3 Easy Ways to Measure Productivity in Hybrid Teams

If your company was recently debating the workplace strategy, chances are you’ve agreed to try the hybrid work model. Employers like it, employees swear on it, and productivity stats seem to be backing that decision.  

The only question here is - how do managers approach the dual, hybrid workplace when it comes to actually measuring productivity and output?  

Let’s find out!  

Productivity vs. Efficiency

Right off the bat, it's worth pointing out the difference between productivity and efficiency.

When we're talking about efficiency, we're talking about the resources an employee puts into their work: time, tools, and effort. Therefore, discussing and improving efficiency usually focuses on the best ways to minimize steps, expenses, and tools someone uses to get the same amount of work done.

Productivity, on the other hand, is all about the work an employee completes. Productivity deals with results and output, so it should be evaluated separately from efficiency.

How hybrid work compares to the office and remote work

Until recently, knowledge workers did most or all their work in office buildings. This type of work environment leads to the now outdated ways of measuring productivity, such as presenteeism, watercooler chats, and the appearance of working.

On the other end of the spectrum is remote work. Remote employees aren't affected by presenteeism, but they are at risk of experiencing burnout and isolation, both of which negatively impact their performance and productivity.  

Hybrid work aims to bridge the gap between the office and fully remote work, giving employees all the tools they need to do their best and most productive work - which benefits their managers and employers.

In terms of measuring productivity, hybrid work takes the best processes from remote work and relies heavily on transparency, communication, and documentation. On the other hand, hybrid enables employees to use workspaces when they need to, which can leave some gaps in understanding and managing your team’s productivity.  

How your hybrid workplace can help you measure productivity

When your team shifts to hybrid work, they'll experience all the benefits of flexibility, both in terms of time and location. However, if you choose your hybrid workspace solution right, you'll have even more advantages as a manager.

  Here's how your hybrid workplace can measure productivity for you:  

The impact of collaboration

The single most significant benefit of hybrid work is leaving the house and meeting your team to brainstorm and collaborate. The standard flex space providers and office scheduling apps give your employees the place to do it, but they don't help you assess the impact.

With Gable's dashboard, you'll be able to see how often your employees come in to collaborate and work together. If their needs for face-to-face encounters grow over time, you'll be able to help them use the momentum by extending their usage limits and providing more spaces - all while staying in control of the budget and spending.

Taking the pulse of employees

Staying on top of your employees' productivity and engagement sometimes requires putting time and effort into creating, distributing, and analyzing surveys and questionnaires.

At Gable, we do all the work for you: in our dashboard, managers can see how employees rate their productivity when they use flexible workspaces, which spaces they prefer in terms of setup, and their overall satisfaction rate with the hybrid workplace.

Our dashboard gives managers aggregate ratings that are always up to date, simplifying decision making and workplace organization in hybrid and distributed teams.

Reasons employees use hybrid workspaces

Finally, if your employees are looking to ditch distractions and improve productivity, offering them a pass for a noisy communal area in a coworking space won't help them.

Gable's dashboard will give you a clear overview of all the reasons your employees use flex spaces, so you can help them achieve their goals - whether it's improving productivity, engaging with coworkers, or doing more focused work.  

Biggest performance challenges for hybrid work

For hybrid teams, measuring performance and productivity is just a bit trickier. As a middle ground between the office and remote work, hybrid takes the best of both worlds and thrives - but only when you establish the groundwork.

Here are the main factors impacting hybrid productivity and ways to tackle them:  

Inadequate work spaces

Hybrid work implies employees have a dedicated workspace to go to when they need it, and companies are always looking for spaces to offer to their people. However, these spaces need to be well evaluated and carefully chosen, as hybrid employees aren’t looking for a replica of the office.

Flex spaces for hybrid teams need to have different areas - phone booths, meeting rooms, dedicated desks, or hot desks, communal lounge areas, and quiet zones for focused work. Requesting and sourcing a versatile space is the only way to ensure your team has every need taken care of, regardless of their daily workflow.

Make sure to evaluate the flex spaces before choosing a provider and ensure they meet all the criteria of your team.

Unclear expectations

To make the best of hybrid work, managers and employees alike should align on the expectations and KPIs. Communicating and establishing expectations in terms of productivity, output, and even the work processes, can make a world of difference in measuring the success of hybrid teams.  

Lack of tools

Hybrid teams often need the same tools as remote teams to succeed. Communication flows for hybrid work are almost always remote-first and heavily asynchronous, to support people working in different places and times of day to coordinate their tasks.

Provide your distributed teams with all the software and tools they need to work, communicate, and thrive, and make sure everyone has access to them from day one.  

Inability to disconnect

Believe it or not, too much work is just as bad for your job as it is for your well-being. Hybrid work sometimes creates a feeling of constant juggling between going to work and finishing tasks at home.

As a manager, if your employees have these issues, make sure to address them before their performance takes a dive. Lead by example and encourage setting boundaries between work and personal life, whether that’s setting a Slack status for off-hours, taking regular time off, or providing self-care benefits.