Now is the time to consider how we can avoid digital miscommunication and give teams clarity.
Over the past two years, many companies have shifted to a hybrid working (opens in new tab) approach. Yet how we collaborate both virtually and in person remains unclear and businesses continue to face a critical set of potential benefits and risks. With restrictions and work from home guidance in constant flux, now is the time to consider how we can avoid digital miscommunication and provide teams with alignment and clarity, no matter if they’re fully remote, returning to office, or something in between. For many organizations, the abrupt shift to remote work felt like a transformation. Almost overnight, companies set up a swath of new tools, systems, and policies to try and create cohesion between dispersed teams. With organizations simply prioritizing ‘keeping the lights on’, this shift was more reactive than proactive, resulting in a swath of new tools and inefficiencies. Today, we are more experienced and have time to design an intentional hybrid work model that meets our teams’ needs. As companies continue to adopt different working models in response to ever-changing guidelines, there is an opportunity to do better than we did before. Despite more digital tools at our disposal, teams aren’t actually more connected. Legacy tools and techniques we’ve failed to ditch—like using spreadsheets (opens in new tab) to track project progress—and new tools we’ve hastily onboarded, are creating silos and confusion. What we need is connection and clarity. We must break down silos and optimize our tech stacks if we are to avoid low productivity (opens in new tab), disengaged employees (opens in new tab), and disconnected teams.
