There are numerous benefits to a hybrid work environment. It allows flexibility and better work-life balance, allowing employees to work from home or work while traveling. It can lower the operating costs of having a physical space to occupy five days a week. It can reduce the number of sick days and reduce the risk of spreading the office cold. It can even boost morale and improve employee well-being.
However, one major drawback of a hybrid environment is the inevitable communication silo. With employees logging on to work from home and not seeing their co-workers face-to-face every day, work tends to be independent rather than collaborative. Teams have less chance to work with other teams, meaning that important information isn’t shared as effectively. There’s also the issue of competitiveness, as teams may soon feel like they are up against another team to perform optimally.
So how can your company continue to work on a hybrid schedule without succumbing to a lapse in communication? Here are a few ways to reduce communication silos in hybrid work environments.
1. Sync Contacts to Your Smartphone
If you’re working from your smartphone just as much as your laptop computer, then this tip is for you. Having coworkers’ email addresses on your mobile phone will make it easier to set up meetings, send emails, and communicate with them while on the go. Unfortunately, a major flaw with servers like Microsoft Exchange is that there is no inherent way to sync contacts from the global address list (GAL) to iPhone contacts.
Fortunately, there is a workaround to this dilemma. Rather than manually inputting these contacts into your phone, you can use a platform designed to allow you to sync a global address list to iPhone devices. Not only does this reduce manual errors, but it streamlines processes and allows you to communicate more efficiently. This sync can be pushed out across an organization, meaning everyone can have automated work contact lists on their iPhones.
2. Utilize Collaboration Tools
As more companies initiated hybrid and remote work environments, the demand for collaboration tools increased. Hundreds of tools are available for businesses of any size looking to foster and encourage communication. Project management tools such as Trello, Asana, and ClickUp are used largely to track and manage projects on an individual and team basis. Video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet allow coworkers to meet internally and externally with clients and vendors. And cloud-based messaging apps such as Slack and Google Chat allow for instant internal communication.
All of these tools can be useful to a hybrid work environment, as they are designed to help spark collaboration and encourage interactivity amongst teammates. Most of these tools also have smartphone applications, which is great for those working away from their actual desk. Your business may have a few of these platforms already in place, or you may be considering which ones to onboard. Think about your businesses’ unique needs. A small business of less than a dozen people may not need all of these platforms, while a larger corporation may need all of them. Ask to demo any tool before bringing it to your team, ensuring you’re addressing and avoiding communication silos.
3. Promote Collaboration Across Teams
One potential issue with a hybrid environment is the inability to see or communicate with other teams often. When your team comes to the office, whether that is once a week or once a month, they are likely to chat with the team they sit on. This creates barriers between teams and makes it more challenging to create an inclusive work environment.
One way to solve this is to promote collaboration and teamwork between teams. Brainstorm projects that would require your team to work with another one. For example, a design team can work with an engineering team to enhance the company website. Or an editorial team can work with the product development team to create a new article template. Have the two teams present together at an all-hands meeting to showcase their work and coax other teams to collaborate as well.
4. Set a Good Example
As a leader, your employees will be looking to you to set the precedent. If they notice that you never talk about another team lead or regularly don’t know what other teams are working on, they’ll likely follow suit. That’s why it’s important to set a good example and actively show that you are collaborating and communicating with other teams, showcasing the importance of every team to the company as a whole.
In a team meeting, talk about how the work your employees are doing ladders up to the overarching company objective. Be overly communicative about a meeting you had with another department lead and discuss how you’re collaborating. You can also invite another team to come to one of your weekly meetings and showcase what they’re working on. Sharing these insights may spark new ideas for cross-team projects and will help open up any communication silos.
Takeaways
Breaking down a communication silo may take some effort, but it will be worth it. When teams collaborate and communicate effectively, the entire organization benefits. Problems are addressed more easily and miscommunication will happen less frequently. The result will be a united company that is motivated to work together for the common good.