This week at work is nothing like last week, you’ve got new fires to put out, a fresh schedule, and a balance to meet. Hopefully, you’re navigating all of this from a space that you feel most productive and accommodates your personal and professional needs. Now, what does this space look like? And If you had to put a percentage on it, how much of your work week is through a screen? How much is in person?
The reality of many people’s work-life today involves virtual connection and communication. While it feels like we’ve had this technology forever and just never utilized its capacity to build an online work environment, this is not exactly the case. Remember, hybrid work models are a result of the world’s adjustment to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is certainly an adjustment that has not come to pass.
With many people feeling empowered by this change, it has diminished the stereotype of mundane work culture. As a result, hybrid work is now a motive for job searchers today. However, companies can run into struggles introducing new employees to their culture in a virtual environment.
People may be anxious to hit the ground running but there is a benefit to understanding corporate culture and building the relationships necessary to succeed. Fortunately, companies can use plenty of efforts to mitigate this risk.
Hybrid work culture is still new to the corporate world and failure to keep up with the times can leave your organization behind. With that being said here are some common mistakes to avoid:
No In-Person Introduction
While hybrid work is of course great for work-life balance and giving employees space to be productive, there is a limit to the connection that can be built here. This will of course be subjective, for example, if someone lives in another country. Nonetheless, ensuring there is facetime with employees is crucial to developing trust and bonds.
Waiting For Day 1
New staff should never come into the first day without an understanding of their tasks or insight into the company culture. Giving new hires time and resources to research the company and develop an understanding is sure to boost their confidence. Additionally, this will mitigate the risk of staff rushing through introductions. It’s understandable to want to handle the onboarding process personally, but new hires need to learn to be competent within the organization.
Role Not Clear
When someone begins at a new company and they are doing tasks but don’t see how those tasks formulate an outcome, it lowers fulfillment. For example, imagine you have a new hire develop a report of the top companies they think would benefit from your service. They spend a couple of days developing the list and reasoning then submitting it.
If they never hear “hey that report was a great insight for where we’re going to target leads” or “this was a good start but here’s a more specific example of what we want” then how valuable will their time feel creating it? It’s good to have tasks that gauge people’s capabilities and test their skills but be clear that this is the purpose. Otherwise, there will be a downward trend in their satisfaction with work.
So What?
Onboarding is not just a formality of telling someone what they’ve been hired to do, it is where you show them why they picked your organization. Onboarding is where you excite employees by showing them the opportunities they’ll have because they work with you. A hybrid environment is a great way to do this as it again, allows for further autonomous learning.
Learning to utilize the days in person will help with productivity and time management. The days out of the office are additionally good for new hires to feel comfortable while adjusting to their new position. There needs to be a balance that is met, only then can an organization effectively introduce new blood to their team.
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