We conclude our series on hybrid working guidance with a summary of the key takeaways for the knowledge-hungry but time-poor communications professionals.
We hope that everyone reading this has spotted the theme to our recent blog posts. Hybrid working guidance is something that most of our clients are talking to us about. It’s brought up in discussions about events, strategy, campaigns, and culture. It’s no exaggeration to say that we put hybrid working as the key challenge facing internal communications (IC) professionals right now… or should that be opportunity?
We know that one thing that unites all IC professions – that there is never enough time. So if you’ve not yet had an opportunity to go through all the posts in our series (though we recommend you do, of course), here’s a quick rundown of some of the key takeaways…
1. Hybrid working guidance: what we’ve learned
We’ve been hybrid working for a while at 44 and we’ve learned a few things along the way. Collaboration remains key, but don’t forget that wellbeing is an important aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked. From turning your cameras on to maintain those personal connections on virtual calls, to reminding colleagues about taking regular breaks, put wellbeing at the heart of your comms while everyone makes the adjustment.
Want to learn more? You can read more about our experiences at 44 here.
2. Listen first: how to create a hybrid working strategy
Hybrid working might feel like a modern phenomenon, but break it down to basics and it’s a change and transformation programme – the likes of which we’re sure you’ve worked on before. So, when it comes to hybrid working guidance, what’s the takeaway for IC professionals? Don’t neglect the things you know work. First of all, listen to what your employees are telling you.
The most successful organisations take the time to listen to what their employees, managers and customers expect and then shape their response around this insight. Make time for surveys, focus groups and discussions about what people actually want. Then remember to keep it simple, keep it consistent and most important, keep communicating.
Our Managing Partner Tom Abbott ran through how you can cut through the noise when it comes to hybrid working guidance, which you can read here.
3. Take the offline online: Get to grips with Office 365
Tech is one of the key enablers when it comes to making hybrid working a success. By now you and your colleagues are probably au fait with Teams, but there’s a host of useful apps in Office 365 that can make the difference between hybrid working and hybrid barely working.
Here’s digital specialist Jonny Hooke’s take on what’s available to you through Office 365 and how they should factor into your comms plans.
4. Online onboarding: Don’t forget your new starters
Onboarding was a crisis issue before the pandemic. Let’s start with an alarming stat: a Gallup poll (held pre-pandemic) found that only 12% of employees believed their employers were doing a great job onboarding.
So rather than asking: how can we make our onboarding process a success in hybrid working, we should be asking: how can this new way of working make onboarding more of a success?
So why do we need to get it right? Well, employees who go through a positive onboarding process are more engaged, more likely to stay, talk more positively about the business and perform better in their roles.
Find out why we think there are five Cs to bear in mind when it comes to getting onboarding right while hybrid working here.
5. Hybrid events: keep them sharp and simple
You might spot a theme here, but when it comes to hybrid working guidance, the fundamentals of success are not so different to what you’ve (hopefully) been doing all along.
Hybrid events can seem complicated. In fact, research undertaken by Eventsforce shows that understanding how to blend the virtual and in-person experiences tops the list of challenges that event planners are facing. But focus on the content, engagement and follow up and you’ll not go far wrong, as our campaign specialist Jo Williams explained.
Get in touch
We know that hybrid working is an issue that’s going to remain at the forefront of IC professionals’ minds for a long time to come. But if you want to pick our minds, or see the sort of work we’ve been doing with some of our clients, reach out and let’s set up a call.
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