The digital water cooler: How to encourage collaboration in a remote workforce

When a portion of your workforce is almost exclusively remote, how do you ensure your staff can still collaborate and connect freely and remain productive? Bill Zeng, Senior Director APAC at Poly, says it’s all about encouraging the ‘digital water cooler’ in your business.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically transformed the workplace. After more than two years of working remotely, employees are hesitant to relinquish their newfound freedoms and are resisting the return to the office.

According to McCrindle, the majority of Australians (61 per cent) would prefer the flexibility of a hybrid work model, with recent Poly research showing that 61 per cent of Australian workers cite the reduction in commuting time as the main reason for working from home; in addition to being easier to maintain work-life balance (49 per cent) and that there were fewer distractions at home (30 per cent).

As employers explore ways to support the increased demand for flexible working, they also need to consider how best to encourage collaboration amongst a disparate workforce.

Given that face-to-face collaboration brings key benefits such as on the job learning, productivity, and improved wellbeing, how can businesses replicate these benefits when employees choose not to come back to the office?

Why RTO is an important part of the remote work mix

One of the biggest challenges of hybrid working for many organisations is defining what their hybrid model should look like. How many days away from the office is ideal? Where’s the balance between flexibility vs. maintaining a sense of belonging and identity?

It’s important that these decisions are made and clear hybrid working policies are put in place – because a true hybrid model includes both remote and in-office working. Without a return to the office (RTO) in some capacity, businesses inadvertently become completely remote, which doesn’t allow the hybrid working model to fully develop.

Most importantly, teams who have the chance to catch up face-to-face have a better chance of building relationships. The small talk before meetings kick off, sharing weekend plans, and updates about family and relationships are the little things that bond a team. Employees who have the chance to have these informal catch-ups on their days in the office are able to build a better basis for their work relationships that continue while they’re working remotely.

Connected technology and meeting equality

Digital collaboration tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have played a significant role in making hybrid collaboration possible, but businesses don’t always get it right.

A recent survey by Poly revealed that fewer than three in ten employers had either created new collaboration spaces with video conferencing equipment, or refitted existing meeting room spaces for hybrid work. Lack of such video facilities is one reason employees cite not wanting to return to the office. Meeting inequality between office-based and remote participants is another.

Meeting equality remains one of the biggest challenges for successful hybrid working. Employees dialling in from home shouldn’t have to be asking people to repeat themselves or speak louder so they can follow what’s happening. Investment in high-quality video-conferencing solutions and crystal clear audio are crucial to facilitate better engagement between those working from the office or joining remotely.

The same Poly report suggests that changing meeting locations altogether, moving away from meeting rooms and into social spaces – such as kitchen areas or other common spaces – might help to capture those impromptu encounters and exchanges around the fringes of any gathering, which may help give remote participants a better sense of belonging.

Getting the remote workplace balance right

While it’s tempting to invest in more processes to facilitate hybrid work, too many scheduled meetings will make employees feel like team collaboration is a chore that detracts from their ability to be productive, rather than a useful way to come together and share ideas.

There’s a fine line between encouraging collaboration and giving employees the space they need to perform their best – a balancing act that will take time to get right.

While employees should be empowered with the right tools and collaboration technologies they need to fulfil their tasks, the physical office design must also be a consideration for hybrid working success. A more flexible workforce means lower staff densities, who require better amenities and more opportunities for face-to-face interaction, as well as video calling and remote collaboration facilities. Digital screens, virtual reality rooms, and workplace apps to create a flexible and adaptable environment are other ways employees can be empowered to collaborate effectively across physical and virtual environments.

There is no right answer when it comes to creating the ultimate hybrid working model. The office of the future is still in an era of experimentation in which the workplace is in a constant state of beta.

But it’s clear that enabling successful employee collaboration is crucial to hybrid working success. From remodelling physical spaces for enhanced collaboration to providing video-enabled conference rooms, a unified IT management system, and headsets and other high-quality equipment to ensure meeting equality, businesses will be well on their way to helping disparate workers remain connected.

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