6 Tips for Managing Hybrid Teams

Managing hybrid teams can feel like a double-edged sword. While you are able to increase the talent you have available, you also need to learn how to manage a hybrid workforce. Managing a hybrid workforce requires flexibility, empathy and inclusiveness. Let’s take a look at what managing a hybrid workforce means in 2021.

6 Tips for Managing a Hybrid Teams

A hybrid team needs to be on the same playing field, with an understanding that everyone is unique and has different needs.

1. Keep Your Meetings Online

Part of being on an equal playing field means that everyone should always have access to meetings. Keep meetings restricted to Zoom, MS Teams or Slack — and record meetings so they’re accessible to those who may have missed them. Don’t have solely in-person meetings that the rest of the team can’t interact with — it adds to the confusion and increases the perception that some members of the team aren’t equal members.

2. Invest in the Right Collaboration Tools

Microsoft Office is an excellent all-around tool for online collaboration. All documents should be kept digitized rather than on someone’s desk. Everyone should have access to all the documents and files they need at any given time — and they should be able to work on them together without fear that data might be lost or overwritten. Not only does this improve efficiency, but it also improves security. Keeping all your documents gated in a single system makes it easier for you to keep them secure.

3. Foster a Sense of Togetherness

Company culture is hard to build in a hybrid team. Some people see each other every day. Other people have never seen each other in person. Foster togetherness by creating team-building exercises, events and otherwise ensuring that people don’t see each other as “just another coworker.” Celebrate holiday events through online Zoom channels, have regular “water cooler hours” with remote employees and otherwise make sure that everyone feels included.

4. Keep Your Timing Flexible

Realistically, those who work from home are going to be on a different schedule. Many of them have the freedom to get up, pick up their kids from school, walk their dogs and so on. The people who are working in the office can start to resent this freedom, unless you let them have it, too. Keep timing flexible and let people set their own hours, as long as they are able to bill enough hours as needed.

5. Establish Known “Office Hours”

The flip side to keeping flexible time is that people still need to work together. Have a global calendar that sets time aside for critical components, such as weekly check-ins, client communications and so forth. This ensures that people will be available when the company needs them, even if their other time is quite flexible. This also means that you’ll be able to determine very early on if someone isn’t meeting the standards of the organization and isn’t remaining available when they need to be.

6. Check in Periodically

The major issue with a hybrid workforce is that some people can get left behind. It may not always be immediately obvious when it’s happened. The easiest way to address this is to have periodic check-ins. Make sure that everyone has what they need to do their job and make sure that no one is falling behind. The more engaged everyone is, the more likely it is that everyone will feel like part of a bigger “team.”

How to Manage the New Hybrid Workplace

Managing a hybrid workforce is a challenge, but it’s also rewarding. Whether you work with in-office and remote workers, your ultimate goal is to make sure they have what they need to succeed. That means:

• Making sure everyone has the documents and files they need.
• Ensuring that everyone has equal access to communication.
• Making it clearer how people can communicate with each other.
• Recognizing that needs may change in the future.

Core to the above is the understanding that people who are working remotely have to feel like they’re a part of the team — and people who are working in the office need to feel like they have the same perks as the at-home workers. If you can make everything feel as fair and equitable as possible, you should have hard-working employees who genuinely appreciate their work environment and their work-life balance.

Of course, not only will you need to be flexible and agile, but you also need to have the right technology. You need collaborative solutions that can make working remotely just as easy as working in the office. And Red River can help. Contact Red River today to learn more about leveling up your remote workforce.