The world of work looks a lot different now, compared with the workplace landscape a few years ago. 

While corporate events seem to be bouncing back, and sales teams return to the office, we can’t deny that the global pandemic, along with a whole host of other socioeconomic factors have impacted wholesale businesses and sales teams across the UK. 

One major way in which our day-to-day working lives have changed has been the inception of remote working and hybrid working. 

What is hybrid working and how does it impact sales teams? 

After multiple mandated lockdowns, many workers became accustomed to remote working. Now, as restrictions have lifted, many CEOs, directors and managers have implemented a hybrid working model. In fact, as of the end of last year, 84% of UK businesses were gearing up for a hybrid working model. 

Hybrid working simply means business leaders are allowing their staff to work in the way that works best for them. For example, some may choose to return to the office full time, others may choose to work remotely for as many days as allowed. For many businesses, workers have adopted a model of three days in the office, and two from home. 

While, for the most part, employees are happy with this new-found flexibility, leaders must make necessary changes to ensure everyone has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. 

Reshaping your strategy

Depending on your business and your goals, hybrid working might require a complete culture overhaul. While many see hybrid and remote working as a great progression from the 9-5, without a culture shift, businesses could unwittingly suffer from an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude to those who don’t work in the office often. 

That means it’s crucial to provide a virtual platform, and the right cloud-based, remotely accessible tools for employees to have a level playing field in terms of their career development. 

Ensure managers lead by example

In a company where leaders work from the office, employees will most likely follow suit. For businesses that want a hybrid working model to endure, it’s wise to encourage sales leaders to embrace the flexibility of remote work, so employees can also enjoy the work-life balance of hybrid working without worrying it could impact their progression. 

Implement equal opportunities for remote and office workers 

It’s important to recognise and reward those who work from home in equal measure to those who choose to work in the office environment. Checking in regularly with those who work remotely and making sure they’re recognised and appreciated for their hard work will help you to consolidate the ethos of teamwork while employees become increasingly disparate. 

Invest in cloud-based tools

Make sure your team benefit from an even playing field when it comes to the tools that allow productivity. Whether they work from home, a local coffee shop, the tradeshow floor, or the office, having software that is accessible from anywhere with WiFi, will mean your team can connect, collaborate, and close more deals from wherever they choose to do their job. 

As businesses transition to embrace more digital methods of working, businesses should focus on how they can best enable their sales teams for efficient processes and workflows at home or in the office. Harnessing a nurturing company culture as well as investing in the right tools could help businesses to stay focused on their goals and targets and continue to drive growth in the virtual working era.

Toucan’s mobile-enabled analytics tool and sales enablement solution allow leaders to oversee activity and empowers all members of the team to benefit from the same platforms and make better, data-driven decisions from anywhere. 

To see how our comprehensive cloud-based software could unlock efficiencies for your sales operation, click here to book a demo.