The working world in 2023 is complex.
Most companies are operating some kind of hybrid model — where employees have the choice to work from home or from the office.
As positive as hybrid work is for employee wellbeing and work-life balance, it also leaves one fundamental question: how do you keep your team coordinated?
In this post, we’ll explore how vital it is to have dedicated software in place for managing hybrid work — and how it could transform your team coordination goals this year.
1. See the bigger picture
The office is no longer the rigid, consistently populated space it used to be.
People come and go as they please, and it can be very hard to get an overview of their movement — let alone ensure team coordination doesn’t suffer as a result.
Hybrid work software gives you the bigger picture, by providing a clear overview of the week’s office attendance – including which teams and individuals are planning to go in, and which desks, areas and meeting rooms are in high demand.
Team coordination depends on employees having the same access to important information – and there’s no information more important than where your colleagues are choosing to spend their time to collaborate.
With the right hybrid work tool, your team will stay in touch with the bigger picture and regain the ability to make proper plans for their future office attendance.
2. Choose the schedule that works for you
Team coordination in a hybrid world is so much more than just making sure everyone is in the office three days a week.
It’s about realizing that everyone has a unique life situation, and allowing them to choose a schedule that fits around their lives.
Hybrid work software is designed to recognize that fact. By giving you a granular breakdown of what’s happening in the week ahead, and allowing you to book a desk on any given day, for any given duration, your hybrid tool acts as your companion for building a schedule that works for you.
Coming into a physical workspace is no longer an obligation — it’s a benefit and a perk. That’s why it’s so important to give your employees the right reasons and the right platform to make use of this perk — at their own Kadence.
A coordinated team is not one that is forced together — it’s one that purposely moves in the same direction.
3. Nudge people together
More and more, we’re seeing how radical, one-size-fits-all solutions work against a company’s productivity or team coordination goals.
The idea that uniformity leads to coordination and growth is outdated. Our new world relies on nuance and flexibility.
Rather than forcing people to go into the office, how about sending them intelligent nudges based on concrete projects and goals?
That’s precisely what the right hybrid work software will do for you. Seeing key moments or colleague movements in your week ahead, your hybrid companion will send you smart recommendations for booking desk time to coordinate and collaborate with them.
It’s never a forcing suggestion — ultimately it’s up to you — but it’s a polite nudge in the right direction. The sum of these nudges is a team that is both coordinated and happy to be coordinated.
4. Book time in specific office neighborhoods
When it comes to the specifics of your time in the office, hybrid work software is set up to offer you the physical space that is optimal for your collaboration and social goals.
Office neighborhoods are areas that can be marked out for a variety of uses – whilst always having team coordination at their heart.
Some might be department specific: Marketing Metropolis / Numbers Nook / Creative Corner. Others might be task specific: focus areas, zones with access to relevant equipment and facilities, high activity areas.
Your hybrid work tool will display these neighborhoods to you and their use on any given week — giving you the opportunity to join them when they’re busiest (and most appealing!) or when relevant colleagues are also planning to make use of them.
The office should be the social hub of your organization, where your community is built and supported.
Coordinating your team around its physical spaces goes a long way towards ensuring it becomes that thriving social centre.
5. Make meetings count
In a hybrid world, meetings can be finicky things. “Can you guys hear me?” “You’re on mute, Dave” “We’re just waiting for Julia to join, she’s in the office”.
When managed poorly, a hybrid meeting schedule can result in a bunch of people attending a bunch of meetings from a bunch of different remote or physical locations — all at the expense of a good collaborative experience.
We sometimes forget that meetings aren’t just boxes to tick. They’re opportunities to bring people together, put great minds on big questions, and achieve brilliant things.
That’s why it’s so important to coordinate your team properly around meetings.
A tool for hybrid work lets you book the right space for each meeting and notify relevant people about the whereabouts. Team members who wish to participate are equipped with all the necessary information for them to make a decision about whether or not to attend the office on that day. The potential chaos and confusion of a hybrid meeting is replaced by clarity and intention.
Synchronizing your team around meetings will ensure that these key collaborative moments are used to their maximum benefit.
Managing the ins and outs of a hybrid team is hard.
Trying to do it without the right software is like being left alone with a 16×16 rubix cube. You can stare at it all you want, but it won’t solve itself!
Adopting another tool can also feel intimidating. Not another piece of software to add to our ever-growing catalogue…
We hope we’ve convinced you that this particular tool really is worthwhile. It tackles a question that runs at the core of every business: how can I coordinate my team and empower them to do amazing work together?
If you are still struggling to find the right solution for your own hybrid team, we’d love to hear from you — and help in any way we can.
1. Set up your profile 
