In hybrid workplaces, the intricacies of employee engagement and motivation play a pivotal role in shaping productivity and organizational commitment.
Engagement transcends participation, fostering a deep-seated sense of belonging and purpose. Likewise, employee engagement is not the product of any single initiative.
A holistic approach is critical to harmoniously balancing intrinsic desires with extrinsic rewards. In workplaces, cultivating a supportive and inclusive work culture, nurturing trust, prioritizing mental health and leveraging technology to bridge gaps, all play a part in empowering a connected — and productive — workforce.
For example, maintaining a dialogue through open communication channels and employing tools like pulse surveys for real-time feedback ensures an awareness of employee well-being and engagement. This approach fosters a sense of being heard and adapts to a diverse workforce’s evolving needs.
The quest for more refined, research-backed methods to measure and enhance engagement in various workplace scenarios continues, underscoring the ever-evolving nature of employee engagement in hybrid work environments.
As companies shift to “non-traditional” work environments, where some team members may be entirely in-office while others are completely remote, a one-size-fits-all approach is destined to yield mixed results.
The strategy to secure both positive employee experiences and achieve business objectives is built on feedback, adaptability and open communication. And the details of a company’s approach matter in both regards.
At Keeper Security, Box, and LogicGate, people leaders have carefully and holistically developed a hybrid work culture where physical location — or the lack thereof — isn’t the sole factor that supports team members.
Keeper is a password manager application and digital vault that stores website passwords, financial information and other sensitive documents using 256-bit AES encryption, zero-knowledge architecture and two-factor authentication.
What does hybrid work look like at your company, and why do employees want it?
A flexible, healthy work-life balance appeals to most workforces, and Keeper employees are no different. The ability for employees to tailor their work situation to their unique needs has enabled Keeper to attract the best and brightest talent around the globe, regardless of geography.
Hybrid work at Keeper is unique to each individual and team. We foster a work model designed to maximize each team member’s development and performance. This includes a hybrid structure covering in-office, work-from-home and remote work, which is curated for each team member based on their geographic location and role. Employees local to a Keeper office are free to come into the office and collaborate with the other employees, while individual teams can designate a time to meet and collaborate in person, as needed.
What makes your hybrid work model uniquely successful?
Keeper’s hybrid work model is successful because Keeper focuses on ensuring each team member has the best work setup for their unique situation. Keeper celebrates an inclusive and autonomous work environment that encourages employees to put forward their best and most creative work, whether remotely, in an office or both. Each meeting, system and process has been developed in a manageable way around the globe. It’s essential to strike a fine balance between flexibility and structure while building a culture of trust, accountability and collaboration.
It’s essential to strike a fine balance between flexibility and structure while building a culture of trust, accountability and collaboration.”
We encourage our employees to find fun opportunities to connect. We provide special-interest Slack channels, so if you’re a dog lover, cat parent, foodie or want great music advice, you can engage with like-minded Keeper colleagues. Training calendars and schedules are also shared broadly so those working in-office or remotely can join and attend the elective virtual sessions.
We also have an initiative called Keeper Spaces, highlighting our unique, diverse employee workspace. We constantly add new and inventive ways to stay close in a multifaceted work environment.
What is one best practice your team has learned in adopting hybrid work? Are there certain technologies you need to make hybrid work successful?
For successful hybrid work arrangements, both employees and employers require a range of technologies to facilitate remote and in-office work, maintain communication and promote productivity. Keeper ensures that all team members have the equipment they need to succeed, whether working from home or commuting to one of our local offices. We adhere to cybersecurity best practices to protect company data and maintain a secure work environment, particularly considering our remote work scenarios.
One best practice that my team has learned in adopting hybrid work is consistent communication. We maintain strong communication channels to keep employees across the globe connected by using a combination of communication tools, such as video conferencing, messaging apps and regular meetings. Other things like updating your calendar, informing team members about unavailability, and open and transparent communication are essential to working in a hybrid environment.
LogicGate builds technology that allows businesses to automate and track disorganized processes in risk and compliance.
What does hybrid work look like at your company, and why do employees want it?
At LogicGate, we think about hybrid work and our culture generally from the frame of “outcomes-first.” This means we are more focused on what is accomplished and delivered, not where the work is being done. As part of our outcomes-first culture, our employees work with their leaders to determine which of our three work models — HQ, hybrid or remote — works best for them.
Our annual pulse surveys show that our employees enjoy the flexibility, autonomy and support in finding a work-life balance that our outcomes-first culture provides. Our flexible work models have also granted access to an extensive talent pool and position against the competition for attracting talent, enabling our leaders to build their teams with strong talent, regardless of location.
What makes your hybrid work model uniquely successful?
Our outcomes-first work model is woven into all areas of our employee experience. We enable and support consistent norms and expectations throughout the employee lifecycle by connecting outcomes first to our values, total rewards, performance and development and other employee touch points. This approach, along with intentional communication and the flexibility it provides, makes the hybrid work model successful at our organization.
Additionally, we have successfully cultivated connection and community despite being in a remote-first environment. Through professional development workshops, people leader training, our employee resource groups, an internal mentorship program and more, we have empowered our employees to build relationships and live our core value of ‘Be as One.’
We have successfully cultivated connection and community despite being in a remote-first environment.”
What is one best practice your team has learned in adopting hybrid work? Are there certain technologies you need to make hybrid work successful?
We have found that clear and consistent communication at all organizational levels is essential to successfully working in a hybrid work environment. Internally, we utilize Slack, Google and Confluence for information sharing through different channels, pages and more. These systems allow us to work asynchronously and communicate with ease from anywhere.
Regular touch-points with company executive leadership have also played a vital role in ensuring hybrid work is successful at LogicGate. We provide employees with the information they need and opportunities to connect across the organization through regularly scheduled executive team coffee chats, monthly all-hands meetings and regular team communications.
Box provides an enterprise content platform that enables organizations to manage enterprise content securely while allowing easy, secure access and sharing of this content from anywhere on any device.
What does hybrid work look like at your company, and why do employees want it?
Box supports employees across the hybrid spectrum, from fully in-office to fully remote. Most Boxers are considered hybrid, working a mix of days in-office and remote each week. We encourage those Boxers to be onsite Tuesday to Thursday to maximize collaboration and connection opportunities. That said, we know a one-size-fits-all solution is not what’s best for Box or Boxers, empowering individuals to speak with their managers on what works best for their role, their team and them.
We know a one-size-fits-all solution is not what’s best for Boxers, empowering individuals to speak with their managers on what works best.”
What makes your hybrid work model uniquely successful?
It all comes back to what makes Box a delight to work for, no matter where you are: the company culture. At Box, we care deeply. We create products that blow our customers’ minds, build a workplace that values idea-sharing and feedback at all levels, and share our bounty with our communities. Being among people who exhibit that level of care for the people and places around them — all while having fun — makes Box a special workplace.
What is one best practice your team has learned in adopting hybrid work? Are there certain technologies you need to make hybrid work successful?
Our number one best practice: design your day with intention. Your workplace is a product like any other; you need to identify why you choose to use it, such as relationship building, focus time and so on. Once you find your why, design your work week around it to get the most out of each day.
As for tech, we are lucky enough to work for a company whose mission is to power how the world works together from anywhere. The Box platform seamlessly empowers hybrid teams with secure content sharing, real-time editing and more. The power of Box, coupled with video conferencing and communication platforms, is a force to be reckoned with.