How to Make a Hybrid Workplace More Inclusive?

While the hybrid workplace model has been around for quite some time, it was only during the pandemic that it became popular across industries. But the introduction of this effective albeit complex workplace model presents unique challenges for managers. 

Chief among these challenges is making a hybrid workplace as inclusive as possible with some employees working from remote locations while others remain in-office. Despite the evident difficulty of maintaining this balance however, there are multiple ways to ensure that your organization’s hybrid workplace remains inclusive to all employees.

We’ll be discussing the various techniques managers can adopt to promote inclusiveness in a hybrid workplace. But before we get to that, it’s important to understand what a hybrid workplace is and what it entails.

So let’s dive in.

What is a Hybrid Workplace?

A hybrid workplace is a resilient workplace model meant to maintain a dispersed workforce of both in-office employees and remote workers. The hybrid workplace model provides employees with the versatility to work from wherever they are most fruitful; whether that’s in the office, from a remote location, or a mixture of the two. As such, the two cornerstones of developing a successful hybrid workplace are flexibility and support. 

It provides workers with the compliance to work wherever (and whenever) they choose – whether for potency, convenience, health concerns, or other reasons – places responsibility on the business to generate a work environment that encourages both in-office and remote workers. This adds adjustable workplace design and technology solutions that equally provide all workers with effective collaboration.

The pandemic has only accelerated the adoption of the hybrid workplace model across multiple industries. But keeping these hybrid workplaces inclusive remains a challenge for the best of businesses. 

That’s why we’ll take a look at some of the ways managers can ensure equality and inclusivity in the hybrid workplace of their organizations. 

How to Ensure Inclusivity in a Hybrid Workplace?

Inclusivity in the modern workplace is a mandatory requirement. With so much diversity in the workforce, managers need to take into account all sorts of differences including differences in whether employees work remotely or in-office. 

So let’s take a look at what managers can do to make a hybrid workplace more inclusive.

• Present Clear & Detailed Guidelines for Hybrid Working

Employees both admire and require clear guidance for how a hybrid work model could work. Without clear expectations, employees can become unsure about where they should be working and believe there is a correct secret choice in working remotely or in the office. 

Managers need to create a clear plan of detailed guidelines and policies to give employees an insight into how the company envisions a hybrid workforce. Leaders must set a detailed set of guidelines that is uniform across the organization, so that employees feel a sense of consistency and equality in how the hybrid workplace model works.

• Guarantee a Voice for Every Team Member

When it comes time for meetings or brainstorming sessions, confirm that all remote colleagues can hear and be heard. Allow enough time for everyone to participate. 

Managers may like to start the conversation by mentioning that they would like everyone to contribute and value opinions. It’s also useful to mention that rather than hindering another speaker, everyone should wait until they have finished talking to share their view. 

Try to foster a context in which ideas are appreciated. During a team meeting, managers can ask a lot of open-ended questions to encourage people to share. You could even structure involvement during the meeting by giving everyone a set role or assigning everyone an agenda item to introduce and discuss.

This way each employee, whether in-office or remote, will feel that they have a role to play. This promotes inclusivity and allows everyone to be a part of the organization during key meetings and brainstorming sessions.

• Understand & Address Issues for Remote Working Employees

Usually, remote working employees are the ones that may feel as being kept out of the loop. That’s because coming into an office where you communicate with colleagues is a very different experience from working in isolation at home. It’s also natural to feel that in-office colleagues share a bond that is missing with remote employees

Therefore, it’s essential for managers to talk to their employees about their remote working experience and understand what does and doesn’t work for them. Then, managers can focus on maintaining positive participation while improving upon the negative.

• Rely on Technology for Cooperation & Inclusion

Cooperation and collaboration are going to look very different in the post-pandemic workplace. That’s because entire industries shifted to digital means for communication and collaboration during the pandemic because of social distancing restrictions. 

This monumental shift is here to stay so companies better jump on the bandwagon of letting technology dictate the way for intra organizational communication.

Corporations are now investing in tools and technologies to digitally modify their organization and streamline their work in digital and physical circumstances. Consider the best method for your teams to work together efficiently and productively. Across industries, people have proven to be prolific while operating remotely. 

The next step is to regulate and create formalized processes around how your teams can continue to perform online in unusual times. Whether that’s project administration tools like Asana, prompt messaging and channels on Slack, or talent intelligence tools to accomplish your workforce, technology is a vital part of helping hybrid workplace run smoothly.

• Catchup with Employees in One-on-Ones

Do not skip your annual one-on-one meeting with your distant employees. These conferences give you a chance to check in to see how they are. For your staff, they can be a vital lifeline to you and the workplace, so regularly delaying these meetings can lead to your remote workers seeming detached and underappreciated. 

It is naturally more comfortable to spend more time with those co-located in their hybrid workplace with you. But it’s important that the amount of time you spend with remote workers is proportional to the time you spend talking to co-located staff.

Conclusion

As the latest workplace continues to see an ever-widening number of remote workers, companies will need to prioritize collaboration resolutions for the new hybrid workplace, equalizing the playing field for onsite and remote shareholders. 

For LGBT owned businesses, a hybrid workplace can work wonders since it allows the company to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion through functional means. LGBT business owners can make use of the tips and techniques described in this blog to ensure that their hybrid workplace can feel more inclusive for all employees.