By GCR & The Gift Club
In today’s ever-changing, post-pandemic workplace, work has been redefined, and the employee is no longer tethered to a desk. This new normal poses challenges when managing employee engagement and productivity in an office setting.
Yet hybrid or remote models are here to stay, as 83% of employers now say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company. The data indicates that more companies are satisfied with this organisational change and see it as beneficial for the business overall.
If you are going to engage your hybrid or remote teams, you need the skills and resources to make the “workday” worthwhile. This includes times when you have employees on-site for work.
This can be a tricky balance to set, but companies that figure out how to master hybrid workplace environments see far greater returns on their investments.
In this article, we will take a look at five tips that companies can use to build a modern workplace that meets the needs of both employees who are in the office regularly as well as those who need to come into work less often or not at all.
5 Ways to Make Your In-Office Time Valuable
1. Make Every In-Office Moment Count
With the choice between working offsite or on, employees will need to know that their time in the workplace is worthwhile.
If nothing sets apart a workday in the office from a workday at home, then there’s no point in being in the office.
What if the days that individuals were in the office were dedicated to value-added activities? Hours spent collaborating and working toward a shared goal happen best when in-person, so make sure to invest those moments where the highest ROI exists.
Take a look at why you have your employees come into the office, and then decide how you can best use those limited hours and resources.
2. Consider The Power Of Gamification to Incentivize Office Hours
It can be hard to stay motivated when working from home, so why not give your employee a chance for some reward by asking them to come to work?
Gamification is a powerful way to incentivize employees and keep them engaged. What if you could create a point system that rewarded employees or teams for in-office time, with those points redeemable for prizes like gift cards or company-wide happy hours?
Offering employee incentives goes a long way toward keeping employees engaged when working from home.
The more engaged the employee, the happier and more effective they will be in and out of the office!
3. Invest In Employee-Led Innovation During In-Person Gatherings
Did you know that the newest generation of workforce sees working fully remote as less desirable and productive? It’s true – Generation Z (those born in 1997 and earlier) see their work life and social life as being inter-twined – meaning that in-person work may be one of the most critical parts of their job satisfaction!
Don’t lose sight of the power of innovation through in-person collaboration.
Consider your workplace to be a place of company-wide innovation rather than another site for regular work. If employees invest the time to commute in and see one another, make sure to reward them by allowing them to be an integral part of your company’s development and innovation processes.
Get creative with these innovation opportunities! Research ways to use your in-person workplace days as opportunities to train, inspire, and engage your hybrid teams with educational opportunities that invest in your employees.
Bringing fun and engagement into these “innovation days” can help increase brain power and creative thinking for coming up with solutions to more significant issues than today’s to-do list.
4. Give Back To Your Community When Your People Are Gathered
The days in the office should be about doing something different from what employees do when they work at home.
What if you spent an in-office day giving back to your community? Not only will this help your employees feel a sense of pride as they build their teamwork, but it will bring brand recognition to your company as you engage your community!
Shifting your workplace into a place where more than just work happens will help boost morale and give your remote or hybrid team members a sense of belonging and unity. Plus, your community will love your engagement in their well-being!
5. Foster a “Culture of Success” by Recognising Employee Successes and Rewarding Employee Accomplishments
Today’s employees are looking to “come to work” at a company that views them as individuals with potential. The best way to show value is by investing in employee engagement strategies that foster a culture of success when employees are on-site.
An easy way to boost your culture of success is to get creative with engagement. Build and implement employee recognition programs that encourage teams to go out together for social gatherings and celebrate successes with gift cards and rewards that they won’t want to miss out on.
Remember the power of your employer brand. If you create opportunities for employee recognition and empowerment, you will increase the chances that team members will feel valued and work toward successful outcomes.
“Rewarding in person is great for boosting morale and seeing good employee engagement. Now, with many workers at home, we risk losing that opportunity for banter, congratulations and fun.
Make sure your online meetings are fun and rewards are made during the call and not at the end. Think about reward emails, making sure your announcement is as engaging as possible. If Tom in Sales loves experiences, then make sure he is sees this in his reward choice.
Working with a reward and recognition partner, ensures you create meaningful campaigns, as this is what they do best every day. Engaging landing pages and great messaging wins your employee over every time.”
Caroline Watson, CEO/Founder, Voucherline
Boost Your Hybrid Team Success With A Professional Talent Acquisition Firm
Each of these five tactics has one common thread: if you bring employees into your workplace, make it count.
If nothing differentiates a day in the office from a day at their home desk, what’s the point of spending money on overhead and utilities? Instead, your team members would invest their limited time and energies toward a workplace setup that conveniences their lifestyle.
If you are offering your employees a hybrid workplace setup, the best place to start is by creating a partnership with a good talent acquisition firm who can help guide companies to use their workplaces as a means to engage, equip, and empower their hybrid workforce. GCR (Gift Card Recruitment) can give you the tools you need to reach new candidates who are ready to engage with a forward-thinking company and help veteran enterprises boost their employer brand and empower their current teams.
Contact them at info@gcrsolutions.co.uk
