How to maintain cohesion in hybrid workplaces

Two years after the remote work boom, startups are still figuring out how to do the whole hybrid thing.

Questions still remain among managers about how best to maintain communication between remote and office workers. making sure people feel connected and part of the pack; what tools to use; and what to do with the office space that perhaps only a few now want to use.

On day two of the Sifted Summit, we brought together three experts to share their tips on getting hybrid right: Tanya Channing, Chief People and Culture Officer at Pipedrive, Matt Wilkins, Chief People Officer at Thought Machine, and Violeta Martin, Vice President of commercial sales EMEA at DocuSign.

Here are the key takeaways.

have a frame

All panellists agreed that it is important to make a decision as a company how exactly you will work; Don’t go into hybrid mode without a plan.

In the case of Thought Machine, all employees come into the office from Monday to Wednesday, which are the days when all joint work and meetings are done. Employees then have the choice to work from home the other days — for example, when they have “deep thinking work” to do, Wilkins says — or come into the office.

Communication is key, whatever your work policy says Martin from DocuSign. You must explain to employees why you made certain labor policy decisions and why those decisions benefit the individual and the company. This way, employees are more likely to be brought on board.

Sort your tools

Hybrid work requires a good tech stack—but don’t overdo it. The last thing you want is to swim in lots of different tools, so only pick the necessary ones.

Pipedrive’s Channing says the company has a “Slack-based culture,” but it also uses software like Donut that allows for impromptu online meetings. Zoom, of course, is a winner for most organizations.

Again, it is important to make it clear to employees – especially when onboarding new employees – which tools are being used and why.

Keep remote workers informed

A large part of any manager’s job is pastoral care – but it’s especially important to keep an eye on employees who may be working remotely, at least part of the time.

Channing says that since moving to hybrid, Pipedrive has had to be more “deliberate” in the way it communicates with employees and the frequency with which it does so.

Wilkins agreed, saying it’s important to have “regular touchpoints” with employees to ensure there is no exclusion. Create rituals for how you start and end the week, and regularly check in with employees to ask how they’re feeling.

It is also a manager’s job to help people disconnect from work, especially in remote environments. They should be the ones who, at the end of the day, tell the remaining employees to log out of Slack to ensure they have separation between their work and personal lives.

Invest in employee experience

Figuring out how you work in a logistical sense is one thing, but thinking about how to include employees in remote and office environments is another.

According to Channing, it’s important to invest in the employee experience as much as the budget allows. One perk that “pipe drivers,” as she calls them, have loved is being allowed to work remotely from another country 30 days a year. It gives employees a sense of freedom, says Channing, and shows them the company trusts them.

“Don’t over-engineer the process (of the hybrid),” adds Channing. “Set the parameters, empower people to make decisions, and focus on results. Just let it happen.”

“Anchor the purpose and goals of the organization. That is more important than whether employees are physically present or not.”

Finally, Martin urges founders not to worry too much about the so-called “complexities” of hybrids. “Anchor the purpose and goals of the organization. That is more important than whether employees are physically present or not.”

Miriam Partington is Sifted’s DACH correspondent. She also covers the future of work, co-authors Sifted’s Startup Life newsletter and tweets from @mparts_