As you plan your team’s hybrid working model, one of the things to consider is how to reconfigure your hybrid office.
This includes repurposing the existing office, implementing hot-desking, and leveraging advanced technology. Here are three tips to help you out.
Tip #1: Repurpose the Existing Office into a Hybrid Office
Instead of dedicated office spaces in your existing office, repurpose some of them into meeting rooms and quiet spaces.
Meeting rooms (or conference rooms) are large spaces for on-site collaboration and coordination for team initiatives. They also help with team-building activities, serendipitous discussions, and training.
Quiet spaces include call booths and small office rooms that are soundproof so that employees can focus or have distraction-free conversations with their remote team members. Quiet spaces can also be used as private rooms for one-on-one meetings.
In a hybrid office, you’ll need fewer dedicated office spaces and more meeting rooms and quiet spaces to accommodate your hybrid team’s work arrangements.
Tip #2: Implement Hot Desking
Hot desking (also called hoteling or flex-desking) is allocating desks to employees only when they need them. This helps you save on real estate costs and maximize your resource usage, and it can apply to both meeting rooms and quiet spaces.
If you still need dedicated office spaces, consider “Reverse Hoteling,” which means that when employees with dedicated spaces are out of the office, they free up their space for someone else.
Tip #3: Leverage Advanced Technology
Invest in the right equipment and advanced technology tools to help your hybrid team collaborate effectively. Here are a few ideas:
- Video Technology: A solid video system will help create equity between on-site employees and remote ones, ensuring that everyone is clearly visible. Some solutions include 360-degree cameras and intelligent zooming.
- Digital Whiteboards: As an alternative to regular whiteboards, digital whiteboards help capture and share notes among all attendees. Traditional whiteboards can be hard to see using video, and using smart digital whiteboards helps by showing notes live on all your team members’ screens at the same time.
- Audio Conferencing: Investing in a great audio conferencing system will help provide clear and background noise-free communication for call-in users and in-office employees. Some solutions include background noise-canceling technology that mutes any distracting sounds such as barking dogs or crying babies.
This is an excerpt from my latest book: Hybrid Work Management: How to Manage a Hybrid Team in the New Workplace
