As the business world continues to adjust to post-pandemic life, companies must change and transform the way they do things to keep up with the pace of things.
In order to stay relevant, many organisations are embracing the hybrid work model. Combining remote with in-office work environments to provide employees with more flexibility, companies are successfully able to ensure business continuity. For this transition to be a success, organisations need the right IT management tools.
What is a hybrid workplace?
The hybrid work model has evolved rapidly thanks to the effects of a global pandemic on the world. Businesses that were able to quickly enable their employees to continue working remotely from home during government restrictions and lockdowns discovered in many situations the productivity and efficiency of their workforce remained stable or even increased.
As organisations have made the shift to ‘normal’ there has been a great deal of interest in keeping some aspects of remote work available for employees, where possible. A hybrid model work arrangement is one in which the employee can work either remotely or at a centrally located office space. When working remotely, employees are still able to collaborate on projects and interact with their colleagues when needed.
Here are tools that management can utilise to facilitate the future of work, the flexible work arrangement that we know as the hybrid work model:
Microsoft 365 suite
The subscription-based suite Microsoft 365 is the perfect solution for managers who are looking to manage their hybrid teams. Microsoft’s latest offering integrates both remote and on-site work environments, with everything in just one easy package.
Microsoft 365 is a suite of productivity apps and tools that enables teams to stay connected to each other and to their managers. Emails, calendars, files, Team chat and apps such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint all enhance team collaboration in a hybrid work environment.
Microsoft 365 has built-in security features that ensure data privacy and protection of sensitive information is maintained at all times, protecting your business data and devices. It also provides modern security tools like threat protection, identity protection and secure data encryption, across different platforms.
With these robust tools and apps, managers can get a clear and concise overview of what workflows and projects need attention across the day, week, or month.
Software scheduling
Scheduling software such as Microsoft Teams is essential for a hybrid work environment.
It also allows managers to track employees’ availability, while providing remote workers with the tools they need to communicate more effectively. By connecting team members through scheduling software, you can reduce the need for email, improve collaboration, and streamline team scheduling. Teams also provides the ability to export data to other software, such as workflow management tools, to provide a complete view of your organisation’s scheduling needs.
Easy communication
Keeping in touch with teams and creating the opportunity for employees to stay connected with each other is vital when managing a hybrid workforce. Tools and apps that allow for easy communication such as Microsoft Teams or Slack should include screen sharing, video and text, so they can facilitate meetings, whether those include multiple attendees or are one on one. Teams allows ease of use to communicate, collaborate, and share content in real-time, and lets managers create groups to cater to the needs of specific teams or projects. This improves workflow and collaboration between group members, improvising productivity.
Workflow management tools
Every team-based initiative in an organisation relies on communication about the process of a task or project and who is responsible for what component of that process. Therefore, an efficient collaborative workflow management tool such as Microsoft Planner is essential for managers to keep tabs on their hybrid workforce activities, as it will automate procedures and increase efficiency. A workflow management tool functions similarly to a digital planner that helps employees spend less time coordinating work and more time focusing on their core tasks.
Finding the right management tools for your business’ hybrid working environment can be a challenge, with so many options available. Talk to the IT experts at INTELLIWORX who can guide you to find the best solutions to securely and effectively manage your hybrid workforce.
