk no shows can be expensive and frustrating – especially at times of peak demand.
Rendezvous Workspace mitigates against this with its business rules engine. If a room or desk is not claimed within, say, 15 minutes of the booking time then it will be released to be booked by someone who needs it.
Analytics
Hybrid workplace solutions, like Rendezvous Workspace, hold a great deal of data on utilization and occupancy which is ideal for workplace leaders who are looking to make continuous improvement to their workplace.
Easy to use dashboards enable workplace leaders to interrogate a wealth of booking data to see how their office space is being used. For extra accuracy we recommend integrating the workplace management system with occupancy sensors. Triangulating the two data sets will give the most accurate snapshot of how the spaces are being interacted with.
Conclusion
The hybrid workplace presents both challenges and opportunities. By adopting effective solutions and fostering a culture of resilience, organizations can navigate this new landscape and build a thriving workplace that empowers employees and drives success.
A solution such as Rendezvous Workspace helps create a well-organized working environment and helps to foster the collaborative workspace which today’s organizations require to retain talent and to create the all-important employee experience.
