{"id":19488,"date":"2021-06-24T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=19488"},"modified":"2023-01-17T10:43:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T10:43:57","slug":"face-to-face-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/face-to-face-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Face to Face Communication in Today\u2019s Hybrid Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that modern workplaces are changing rapidly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forward-thinking tech companies from Austin or Silicon Valley have for some time been steadily embracing <\/span>remote work<\/span><\/a> approaches, but recent global events have catapulted these changes into the mainstream.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, most of us have been working from home, at least in some capacity, over the last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But, with vaccines being rolled out and countries around the globe beginning to consider what life looks like post-pandemic, companies are facing a tough question.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it time to go back to the office?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Work from home approaches have delivered benefits to companies and employees alike, so it follows that the answer to that question will not be a resounding yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re considering moving toward a hybrid work methodology, then you\u2019ve no doubt got a few challenges to solve. Among them is how to manage communication effectively in the hybrid workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article will outline some common challenges to communication presented by the hybrid workplace and argue for the need for face-to-face communication in this environment. We\u2019ll also discuss six tips for improving communication within your hybrid workplace.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a hybrid workplace?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The hybrid workplace is a relatively new phenomenon that combines two methods of working: remote work and the traditional office environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the traditional model, all employees come into the office and complete their work each day.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the remote working model, employees work from wherever they wish. This might be at a coworking space, in their home office<\/a>, or a local library.<\/span><\/p>\n

A hybrid workplace, therefore, sits somewhere in between these two models. Employees in a hybrid workplace come into the office occasionally, typically for meetings with other staff members or managers, and complete the rest of their work from home or another location.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The finer details depend on the company itself. For example, some hybrid workplaces might have employees that work two days per week in the office, whereas others might reserve office time for group work and meetings, regardless of how often this is required.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s true, too, that not all employees within a hybrid workplace will spend the same amount of time in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, some might work from home four days per week and spend just one in the office, whereas another team member might do the opposite. Indeed, some hybrid workplaces are made up of both entirely remote workers and in-office employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this work methodology brings several benefits, such as enhanced productivity and a better work-life balance for employees, it does present some challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenges to communication in a hybrid workplace<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Company owners and executives considering setting up a hybrid workplace often have a few concerns. Many of these revolve around visibility, accountability, and, of course, communication challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, if an employee isn\u2019t in the office, won\u2019t that make communicating with them harder?<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer is a little more complex than a binary yes or no, so let\u2019s examine the six main communication challenges faced by hybrid workplaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Loss of cues from the tone and body language\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When employees aren\u2019t in the workplace, most work communications happen over the phone, video calls, or <\/span>team messaging<\/span><\/a> apps.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is clearly problematic. We know that only <\/span>7%<\/span><\/a> of communication exists in what we say. 38% comes from tone of voice, and a massive 55% comes from body language.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Messaging apps are devoid of body language and, for the most part, tonal cues (though we have emojis and GIFs to help out there).<\/span><\/p>\n

Phone calls are slightly better, bringing in the tone of voice element, while video calls are another notch up again.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, technological limitations still reduce our ability to convey meaning through tone of voice and body language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine the typical video meeting, for example, where everyone attending is confined to a small box, converted to a 2D image, with less than half of their body displayed on the camera. As a result, there\u2019s a lot of body language left unseen.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Asynchronous communication<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A lot of the communication that happens in the office environment is instant.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to ask Dave a question, for example, you\u2019ll find him in his office and ask him.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the hybrid workplace, communication becomes much more asynchronous.<\/span><\/p>\n

I fire off an email, Slack message, or voice note and don\u2019t expect to hear back immediately. Chances are, Dave won\u2019t even read it for a couple of hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same delay occurs when he does finally reply. This presents a challenge too urgent communications. It also means that many pieces of communication end up lost. We\u2019ve all forgotten to reply to an instant message that got buried in a barrage of other important discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Fully remote vs fully in-house<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As we mentioned earlier, hybrid workplaces also consist of fully remote employees and some working from the office five days per week.<\/span><\/p>\n

This can create an unintentional divide between the two types of workers, often resulting in remote workers feeling excluded.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this environment, in-house employees are more likely to be seen by their managers as more efficient and productive than their remote counterparts, purely due to visibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of this on communication is that those working remotely tend to disengage. They contribute less to group chats, skip out on office lunches, and reply with less urgency.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Onboarding and training<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the traditional work environment, the onboarding and training of employees take place in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n

A single manager generally leads it, but this person typically delegates responsibilities to key staff members performing similar roles. All of this ensures that the new hire can get intimately familiar with their new job.<\/span><\/p>\n

This kind of communication is much harder for distributed teams. Indeed, many leaders in these environments aren\u2019t necessarily \u201cin the office\u201d from nine to five, making training a new hire difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Timezone challenges<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the benefits of remote work is that companies have access to a larger pool of talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is, they are no longer limited to a small geographic area when hiring. Instead, if the best person for a role lives in Wisconsin and your office is in Arizona, remote workstyles would allow you to take advantage of this person\u2019s skill set without having them relocate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that the best person for that role might not be in the same country as your office, let alone the same city. Timezones make this quite tricky.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, an office based in Berlin hiring a new team member in Melbourne will find no overlapping meetings during a nine to five workday.<\/span><\/p>\n

9 am in Berlin is 5 pm in Melbourne, and 9 am in Melbourne is 1 am in Berlin. Therefore, compromise will need to be reached to communicate smoothly between parties in these cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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6. Reliance on internet connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Of course, the entire idea of remote work (and therefore hybrid workplaces) is predicated on the idea that teams can collaborate via the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

We sort of take the internet for granted these days, expecting that a solid connection will exist wherever we go.<\/span><\/p>\n

And though this expectation is typically met, there\u2019s hardly a person reading this article that hasn\u2019t been on the other end of a pixelated video call.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly, then, unreliable internet connections present a challenge to communication for a hybrid company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why face to face communication becomes essential in a hybrid workplace<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The hybrid workplace presents several communication-related challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing such an environment will inevitably be focused on maintaining a careful balance between the two work styles.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is, hybrid workplace leaders will need to realise that, while many benefits come from remote work, communication suffers.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is, therefore, a case of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping a strong ratio of face to face communication to text-based messaging will ensure:<\/span><\/p>\n