The COVID-19 pandemic was disruptive in a variety of ways that we’re still trying to put words to, even now more than two years into the economic fallout due to quarantines, social distancing, and remote work adoption. The impact on workforce arrangements has been especially disruptive, as businesses struggle to introduce flexible work arrangements in ways that help staff maintain work-life balance and still maintain productivity levels. Experts in the field of human resources are still trying to get a handle on just what the future of work looks like in the post-COVID-19 landscape in order to best communicate the new normal to their teams.
As more businesses report a partial return to work and the expansion of hybrid work models, UpCity partnered with Pollfish to explore a number of post-COVID-19 trends over the last few months. We surveyed 600 hybrid small business owners and employees to find out how hybrid work has impacted their use of business communications and collaboration tools for both team communication and project management. Curious about what businesses use for software, what features they were most concerned with in choosing collaborative software tools, and their overall budgets, we divided the Pollfish survey findings into the following categories:
- Team Collaboration and Project Management Software
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration Tools
- Hybrid Work Satisfaction
Pure analytics mean very little without the insight of remote employees who are transitioning to a hybrid arrangement and who are putting these tools to use every day. In order to supplement the data from Pollfish, UpCity reached out to the international community of hybrid business owners and employees to gather anecdotal commentary. Experts shared their own insight into how they were using collaboration and project management software, and the impact those tools were anticipated to have on their success moving into 2022 and beyond.
Team Collaboration and Project Management Software
44% of hybrid B2B and B2C businesses transitioned to the hybrid business model during COVID-19
While the movement to flexible work arrangements was gaining ground prior to the pandemic, quarantines and forced office closures meant that many businesses who might not previously have considered flexible work an option were forced to embrace it, or else close shop altogether. For B2B service providers, they were in the same boat as many of their clients, so they could connect with clients and potential customers on the same level.
The hybrid workplace arrangements available to B2C customers, especially for retail businesses with brick-and-mortar operations, were especially challenging, as many had to adapt to hybrid work arrangements while at the same time pivoting their service model to either include or expand on existing eCommerce solutions. This split B2C staff in ways that meant office-based staff had to take on additional roles, while sales staff and retail staff onsite had to adapt to new roles or be laid off altogether.
As the social distancing and quarantine requirements have eased in the last year, many businesses are still retaining hybrid work models or adopting flexible work arrangements permanently, as it has become a demand of existing and potential employees, particularly necessary for businesses struggling to remain staffed during the Great Resignation brought on by the aftermath of the pandemic.
Hybrid Businesses
25% – My business was already hybrid before COVID-19 started
44% – My business transitioned to hybrid during the COVID-19 pandemic
17% – My business is currently transitioning from being fully remote to hybrid
14% – My business is currently transitioning from being fully in-person to hybrid
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, the workforce was already evolving to meet the varying needs of employees and growing demands for better work arrangements that improved work-life balance. However, hybrid and remote work models still hadn’t become predominant options. With the number of respondents to the Pollfish survey having adopted a hybrid arrangement in response to the pandemic, we posed the question to our community of business owners to find out more about the adoption of hybrid work models over the last two years.
“The interesting quality about GR0 is that the company was born from the pandemic. Because we launched in 2020, we do not really have anything to compare a non-hybrid business to. We have found the hybrid model to be particularly efficient because our employees are less stressed and more productive.”
—Jonathan Zacharias, Founder, GR0
“Yes, Slingshot has offered a hybrid option since 2009. Before COVID-19, most people still worked in the office every day. Now, no one is fully in-person.”
—Savannah Cherry, Director of Marketing & New Business, Slingshot
“As a globally dispersed eCommerce business. Headquartered in Australia, but with satellite offices across the USA and the UK, when the pandemic hit, we had already adopted efficient remote work practices and had systems in place to support hybrid working and the business transitioned seamlessly.”
—Clare Jones, Outreach Manager, Custom Neon
43% of hybrid businesses are currently reassessing the types of team collaboration tools that they use. However, they haven’t officially changed tools yet
The combination of the demands of hybrid work arrangements and the changing and evolving needs of clients and the business has forced many organizations to reassess the software tools they are using. Many are seeking out alternatives that are either more cost-efficient or more feature-rich in order to better meet their currently evolving and future business needs. This also stems from many software developers recognizing the need for more robust collaborative tools capable of supporting hybrid work arrangements, and the introduction to the market of multiple products promising to be the exact solution for their target audience’s changing needs.
The fact that many are either in the process of changing or have recently switched platforms shows that brands are less concerned with loyalty to a software provider than they are finding the right tools to fit their business needs.
43% – My business is currently re-assessing the types of team collaboration tools that we need but we haven’t changed our tools yet
34% – My business is currently in the process of switching to different collaboration tools
23% – My business has recently switched over to different collaboration tools
The number of collaboration software platforms and other communications tools on the market can make identifying the right tool for your team a fairly daunting task. Despite the diversity, throughout the pandemic, a number of tools naturally gravitated towards the tops of many companies’ tech stacks in order to remove complexity and simplify communications with staff and clients alike. We asked our community of business owners and professionals what tools they came to rely on for collaboration purposes.
“I love the integration of Slack and Trello. Trello allows us to organize tasks and projects through its boards. It allows us to assign people, set deadlines, and even put priorities on different tasks. The integration to Slack makes it easier to communicate and control Trello within Slack.”
—Rachel Scott, Co-Founder, National TASC LLC
“Slack and Google Meet have been our tools of choice. We love Slack because it allows us to organize our project communications into channels and as the industry standard in tech, most of our employees are already familiar with the tool. We use Google Meet as opposed to Zoom because our business uses Google Workspace. We find it much easier to have everything integrated within the Google environment.”
—Kaylee Randall, SEO Specialist, Digital8
“We are currently using Google Meet and Facebook Workplace Groups in our workplace. All the team members already have Google and Facebook accounts so there are no extra steps required. One of the key reasons I use Google Meet is because of how easy it is to set up meetings. You can send team members email invites and they can directly join from their calendar event. Using Facebook Workplace Groups has its perks as well. I find most of the tools like Slack or Asana a bit complex to use but there is no major learning curve if you use Facebook Workplace Groups.”
—Andreas Grant, Founder, Networks Hardware
19% of overall respondents used Zoom as their top team collaboration tool pre-COVID. A majority of respondents are continuing to prioritize Zoom in 2022 at 23%
Prior to the pandemic, Zoom was known as a web conferencing software company more focused on gradual growth and ensuring the platform effectively met the needs of the existing user community. When adoption rates of web conferencing software jumped in a single quarter by 84% in 2020 when the pandemic hit in earnest, Zoom was at the head of the pack, primarily due to focusing on the experience of early adopters and letting word-of-mouth and referrals do the heavy lifting. This attention to customer pain points has ensured that Zoom remains relevant in the recovery period and continues to be a leading conferencing solution used by businesses seeking collaborative meeting tools to support the continued existence of hybrid work arrangements across industries.
Interestingly, another product that saw a notable uptick during the pandemic was Microsoft Teams, as the tool is prevalent with most Windows Office business licensing and could easily be integrated and expanded through the license as needed by companies already operating with Windows-based software.
Team Collaboration Tool
| Pre-COVID | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Slack | 8% | 8% |
| Zoom | 19% | 23% |
| Microsoft Teams | 13% | 18% |
| Google Meet | 13% | 11% |
| GoToMeeting | 9% | 8% |
| Dialpad | 6% | 5% |
| Skype | 12% | 9% |
| Webex | 6% | 7% |
| RingCentral | 8% | 5% |
| None of the above | 6% | 7% |
34% of Zoom users also use Zoom’s chat feature regularly outside of video conferencing
Chat functionality became more important for many brands in the pandemic period, as in-person check-ins weren’t possible in the office and collaboration often required a way to quickly communicate information without the need for a full teleconference meeting. Since a large number of businesses were already using Zoom and had the platform open for large periods of time throughout the day, it follows that the Zoom chat feature would gain popularity, simply for the ease of access to eyes already engaged with the platform.
Zoom offered a number of other collaborative tools that users integrated into their workflow to replace other collaborative tools and supplement the lack of face-to-face engagement. The whiteboard is one feature of Zoom that a large number of users integrated into their collaborative efforts, as it offers a way to share visual data in real-time and allows users to collaborate to come up with solutions that support strategic planning goals.
The Zoom cloud phone and developer platforms are also alternative methods of communications that provide teams with different methods to connect that are integrated into the base Zoom software platform, allowing teams to centralize multiple channels of engagement to a single software.
Additional Features
22% – Zoom whiteboard
34% – Zoom Chat
10% – Developer platform
19% – Zoom cloud phone system
7% – Omnichannel contact center solution
7% – None of the above
8% of small businesses that have been operating for 10+ years switched from using Microsoft Teams to Zoom during the pandemic
While both of these tools were popular throughout the pandemic, it’s telling of the success that Zoom had in appealing to a wider client base throughout the pandemic that in order to better connect with clients and potential leads, many businesses abandoned Microsoft Teams to embrace Zoom. At the start of the pandemic, as businesses were scrambling to establish best practices,
Zoom emerged as a largely free and universally accessible online platform independent of internal networks and licensing that was adopted by many small businesses and service providers. Because they were using it professionally, Zoom also saw a wider usage for personal communications than other platforms, especially Microsoft Teams, as other solutions were often tied to business accounts, and Zoom provided a more versatile, accessible solution across the board.
32% of respondents that still use Microsoft Teams also use their chat and collaboration tools
While it provides a free and versatile alternative, Zoom does require communication to take place away from the tools many businesses were already using internally for communications and engagement. For teams already deeply entrenched in the Microsoft platform, it follows that if they continue to use Microsoft Teams, that they would fold in the additional functionality offered by other Microsoft Office applications built to support operational requirements such as scheduling and hiring and workflow automation. The Microsoft Teams phone function ensures a degree of efficiency as it allows users to connect quickly and easily with team members and clients who use Microsoft, and has integrations that allow non-Microsoft users to engage via a web-based interface when invited to a call.
All of which is to say that the Microsoft Teams interface, if already in use, was easy to leverage to meet the evolving needs of a hybrid workforce and kept the team using tools it was already familiar with without having to worry about the integration of new channels of engagement.
Additional Features
26% – Microsoft Teams phone
32% – Chat and collaboration (Instant messaging and file sharing)
19% – Apps and workflow automation
20% – Staffing/scheduling
4% – None of the above
Changing collaboration tools requires teams to make significant changes in their workflows and take on additional training to ensure they can keep up with the needs of the organization. We asked business owners and employees from our community whether they’ve adopted new collaborative tools in their transition to supporting a hybrid workforce.
“Yes, we changed our collaboration tools once our business became hybrid because we needed to be able to communicate and work with people in different locations. Zoom has been very helpful for this.”
—Shaun Martin, Owner & CEO, Denver Real Estate Solutions
“Our collaboration tools shifted when we became hybrid because our needs shifted, and the tools we’d been using didn’t necessarily match those needs any longer.”
—Stephen Light, Owner & CEO, Nolah Mattress
“Yes, we did change our collaboration tools once our business became hybrid. We switched to Slack for team communication. We also started using Asana for project management.”
—Linda Chavez, Founder & CEO, Seniors Life Insurance Finder
48% of small businesses that primarily use GoToMeeting leverage its virtual training platform, in addition to its remote access and support features
Zoom and Microsoft Teams aren’t the only players in the virtual meeting space. GoToMeeting retained its popularity and gained footing throughout the pandemic. The users who leverage GoToMeeting point to some of the platform’s unique features that supported their brands through the pandemic. Unable to send staff to training seminars or have in-person training in the office, GoToMeeting provided a platform to deliver virtual training opportunities.
For businesses that require more hands-on interactions between staff members or with clients, GoToMeeting also supports remote access, support tools, and account management functions in order to better secure meetings. This last factor is especially valuable, given how many businesses are struggling with security and privacy issues in the transition to hybrid work arrangements and employees leave the safety and security of the in-house network of their office spaces.
Additional Features
22% – GoToMeeting remote support software
24% – Virtual training platform
24% – Remote access and support
23% – Password and identity management
6% – None of the above
28% of users who currently communicate with their teams with Dialpad additional use its business phone system
Working outside of the office in a hybrid work arrangement introduces a number of communications challenges. Without the alternatives offered by platforms such as Dialpad and other remote communications platforms, employees would be handling company data and communicating across non-secure channels on personal devices.
The other advantage offered by such platforms is a consolidation of multiple lines of communications to a single platform, allowing employees to correlate and connect information across instant messaging conversations and phone conversations. These platforms also include AI-driven customer service and AI sales tools that automate interactions and free up staff to handle other necessary tasks.
Additional Features
28% – Dialpad business phone system
14% – Instant messaging
20% – AI customer services
26% – AI sales
12% – None of the above
17% of businesses noted Teamwork as their preferred project management tool pre-COVID. 18% of businesses are still using Teamwork as their primary project management source in 2022
What we’ve learned from the feedback from our respondents to the survey is that in almost every case, project management tools were not as prone to being replaced as other communications tools in the technology stack. This makes sense when you consider how many businesses build their workflow and departmental interactions around project management software, making it an extremely difficult software tool to transition out for alternatives.
Project Management Tool
| Pre-COVID | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Asana | 9% | 9% |
| Trello | 8% | 9% |
| Zoho Projects | 10% | 10% |
| Monday.com | 9% | 8% |
| Teamwork | 17% | 18% |
| Podio | 6% | 6% |
| ProofHub | 7% | 7% |
| ClickUp | 8% | 8% |
| Basecamp | 8% | 8% |
| Wrike | 6% | 8% |
| None of the above | 13% | 11% |
Just as varied as the choices for collaboration and communication, the range of project management tools on the market is vast. While the field is fairly diverse when posing the question of which project management tools they favor to our community, we found several platforms consistently mentioned, due to the quality and experience the platforms offered teams.
“Trello is my organization’s go-to project management tool. It allows us to set up a dashboard for our company’s projects and keep them updated on completed or upcoming tasks and their deadlines. My workers are able to collaborate together and organize all the project tasks, making them easy to follow.”
—Joshua Rich, Founder & CEO, Bullseye
“We have integrated Notion into our communication platform, Slack, in order to make everything more organized. Project management was a lot easier when we were working in person, in the office. Hence, when we started remote working, we had to find a tool where we could manage our projects in an organized way, take notes, and communicate all in one place. Luckily, the combination of Slack and Notion proved the best way to manage a remote team. We were able to communicate, move one project to different boards, check our schedules, and basically organize and tag everything to specific people. Hence, these two tools have allowed us to work perfectly, albeit remotely.”
—Sharon Dylan, Co-Founder & Career Coach, Management Help LLC
“We are using Jira and Confluence for project management, and it allows us to keep organized and track our work. Since now we are fully remote we use Trello to measure the time we work on specific issues. That gives us a lot of insights.”
—Tomasz Juszczak, CTO & Lead Programmer, Prographers
30% of small businesses overall spend $100-$499 on collaboration tools per month
The value assigned to collaborative tools per month by businesses of various sizes shows that regardless of the revenue stream, businesses prioritize collaboration in their budgets in order to give their teams the tools necessary to remain connected regardless of the work arrangement in place.
Overall Monthly Budget Breakdown
15% – Less than $500,000
30% – $100-$499
23% – $500-$999
18% – $1,000+
14% – Unsure
| Annual Revenue | Monthly Budget (Majority) |
|---|---|
| Less than $500,000 | 35% – $100-$499 |
| $500,000-$2M | 38% – $100-$499 |
| $3M-$5M | 29% – $500-$999 |
| $6M-$9M | 26% – $1,000+ |
| $10M+ | 29% – Unsure |
Collaboration tools are at the core of many businesses’ ability to compete, but the survival of any brand has become more dependent on such tools throughout the pandemic. Our survey shows that brands have ensured that they have integrated these tools into their workflows to support flexible work arrangements, but our survey also explored the advantages and disadvantages that come along with those tools.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration Tools
Businesses with 100 employees and fewer noted that too many meetings and daily disruptions have been the biggest challenges with collaboration tools in a hybrid work environment. In contrast businesses with 101+ employees noted that delayed team response times pose the largest issue
Many businesses that transitioned to remote work and hybrid work arrangements throughout the pandemic were forced to do so with little preparation. To combat the disconnect many leaders felt when hybrid work was introduced into the work experience, collaboration tools were leveraged more often to check in with workers and hold meetings throughout the day. While well-intentioned, many employees and mid-level leadership felt that the increased number of meetings was disruptive to their workflow and caused too many distractions. Small businesses also found that many platforms provided some, but not all of the features they truly needed for collaboration, requiring their teams to have to adapt and learn multiple platforms in order to accomplish all of the necessary collaborative tasks. Paramount throughout the pandemic and the resulting rise in cyber attacks and events, security has been a major concern, especially for collaborative tools being used outside of the secure office-based networks.
For businesses with a larger staff, delayed response time during the pandemic was the primary concern with having to rely upon collaborative tools. The larger staff size combined with the use of new technologies or existing technologies in new ways naturally leads to technical difficulties and issues in the software itself. And topping the list, as with smaller businesses, security concerns are equally prevalent when it comes to collaborative tools being used by larger companies.
2-100 Employees
(On a scale of 1-8, 1 being the most challenging)
Too many meetings and/or daily disruptions
A lack of features and capabilities
Delayed responses from team
Security issues
Costly price structures
Too many technical difficulties
Feeling disconnected from team
Other
101-250 Employees
(On a scale of 1-8, 1 being the most challenging)
Delayed responses from team
Too many technical difficulties
Security issues
Too many meetings and/or daily disruptions
A lack of features and capabilities
Feeling disconnected from team
Other
Costly price structures
Regardless of the company size, the forced transition to hybrid or remote work during the Pandemic for many companies introduced a slew of challenges into the standard work day that many employees were neither equipped for nor trained to handle prior to the transition. We explored some of these challenges more in-depth with our community of business owners and employees.
“The biggest challenge is finding a suitable time for meetings. Though this can be mitigated with the collaboration tools we use. Sometimes there are technical issues, but we record all meetings, so it has a minimal impact on communication.”
—Mitchell Elworthy, Founder & Director, The Lighting Outlet
“Adjusting to it at first was a bit of a challenge but the greater we improved our hybrid team-building communication efforts and got into an inspiring new flexible routine, the more it grew on us.”
—Struan Baird, Co-Founder & Director, Luxury Ireland Tours
“One of the main challenges could be very hard to measure as it’s extremely subjective. Without people sitting near each other in the office (since they are all at home), there is no opportunity for bouncing ideas off each other. If you have to write something down rather than just chuck it out there it makes it more formal and I think people are less willing to test their ideas that way. So our main challenge would be less spontaneous creativity.”
—Shane McEvoy, Managing Director, Flycast Media
Team sizes with less than 101 employees rated improved team communication, team productivity, and task tracking as the biggest benefits of collaboration tools in the hybrid setting. Alternatively, teams of 101+ employees believe that greater workplace flexibility is the best benefit
While collaborative software can be challenging to integrate into the workflow, especially when juggling hybrid work arrangements, the tools often provide numerous advantages that offset the negatives. For smaller distributed teams, collaborative software helps to improve overall communication and increases overall team productivity. Productivity emerges out of this improved communication and the ability to more effectively track project and task completion. Collaborative tools also provide great flexibility for employees who need it and help leaders to allocate the workload appropriately based on staff schedules and availability.
For larger teams, the need for increased flexibility was the primary advantage offered by collaborative tools, made possible largely by the improved level of communication the tools make possible. With more projects in play, it follows that larger teams rely more on collaborative tools and manage staff availability in order to track progress on projects and tasks.
2-100 Employees
(On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the biggest benefit)
Improved overall team communication
Increased team productivity
Easier to track tasks and projects
Greater workplace flexibility
Better division of tasks
More inclusive work culture
Easier to solve problems as a team
Greater team diversity
Faster turnaround time for projects
Other
101-250 Employees
(On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the biggest benefit)
Greater workplace flexibility
Improved overall team communication
Easier to track tasks and projects
Increased team productivity
Better division of tasks
More inclusive work culture
Greater team diversity
Easier to solve problems as a team
Faster turnaround time for projects
Other
Despite recent calls for a full return to the office by companies across industries, many business owners have recognized the advantages flexible work arrangements offer and are keen to maintain such arrangements due to the benefits. Many of our respondents from the international community of business owners that have adopted hybrid arrangements laid out the benefits of doing so.
“My favorite aspect of hybrid work is that it’s the best of both worlds; employees get a better work-life balance and can still work under the constant supervision of their superiors.”
—Mark Sadaka, Founder, Sadaka Law
“My favorite aspect of a hybrid working model is the symbiosis of the pros of in-office and remote work. Specifically, I mean the commonality of being able to have more control over my daily routine while also benefiting from in-person collaboration when needed.”
—Michal Jońca, Community Manager, PhotoAiD
“We love working semi-autonomously, so a hybrid business model works for us. Also, flexibility remains a cornerstone of our success. Our team of collaborators is also entrepreneurs who have their own personal and professional goals. This is why we are super effective with our time and value our collaborative efforts to keep CallScaler growing.”
—Curran Van Waarde, Founder, CallScaler
Overall, the transition to hybrid work arrangements has been a mixed experience for businesses across industries, and collaboration tools have been crucial for businesses to make those transitions successful. Successful or not, our survey with Pollfish further explored the transition to hybrid work arrangements to find out how satisfied owners and workers were with the outcome.
Hybrid Work Satisfaction
45% of respondents, regardless of their age group, like having the option of working both remotely and in-person
The pandemic had an impact on workers across generations and forced many to reconsider their life priorities. Further, the fallout from the pandemic meant that many people had to handle healthcare concerns, family care, and other personal issues throughout the week at times when they were traditionally in the office. The adoption of hybrid arrangements allowed employees to handle these issues and still contribute to the success of their company. The majority of our respondents mirror this sentiment, showing that the preference for a hybrid work arrangement isn’t a tactic to work less, but rather that most people are willing to balance their personal needs against the need to perform certain work tasks in the office.
30% – I enjoy working in the company office more
25% – I prefer the days that I work remotely
45% – I like having the option of working both remotely and in-person
It’s a crucial stage in the post-coronavirus recovery period with numerous businesses pushing for a full return to the office, while other business owners have expressed intent to continue allowing their teams to have flexible work options. We posed the question to our community to find out which arrangement they preferred and why.
“Hybrid work arrangements have provided our company with so many positives. The office door is always open to team members, and the ‘required’ in-office time can be broken up however it works for them each day, week, or month. This flexible hybrid model is simple and successful for our agency.”
—Greta Snell, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Dittoe Public Relations
“I would prefer to go back to a fully remote work setting because it provides our employees with a better work-life balance. This way they can spend more time with their family and friends, without disrupting their workflow.”
—Eyal Pasternak, Founder, Liberty House Buying Group
“I think that hybrid work provides the best of both worlds, allowing employees to select a work environment that matches their unique tastes and providing them with the best work-life balance possible. Technology has enabled remote work to be extremely viable in the modern-day, with businesses such as ours seeing little to no changes in productivity when compared to in-person work. Since making the switch to hybrid, our employees have been happier, more engaged, less burnt out, and generally more productive!”
—Teresha Aird, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, Offices.net
A majority of small businesses rated ease of use as the most important feature that they look for when selecting a collaboration tool
Not all collaboration tools are created equal and the wide range of software platforms on the market makes for varied experiences by users. Adopting collaborative tools requires a thorough assessment of the tool under consideration. Intended to simplify and streamline operations, it follows that our respondents prioritize ease of use above other factors. Rounding out the priorities of business owners when considering collaboration tools are the affordability of the software platform, crucial in the wake of the economic instability brought on by the pandemic, and the need to adopt the best technology available on the market.
(On a scale of 1-7, 1 being the most important)
Ease of use
Advanced/fast technology
Affordability
Additional features and/or integrations
Exceptional customer support
Customizable options
Other
We queried the community to find out what features and factors were most important to business leaders and employees in the adoption of collaboration tools, and found that the Pollfish results were mostly in line with those of the community at large.
“The traits that we focus on when choosing a collaboration tool are real-time chat, flexibility, scalability, and interactive customer support.”
—Brandon Walsh, Founder, Interly
“The one thing I look for in a collaboration tool is its user-friendliness. After all, I don’t want teams to spend ages figuring out how to use it because it’ll only tamper with their communication and collaboration.”
—Aviad Faruz, CEO, Faruzo
“We look for accessibility, a visually enjoyable design, and shareability. As a digital agency with both in-person and remote workers, we need tools that can be shared between employees, like Asana and Slack, and are also enjoyable to use since we hope to incorporate collaboration tools more to streamline productivity.”
—Sam Olmsted, New Orleans Managing Director, Online Optimism
Support Your Hybrid Team With the Right Collaborative Tools in 2022 and Beyond
In the wake of the pandemic, business owners have had to embrace the fact that their economic recovery efforts must be balanced against the more dynamic staffing requirements of a population of workers that have become accustomed to hybrid work arrangements. Supporting a widening need for enhanced communications and project management, collaboration tools are increasingly being leveraged to fill the gaps left by staff working under a diverse set of circumstances. To support the adoption of such tools for small businesses unfamiliar with the adoption of collaborative software, your team can find B2B consultants that can guide your team on the UpCity marketplace.
UpCity’s Survey Method
UpCity used Pollfish to survey 600 U.S. small business owners and employees who are currently working in hybrid-based settings.
Thirty percent of respondents own or work at businesses that have been operating for 3-5 years, followed by 10+ years (24%), 6-9 years (17%), 1-2 years (17%), and less than 1 year (12%).
Fifty-three percent of the respondents are male and forty-seven percent are female. A majority of male respondents are 25-34 years old (38%) and a majority of female respondents are also 25-34 years old (30%).