There’s no doubt that an organisation’s culture is at the heart of its existence. A self-reinforcing web of values, missions and goals, company culture provides employees with a set of rules for how they should work together in a workplace.
This set of rules has typically been fostered through office interactions ranging from everyday work practices to the way different teams communicate with one another.
But with the uptick in hybrid work arrangements, this set of rules has now evolved, forcing employees to adapt to new ways of work and forever altering the pre-existing definitions of what makes a company culture.
Therein lies the pressing question of: “How can we build and sustain a strong culture in an organisation where we rarely see each other in person?”
In today’s redefined work environment, the answer lies in leveraging the very tools and processes which have granted organisations much success in transitioning to hybrid work arrangements.
While there is still a need to ensure that the right collaboration tools are in place to foster a positive work environment, remote work arrangements can bolster inclusiveness and engagement by providing employees with the flexibility to break down barriers.
Also Read: Why WeWork is relevant even in the growing hybrid working trend in SEA
Attracting and retaining talent in an uncertain job landscape
In today’s increasingly hybrid world, there is an acute demand for valuable expertise in specialized areas. However, businesses are now seeing employees changing jobs in droves. So how can we address this disparity between the abundance of jobs available and the workforce’s aversion to seeking out these potential roles?
Suffice to say, employees today are subjected to influence from new, personal factors present in their day-to-day lives. Remote working and the lack of social interaction that comes with it has created a gap in understanding the different expectations between business leaders and employees particularly on what motivates and engages them at work.
According to Citrix’s Born Digital survey, Singaporean business leaders and born-digital workers agreed that to attract and retain employees today successfully, organizations are required to invest in work models and tools that create a flexible, efficient and engaging work environment.
This highlights the need for online collaboration platforms to go beyond just acting as a communication channel and as a tool to empower the workforce to do their best work and reinforce the company culture.
At the end of the day, it is critical that employees understand what the company’s values are, determine how they may align to them, and feel that communication is transparent in order to build a strong remote culture. All of this will continue to be the key value propositions in attracting and retaining talent in the foreseeable future.
Also Read: A new approach to hybrid working: Let the employees decide when, how and where to work
A “humanised” and emotive remote work experience
According to a Lark study, the top three tasks among Singapore PMEs are chat/messaging, video meetings, and emails, with the use of video meetings (94 per cent), file search (90 per cent), and messaging (80 per cent) filling up half their workday.
Having established the most frequently used features, it is essential to enhance the employee experience by injecting physical expression. Here are some ways in which online collaboration tools can help to humanize remote work experience:
The essentiality of digital ideograms
It is by no means an exaggeration to say that digital communications have been enhanced by a suite of expressive characters– Emojis. Going beyond just testing, emoji’s are reshaping the way we express ideas and emotions in the various facets of our daily interactions.
The absence of non-verbal cues such as tonality, emotions and even colloquialism can now be represented by singular characters. This universal language empowers teams with a more personal means of communication.
As a result, employees are able to communicate effectively and with emotive acuity, boosting expression, mental-wellbeing and the overall employee experience.
Modernised feed filters
Online collaboration tools that make it easy for teams to hone in on personal workflow specificity can help to enhance productivity and efficiency while at the same time deliver a seamless experience.
As diverse workteams get entwined with an endless trove of group chats to sieve through, looking for a particular key data can be daunting and frustrating, especially if you’re running against the clock.
Aside from listing chatrooms based on status categorically, a modernized feed filter function that offers employees the flexibility in further diversifying their chats based on customizable and personalized preferences will make for a more positive work experience.
Even when working remotely, employees are still able to indulge in the occasional informal catch-ups and pantry talks as if they were in the office.
Also Read: The hybrid work model will outlast the pandemic. But will one model fit all?
The magic of interactive collaboration
Imagine being able to share, edit and work on content without leaving a team video call window, even when participants are worlds apart.
The ability and extent to which collaboration happens between diverse teams underpin the core existence of online collaboration tools. What was once a buzzword, is now a byword to almost every hybrid model’s business strategy.
As online collaboration tools become more sophisticated, a modern integrated sharing feature is now needed to empower diverse teams to engage in collaborative workflows in real-time. Features that can provide a similar experience to meetings in the physical realm will undoubtedly help to humanise the remote work experience.
The vision for the future of work should not be a siloed strategy, innovative tech tools should come hand-in-hand with fostering an agile and innovative culture.
One way would be to leverage online collaboration platforms to implement personal well-being strategies such as “No-Meeting Fridays”.
By blocking off time in their calendars, such an initiative can help to create space and time for employees to engage in focused, uninterrupted work.
Beyond culture, positive remote work experience is essential
While we are still in the nascent stages of navigating the challenges posed by the pandemic, it is certain that organizations must create an inclusive, thoughtful strategy coupled with sustainable execution.
If done well, positive rewards such as increased productivity, happier employees, and a strong culture are some of the many benefits.
As the workforce gradually grows with digitally adept professionals, a flexible work arrangement coupled with strong company culture will become an even more critical tool for recruitment, employee engagement, and making work more joyful.
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