Over the course of the past few months, businesses have gradually opened back up. While some businesses will have all their employees return to working on-site, many will have a mix of remote and in-office employees. These tips will help you lead a hybrid team and ensure both remote and non-remote employees receive the support they need to succeed.
Use Video Conferencing for Meetings
The benefit of working in an office is that it allows people to easily collaborate with one another. Video conferencing can replicate some the advantages of face-to-face conversations. While most remote workers will likely use video conferencing tools regularly, the key is to also provide in-office employees with the same resources. If you’re having a meeting that includes both kinds of workers, you want them all to be able to see each other. If remote workers join in the meeting but can’t see everybody’s faces or hear everybody’s voices, they may feel like outsiders. In addition, the team will not be able to collaborate to the best of their ability.
Communicate Evenly
In office employees receive a lot more interaction and socialization than remote workers. In a hybrid team, it is important to engage employees equally by frequently using tools like Slack. These types of tools allow everyone to contribute to conversations and engage in important discussions regardless of their location. You want remote workers to feel like they are a part of the team. It is also a good idea to encourage remote employees to socialize with in-office employees too. This can help foster a greater sense of community and prevent any of your team members from feeling left out.
Rethink Employee Recognition
In-office employees are more visible by default. Managers are more likely to take notice of the hard work employees do when they see them face-to-face. However, employees who feel like they aren’t being recognized will have a hard time staying engaged. Taking the time to set goals with each of your team members and creating action plans for them will make it easier for you to measure the performance of your employees and keep track of their achievements.
In the future, many project managers will need to become accustomed to managing both in-office employees and remote workers. To make the most of a hybrid team, managers should focus on successful communication, while providing team members with the tools they need to collaborate with one another.
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