In this new hybrid era, the way we work has completely changed. Your commute can range from a two-hour commuter train to a two-minute walk to your home office. You may start your day in California at 9 am while your manager in New York has already been working for three hours. And collaboration looks different when your project lead isn't in the cubicle next to you.

Shape your office space and culture around the hybrid experience to make hybrid work successful for your business. Whether you’re managing information technology for an entire company or building a new team, here are our tips to make your hybrid workspace successful.

Keep employee experience in mind

Many businesses still treat their remote workers as “out of sight, out of mind.” That’s why 78% of employees who have returned to the office say that they feel more included when they’re in person. But when you’re not including your employees equally, you’re missing out on the valuable insight and talent that you hired them for in the first place.

Keep your hybrid employees in the spotlight by providing a range of opportunities for participation at all times. Incorporate hybrid workplace technology that is built for a better employee experience.

Help your teammates make more organic connections with each other. Make use of social Slack channels to enliven the “watercooler” experience. Use Slack’s “huddles” feature so coworkers can ask questions, show quick demonstrations, and meet on the fly as if they were working at the same table.

Looking to drive more participation? Set up the Whiteboard Owl in your hybrid meetings for more live collaboration. Don’t leave your on-camera folks squinting to read what you’ve written; offer them high-quality visual aids that get your point across to everyone. Gather input with live polls: drive feedback, on-screen brainstorming, and vote-based decision-making. 

Design physical spaces around employee needs

While you’re building your digital spaces for hybrid work, what does your physical space look like? You need to adjust your office space, from the technology you use to the way you organize your layout.

Hybrid office video rooms

Roughly one-third of employees always or often experience difficulties on video calls, but only 38% of employers have upgraded their video technology to allow for more hybrid collaboration. With the endless amount of video conferencing technology, companies are missing out. Build high-tech video conferencing rooms equipped to start a meeting with just one click. Keep rooms well-lit and install surround-sound systems, so you don't miss a word.

While you build rooms with video calls in mind, remember that your employees out of the office need solutions, too. You can cover this gap by offering high-quality webcams and assistance with internet connection.

Hybrid office layouts

Ditching the cubicles shows that you’re committed to a more team-driven workplace. Set up a variety of spaces for work, like large conference tables, coffee bars, hotdesk systems, or rotating offices. This way, in-office employees will feel more autonomous, and remote employees will have incentive to come by the office when they’re around. This makes for a seamless transition when employees visit and for others who don’t want to feel locked into the office.

Last but not least: make comfortable spaces that your employees want to use! We know some workers are questioning why they need to be in an office. Giving them new and exciting environments to work from will encourage them to make use of the space. Recruit a decorating team that can focus on cozy seating, ergonomic standing desks, camera-friendly lighting, and “breakroom” areas for rest and decompression.

Source ideas from your team

Like any major change in a business, employees might feel uncomfortable as they adjust to hybrid work. Getting buy-in from your people will make the transition to hybrid miles easier.

You’d be surprised how many different experiences your coworkers have each day:

Your finance manager may have difficulties watching live video streams from her remote cabin in Vermont. Your development lead — whose roommate is a professional trombonist — might hate taking Zoom meetings from home. And while your 5 pm happy hours may be popular, your lead designer is too busy getting his kids to the dinner table to partake.

With all these different perspectives, you can’t approach hybrid work single-handedly. Have a company-wide working session to build solutions that work for everyone. Ask your teammates what technology they need, what schedules they prefer, what space requirements they’ll have, and how hybrid work affects their day-to-day.

Together, you can create a hybrid work policy that takes work experience across the world into account.

Encourage your teammates to make improvements at their home or satellite office, too. Provide a hybrid work stipend so people who work remotely are able to make the adjustments they need to work best.

Never stop improving your hybrid workplace

Don’t forget to keep the feedback coming! Your workers’ needs may change many times in their tenure with the company. Make sure you’re anticipating those changes. Encourage input throughout the year, like a brief pulse survey or Q&As in your town hall meetings.

Make your company adaptable, and you’ll see that your employees enjoy working, regardless of where they work.