7 Tips on How to Manage Hybrid Teams Effectively

Trying to manage a hybrid team that is spread across different geographies can be a complex task. Particularly when most of the groups are based in an office, and the remainder is remote. This kind of work can easily foster an atmosphere of us vs. them, which can even cause hatred and jealousy. Ultimately, this can result in the unjust treatment of the distant workers. So, in this kind of working environment, managers must come up with new ideas to support their teams, whether working from home or the office. To Manage hybrid teams means that you must have open-minded thinking. 

As a remote manager, you must meet various needs and demands because employees might have different objectives or goals. For instance, if you ask certain people to come to the office, they can be resentful, whereas if you ask others to work from home, they might be concerned about their career prospects. 

So, to help you manage hybrid teams, I have written a list of tips to help you effectively manage your employees no matter where they work. So, let’s  get started:

1: There Should Be A Focus on Flexibility

The first thing you need to focus on is renegotiating working hours because people who work in offices typically prefer a conventional timeline with a distinct division between working and unwinding time. In contrast, people working from home might like more flexible working hours with longer breaks during the day and working until the late evening. If there is a need for a team to work together, then an agreement must be made. 

2: Be Clear about Expectations and Set Clear Accountability Standards

To manage hybrid teams effectively, it’s important to establish expectations and clearly define roles so everyone involved can work well together and understand their responsibilities. To begin each day well, you should conduct daily or weekly virtual meetings with your entire staff. Then, to keep things moving forward, you need to clarify workflows and important deadlines and share the development regularly. 

3: Avoid Creating a Culture of ‘Them and Us’

You don’t want your coworkers to believe that remote team members aren’t working as hard or having a difficult time at work. Additionally, managers who spend most of their time in the office can find it easier to bond with team members who are physically present there and may view remote workers as a separate “part” of the company.

Leaders of hybrid teams frequently need to exert extra effort to avoid being more connected to some team members because of their location. If you don’t, you’ll foster the “them and us” culture you aim to prevent.

If you want to develop the working relationships between office-based and remote employees, encourage them to have team meetings and weekly video conferences. Taking such measures can successfully develop a culture of respect and support within your hybrid team.

4: Empathy Helps Prevent Burnout

Managers must constantly look for how their team members think about their jobs, workloads, and work-life balance. As a result, it could be easy to stop asking staff members how they are doing and giving them your full attention.

Everyone part of the hybrid team needs to adjust in a certain way. For example, remote workers might feel compelled to work harder and offer more since they are not in the workplace. On the other hand, those working in the office might put in much more effort, given that they are more noticeable to management.

So, no matter where the team members are working from, show empathy for their feelings. According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast (GLF) 2021 research, the capability of managers to show compassion is the most important aspect that impacts burnout. 

5: Use Online Tools

Online project management tools such as ProofHub, Wrike, Trello, and monday.com can help you greatly to keep all your teams on the right track. Whether it is communication, a collaboration between team members, or you want to manage your projects easily; these tools have it all for you. 

In-office and hybrid teams can keep complete control over their tasks, projects, and communication with these tools. Task management becomes more accessible by allowing you to create deadlines for tasks and assign them to team members. In addition, you can immediately communicate with the other members of your hybrid team thanks to the built-in chat feature and a special place for real-time cooperation.

Using these tools, you can quickly evaluate, proof, and annotate design files, provide feedback in comments, and approve files from a single location, boosting collaborative efforts between team members. 

One of the other big hurdles for remote teams is the lack of access to information. It is surprising how much added time and effort is often needed to locate information from coworkers when you are not working in the same physical space. However, you can use tools like OSlash to create instant, memorable shortcuts to shared company resources instead of waiting for team members to exchange information via links. 

6: Provide Remote Teams with Regular Updates on Company and Team Decisions

Team members who are not in the office or working remotely might not be aware of your onsite employees’ decisions or even choices that are taken at the executive level. So, it becomes critical for managers to establish a regular, dedicated call to communicate essential information to ensure as much transparency as feasible.

In addition to alleviating any feelings of being left out, this can work by providing them with a better understanding of the organization’s strategic direction.

7: Concentrate on Mental Health and Wellbeing

Even though a hybrid workplace offers numerous advantages, your remote employees can experience loneliness or isolation in a distributed workforce. Additionally, it might be challenging to recognize whether an employee is having trouble unless you regularly conduct video check-ins with your remote employees. Therefore, give your team members’ mental health and welfare top priority in a hybrid workplace.

The Bottom Line

The hybrid work model is attractive and provides freedom, versatility, and access to a broader pool of talented employees. However, it is not without challenges; creating a solid business culture and cultivating a sense of belonging can be challenging when some employees work in offices and others don’t.

When employees have fewer in-person interactions, leaders must find ways to keep them motivated and engaged. Following the tips mentioned above can help your team save time, stay connected, and perform significantly, no matter where they work.

Karan Jain

Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.