Principle 2: Implement effective communication and consultation

People working at different times and different locations need to know what is going on and how to connect and share information and experiences. Find out how your organisation can effectively communicate and consult with your workforce.

Part of the Hybrid work module.

Why effective communication and consultation is important for hybrid work

Communication at all levels of an organisation is critical in a hybrid work environment. Having workers on different time schedules and in different locations increases the complexity about how your organisation communicates and manages knowledge.

Research explains why effective communication and consultation is important for hybrid work:

Insight 1: Hybrid work increases the frequency of communication but decreases the quality – The increased frequency of communication (e.g. meetings, phone calls, emails, instant messages) helps teams coordinate and plan their activities. But, the quality of communication has deteriorated (e.g. multiple distractions, self-regulating during online or video meetings). People also experience meeting fatigue (because meetings are often back to back). These forms of communication also offer few socialising opportunities.

Insight 2: Asynchronous communication and the lack of visual cues makes knowledge management more important – People working remotely reported getting less guidance from managers. And fewer face-to-face interactions with colleagues can make it challenging to retrieve, access and use information and knowledge, leading to knowledge and information gaps. Remote workers also lose the visual cues about team and organisational goals. It leads to a greater need for digital records and improved knowledge management practices.

Asynchronous communication does not occur in real time—one person provides or requests information and then there is a time lag before recipients respond. Examples include emails, instant messages, social media apps, message boards and chatbots.

Guidelines for implementing effective communication and consultation

1. Establish a manageable, structured meeting schedule.

Think how often people need to meet and who needs to attend to achieve objectives. A too-heavy schedule of calls and meetings can be distracting and disengaging. Workers need time for deep concentration work and time for lighter tasks.

2. Enable regular face-to-face communication.

Bringing people together regularly—ideally in person but via videoconference if necessary—adds value by:

reminding people about their place in the team
providing an opportunity to discuss team activities
letting you reiterate team direction.

Informal catch-ups with managers and other workers means people can ask for direction and clarification about their work. It also provides informal learning opportunities.

Here are some ways you can support face-to-face communication:

Provide training to help workers better manage communication.
Review communication habits across the organisation.
Establish regular structured one-on-one sessions with direct reports, and consider informal catch-ups with managers.

Remember, there is still a place (and a need) for genuine, face-to-face connection.

3. Provide knowledge management tools and guidelines.

Setting up a logical digital management system gives everyone access to vital information e.g. meeting minutes, decisions and documents. You also need clear guidelines on the ‘who, how, where and what’ of documentation, and to develop a culture that fosters knowledge creation and sharing.

Here are some ways you can encourage knowledge sharing:

Help workers see the value and use in sharing knowledge.
Introduce document management systems that enable workers to identify and connect with internal experts.
Provide training and guidance on what is worth storing and how to uniformly save and house work.

Why effective communication and consultation is important for hybrid work

Guidelines for implementing effective communication and consultation

Further reading