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The Rise of the Hybrid Workplace: Strategic Opportunities for the Post-Pandemic Office
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Virtual collaboration
Most companies already used virtual collaboration tools
before the pandemic. You didn't walk across campus or
take an elevator to meet with someone if the conversation
was easier to handle over Slack or via email. But in a hybrid
workplace, digital tools don't just make collaboration more
convenient—it's impossible to collaborate without them.
When the workforce is distributed between company
campuses and hundreds or thousands of individual remote
locations, you can't swing by someone's desk or head over to
their office when you need to work together.
Hybrid workplaces force organizations to rely more heavily on
video conferencing, instant messaging, document sharing,
virtual whiteboards, screen sharing and other applications
that digitally facilitate employee interactions.
For some companies, emphasizing virtual collaboration
may mean thinking differently about how space gets used.
Conference rooms may have a larger percentage of virtual
attendees, and it will be more important to ensure that these
rooms have the necessary audio equipment and screens to
accommodate collaboration between all parties.
Since managers, supervisors, and other leadership personnel
can't always physically check-in on everyone in a hybrid
environment, virtual teams have to normalize spontaneous
video meetings and regular video check-ins. Employees
should still feel like they have access to the people they need
to connect and work with, even if they don't sit in the same
room anymore.
