AWWA Career Zone – How to Keep Employees Engaged in a Hybrid Workplace
October 1, 2024
AWWA Articles
AWWA Career Zone – How to Keep Employees Engaged in a Hybrid Workplace
Author Jennifer Persike, president/founder of Jennifer Persike & Company, is an innovative strategist and visionary leader with more than 30 years of experience with California water and energy utilities, statewide associations, non-profits and corporations.
It’s been four years since COVID-19 turned the world upside down. Although many things are returning to normal, how we work will never be the same. Remote or hybrid work has emerged as the most dominant trend.
According to studies cited by Forbes Advisor in June 2023, almost 30% of full-time employees work a hybrid model and 98% want some type of hybrid schedule. The age group most likely to work remotely are those 24 to 35 years old. By 2025, it is projected that more than 32 million Americans will work remotely.
While there are benefits to hybrid work – decreased office expenses, lower utility bills, reduced commute time – there are also challenges. Topping the list is how to keep employees connected and engaged in their organizations and with coworkers.
The importance of social connection in the workplace is well documented. According to a Harvard Business School survey, people are more productive, collaborative and engaged and feel more valued when they have easy proximity to coworkers. In-person work fosters impromptu conversations versus dozens of emails and virtual meetings. It also allows better problem solving through collaboration. Those who work primarily from home can feel isolated, burned out and disconnected.
So how do we provide the autonomy and flexibility of hybrid work while fostering a sense of connection? More emails and virtual meetings are not the answer. Below are some strategies that work for many organizations.
Over communicate.
- Use every tool in your arsenal to keep your team informed about organizational goals, new initiatives and HR updates.
- Tap into online applications like Slack for easy team interaction. Develop an Intranet so team members can easily connect and access documents they need. Pick up the phone—it still works!
- Create opportunities to recognize and appreciate team members for their work both individually and as a team and to celebrate staff milestones (i.e., weddings, babies, etc.).
Make in-office days count.
- Rethink your office environment to allow team members to get together, catch up…think high top tables, comfy furniture.
- Build in time on “all in office” days to foster staff interaction, teambuilding, big rollouts of new initiatives and collaboration on innovative solutions to work challenges.
- Create opportunities to recognize and appreciate team members for their work both individually and as a team and to celebrate staff milestones (i.e., weddings, babies, etc.)
Offer mentoring and shadowing programs.
- Studies show younger and newer employees struggle the most in this hybrid world because they don’t have the relationships and experience to draw from.
- Consider an internal mentorship program to pair senior team members with younger and newer team members to help them learn the ropes. Check-ins can be virtual and in-person.
- Shadowing programs allow for a more informal “day in the life” of a particular role or position. This can be done for all types of jobs throughout the organization.
Create a Sunshine Committee to enhance positivity.
- Engage a team of dedicated staff from around your organization to develop fun ways to foster connection.
- Ask team members to submit ideas for in-person and hybrid interaction. These can include seasonal themes, staff work anniversaries, and the many “international” days (ice cream, cat / dog, employee appreciation).
Check in often and continue staff development.
- Our new hybrid world requires leaders to devote more time to check in with teams and individual staffers to ensure necessary resources are provided, expectations are clear, and staff are accountable for results.
- Stay on track with commitments to develop staff through internal and external training and coaching opportunities.
Organizations that invest in building employee engagement in today’s hybrid world will improve employee morale, productivity, and bottom-line results.
Interested in careers in the water sector? Visit the AWWA Career Center and its LinkedIn Career Center page to explore job opportunities.