There has been a significant rise in the number of hybrid work teams over the past two years. Amid lockdowns and mandates, employees became decentralized and leaders were suddenly tasked with managing newly-hybrid teams. The added value of flexibility came with the complexity of juggling work dynamic, communication, and expectations with team members both in and out of the office. With a few key tips, you can ensure your hybrid team is performing efficiently and effectively.
Prioritize Consistent Communication
Keeping the lines of communication open between team members is critical to ensuring work objectives are progressing appropriately. Consistent and effective communication also lessens the risk of mistakes and oversights. Setting guidelines and expectations for proper avenues of communication can improve the productivity of your hybrid team.
Culture is Key
Physical distance can make it difficult to form strong bonds with hybrid colleagues. Special attention should be given to relationship-building and activities to strengthen bonds between colleagues, and essentially team culture. Having regular conversations around team goals, objectives, and metrics can be a useful tool in fostering a sense of teamwork.
Keep Meetings Focused & On Task
Facilitating meetings with both virtual and in-person team members can be tricky. Team leaders should keep conversations inclusive and limit side conversations that may leave virtual attendees without context or feeling excluded. By communicating clear summaries and action items at the conclusion of each meeting, leadership can ensure that all attendees leave feeling informed and aligned.
Be Inclusive
It’s easy to form bonds with those we share an office space with, however it’s equally important to form strong bonds with our virtual colleagues. Leadership must share information and make decisions through a lens of inclusivity. Virtual team members can easily feel disconnected from their in-office counterparts. It’s important for leadership to ensure that all water cooler conversations and ad hoc brainstorming sessions are summarized and communicated to virtual employees. And as a rule, important decisions should only be made when the entire team can weigh in.
Invest in the Right Tools
Investing in tools to improve virtual communication, collaboration, and productivity can take a hybrid team from dysfunctional to high-performing by opening proper lines of communication. Tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams offer avenues for quick, organized threads of communication for teams and subteams. Project management tools can ensure the entire team has visibility to the various moving pieces of complex projects. Ensuring your team has the collaboration tools in place to increase productivity and communication can improve efficiency and working relationships for the in-office and virtual members.
While there is no lack of tips and tricks you can implement to help improve the effectiveness of your hybrid team, these best practices are a great place to start. It’s clear that hybrid teams aren’t going anywhere, and as effective leaders, it’s important to have the skills necessary to lead strong, productive teams regardless of location.
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