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10 Ways Of Managing Hybrid Teams 

Some sort of remote or home working may have become a part of your daily lives past the pandemic. It also means that several companies will consider having hybrid teams moving ahead. There is also the possibility that several companies will leave the decision to come back to the workplace in the hands of the employees. Effective management of hybrid teams will come down to using fairness and all-inclusiveness for all members of the team. Here are some ways of achieving this.

Set Accountability And Expectations Initially

Set out your accountability and expectations early on. Make this clear to all employees including home-based and office-based ones. You may want to conduct daily or weekly meetings with the whole team at the beginning of every day and later share progress regularly with the entire team on key projects. You can share large files with your coworkers so everyone is updated with the working process.

Have Clear Working Hours

It allows you and your team members to know who is working at what time. Sharing the work calendar will improve the visibility of critical info enabling the team members to understand what every person is doing at a particular time including team members that are not sitting next to you in the same space.

Discourage All The “Us And Them” Culture

When you are managing hybrid teams, it is easy for the negative and unhelpful attitude about the “other” group to seep in. For instance, you don’t want office-based workers to think that remote workers are not working as hard as they are. Encourage them to develop working relationships and facilitate this as much as possible. You must have a culture of respect and support in your hybrid team.

Know The Benefits Of All Working Situations And Make Sure Things Are Fair

The employees working from home might likely be finding it simpler to maintain a healthy work-to-life balance than compared to those working in an office all the time. You need to restore some balance for the office-based staff by providing the flexibility to say pick their children from school or run some errands during office hours.

Provide Equal Time And Focus On All Members Of Your Team

The amount of help and attention you provide for all your employees must not depend on how they are working and their roles. If some members of the team are working remotely they should not get less support, for instance, they may need online tools such as VPNs to log into the company’s network from anywhere in the world. In that case, you should check VPN reviews and choose the most suitable one.

Establish Good Communication

All remote workers are missing out on face-to-face communication. It means you have to make an effort to make them feel engaged by using remote meetings. In the course of these meetings, these people may be sitting next to one another. For communication, select video and voice mode over chat and email although this depends on the task at hand.

Consider Ways Of Measuring Performances In A Fair Manner

You will have to shift your attention from hours and efforts at the desk to their output based on fixed objectives. The location of your team members does not matter; you need to be focused on the quality of work they are providing. The amount of time they are spending at their desks should be second consideration. Career progression paths have to be equal and fair for all members of the staff.

Recruit Wisely

When you are hiring an employee for a certain role that you expect will involve remote work you have to make sure that you are hiring them for the right skills. For remote workers, you need a person that is a self-starter, punctual, and responsive. If he has experience in remote work it will be great.

Have Occasions For Bringing Your Team Together

After the crisis is finished and government restrictions are lifted, it will help the team harmony, unity, and morale in case you can arrange opportunities for this hybrid team to meet together and get to know each other.

Keep All The Remote Staff Well-Informed

The employees that are not working in the office might not be privy to the different decisions that are taken by the on-site employees, or decisions taken at the executive level. Therefore, you need to set up dedicated, regular time for sharing all these details thereby ensuring transparency among the staff.

Conclusion

As we move into the new era after the pandemic, it is clear that the workplace might become more flexible than it has ever been earlier. This may force a change in the dynamics of remote and office-based teams. It will be a good idea to concentrate on the best ways of leading a hybrid team for the future.

Author: Disi Tesfaye

Photo Credits: Pixabay

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