Are you wondering how to lead a hybrid team? The combination of on-site staff and distributed teams presents new issues. This article will show numerous options to make the process operate more smoothly, keeping staff engaged and productive while leveraging current technologies.

What is a Hybrid Team?

A hybrid team is a flexible work organization in which some employees work remotely while others work in the company’s office or another central location. A hybrid work arrangement allows employees to choose whether they want to work in an office or remotely.

A hybrid model gives employers and employees several benefits, including the following:

• Allows employees to work where they are most productive
• Reduced commute time for employees
• Improved work/life balance for employees
• Reduced stress levels; lower risk of burnout
• Offices become more collaborative and creative places to work
• Businesses can attract top-notch candidates from anywhere in the world
• Employee engagement and productivity are likely to increase
• Companies save on commercial real estate costs
• The company reduces its carbon footprint

What are the Most Common Challenges Faced by Hybrid Teams?

Hybrid teams, which include remote and onsite labor, are becoming increasingly frequent in the post-pandemic era. However, leading a hybrid team has certain unique problems that necessitate meticulous preparation and communication. In the section below, we will look at some of the most typical issues faced by hybrid teams and how to solve them.

Communication gaps

One of the most difficult difficulties for hybrid teams is maintaining effective and consistent communication across many locations, time zones, and modes of operation. Communication breakdowns can result in misunderstandings, confrontations, isolation, and decreased productivity.

To prevent these challenges, hybrid teams must establish clear and frequent communication channels, employ a variety of tools and platforms, and allow for informal and social interactions. Furthermore, hybrid teams should foster a culture of transparency and feedback, allowing everyone to share their ideas, problems, and accomplishments.

Collaboration barriers

Another problem for hybrid teams is creating a collaborative and inclusive environment in which all members may contribute and participate equally. Collaboration hurdles can stem from varying levels of access to knowledge, resources, and support, as well as biases and stereotypes.

To overcome these obstacles, hybrid teams must establish clear and shared goals, roles, and expectations, employ collaborative tools and approaches, and value variety and creativity. Furthermore, hybrid teams should promote cross-functional and cross-location collaboration, allowing everyone to learn from one another and exploit their talents.

Engagement issues

A third challenge for hybrid teams is maintaining a high level of engagement and motivation among remote and onsite workers. Engagement issues can result from a lack of visibility, recognition, and connection, as well as from burnout and stress. To prevent these issues, hybrid teams need to provide regular and meaningful feedback, recognition, and rewards, as well as opportunities for growth and development. Furthermore, hybrid teams should promote a healthy work-life balance, where everyone can manage their workload, schedule, and boundaries.

Trust problems

A fourth issue for hybrid teams is to establish and maintain trust among team members and leaders. Trust issues can arise as a result of a lack of communication, collaboration, and participation, as well as differences in work style and preferences. To overcome these challenges, hybrid teams must demonstrate dependability, competence, honesty, and respect, as well as empathy and understanding. Furthermore, hybrid teams should provide a secure and supportive environment in which everyone may share their thoughts, feelings, and desires.

Culture clashes

The fifth difficulty for hybrid teams is to establish and maintain a positive and cohesive team culture in which everyone feels valued and aligned. Culture clashes can result from differences in backgrounds, beliefs, and conventions, as well as expectations and preconceptions. To avoid these disputes, hybrid teams must identify and express its vision, mission, values, norms, and rules. Furthermore, hybrid teams should respect and embrace both their differences and commonalities.

Leadership skills

A sixth challenge for hybrid teams is developing and applying the right leadership skills, which can differ from those required for traditional teams. Leadership skills for hybrid teams include being flexible, adaptable, and resilient, as well as being strategic, visionary, and innovative.

Read Also: How do You Create a Hybrid Work Policy?

Additionally, leadership skills for hybrid teams include being communicative, collaborative, and engaging, as well as being trustworthy, respectful, and supportive. Furthermore, leadership skills for hybrid teams include being inclusive, diverse, and culturally aware, as well as being empathetic, understanding, and compassionate.

Best Practices for Managing Hybrid Teams

1. Establish a hybrid workplace policy

Employees need to know what to expect when their employer decides to allow employees to work in some combination of office and remotely. The hybrid work policy needs to cover:

• company equipment
• cybersecurity
• rules for taking lunch and other breaks during the day
• working hours for remote employees

The standard employee manual should already address these points:

• Jobs that are better suited to being done in the office than remotely
• Number of days employees should be spending in the office on a weekly or monthly basis
• Whether certain employees should plan to be in the office for meetings or to collaborate with team members

2. Set clear expectations for all employees

Be sure that all team members receive information about projects, goals, and deadlines. It’s easy for those working from home to get missed when deadlines get changed since they are not working face-to-face with the rest of the team. 

• To avoid this situation, schedule regular virtual meetings with the entire team to review the progress of current projects. If someone has become stuck or needs help, they should promptly speak up to their manager or fellow team members to get help. 
• Remote workers should be online during certain core hours to remain on track with the rest of their team. 
• Managers can encourage their team members to suggest topics for discussion during meetings.

3. Encourage employees to share their thoughts

A hybrid team manager deals with employees who have different working styles. Each person has their work history and personality that come into play. The manager must create an environment where each person feels comfortable sharing their thoughts with their fellow team members in an open work environment. 

Employee collaboration can occur in a team meeting, via real-time chat, or in online social communities where like-minded users post, comment, and like posts on various topics. The Employee Directory is a source for finding people with the right knowledge and expertise for multiple projects within your organization since it includes skills and interests along with professional credentials.

4. Create an environment of trust within your remote team

According to the Harvard Business Review, two kinds of trust are necessary for people to work together successfully:

• Competence Trust: The belief that other people will do the work they have promised and that the work will be of high quality; and
• Interpersonal Trust: The belief others have good intentions and are acting with high integrity. 

As remote work becomes normal, team members spend less face-to-face time together. They don’t have the opportunity to observe how their co-workers prepare for meetings by making detailed notes. They don’t see evidence of fellow workers having burned the midnight oil to meet deadlines with takeout containers littering their office in the morning. 

Instead of monitoring team members closely to determine whether they are doing their work, decide to trust them as a default status. Workers who are constantly monitored feel their employee engagement drop with the number of times their manager checks in on them.

5. Ensure everyone feels included 

One of the challenges of managing hybrid teams is making sure employees feel they are being heard and appreciated as team members. It’s crucial not to treat certain groups differently or “less than”, such as cleaning staff or anyone with reduced mobility. There may also be an unconscious bias against the remote workers on the team, so make sure they have the same opportunities as the employees who work in the office. Work-from-home employees are just as valuable as those who work face-to-face with their co-workers, and they may need to be reminded of this fact from time to time. 

The Employee Recognition Center is a place to recognize workers who have distinguished themselves by going above and beyond at work. It can be used to recognize individuals, groups, and excellent content.

6. Move away from tracking “hours worked” to measuring progress and deadlines

If you are thinking about best practices for managing hybrid teams, one aspect that needs to go is the idea that everyone must put in eight hours a day at their desk. Someone paid to do a job that involves thinking about or visualizing something doesn’t necessarily have to be at their desk to be “working.” When evaluating their effectiveness as remote employees, consider whether they are progressing on their projects and meeting deadlines on time. 

The LumApps Mobile Intranet app makes it easy for remote teams to make the most of their flexible work arrangements. Employees can jot down notes from anywhere, connect to their co-workers to ask questions or share ideas, and search the company intranet for required information and documents with ease.

7. Use an integrated communication and collaboration software option

When employees are working in a hybrid model, there is a combination of remote workers, hybrid workers, and full-time in-house workers. All of them can communicate using integrated software like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

This option is one of the best ways to manage hybrid remote teams. It allows employees to access their e-mails and files in OneDrive or Google Drive, using Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, etc., from a single platform.

8. Establish a mentorship program

Mentorship is a crucial part of supporting employees and helping them to develop their abilities. With hybrid working arrangements, mentorship programs can run from a distance. 

To set up a mentorship program, pair new or junior-level employees with top performers. The mentors and mentees then work together to set skill goals and career objectives (short-term and long-term). The mentors are also available to talk about subjects like maintaining a work/life balance when working from home. 

Launch a Leadership Corner in conjunction with the mentorship program. Employees can gain access to company news and initiatives. Allow workers to get to know the company leader through the CEO’s blog.

9. Set aside “meeting-free” time

No one can do their best work if they are over-scheduled with team meetings. There needs to be some time set aside throughout the workweek where employees can focus their attention on their work. 

When there are blocks of time designated as “meeting-free,” it forces workers to think about the necessity of scheduling team meetings at other times. Could e-mail be used instead? The entire team can be more productive when meetings are reserved for crucial or urgent issues. 

During designated “meeting-free” time, employees can still send instant messages through Slack or other apps as needed. The sender can indicate how urgent their message is at the time. 

10. Help your team understand their work style

Digital platforms can gather all kinds of information about how remote workers do their jobs. Part of managing a hybrid workforce is sharing with employees where they are working well and coaching them in areas for improvement. The manager can point out how the team can improve its communication strategies, improve focus, and work together to increase overall productivity. 

For individual employees, the manager can suggest ways to reduce distractions when working from home or using the online platform more effectively to get the most out of this powerful online resource.

Skills for Managing a Hybrid Workforce

Managing remote teams differs from managing only on-site staff. Remote employees learn to work independently and collaborate with colleagues who aren’t next to them or down the hall. Managers may need to alter their management style to accommodate the remote work environment.

— Make Communication a Priority

When the team is situated in multiple locations, clear and direct communication becomes crucial to its success. Select the collaboration tools that will work best for your hybrid team. Set guidelines for using e-mail, instant messages, video messages, and phone calls. You may also want to add file-sharing tools to the list.

— Schedule Regular Project Meetings

Keep the team on track by scheduling weekly project meetings. Each new project should have a project kick-off meeting to present guidelines. During these meetings, team members can discuss their progress and ask for help if needed. The manager can clarify action items and deadlines for the entire team.

— Develop a Strong Company Culture with Virtual Events

A strong company culture is a definite advantage in the workplace since it boosts employee engagement and retention. Strong working relationships are more challenging to achieve when team members work in different locations and possibly even different time zones. 

Schedule some virtual team-bonding exercises so that team members can get to know each other outside of their work. The team members will find it easier to collaborate if they feel they have something in common and everyone feels included. 

— Prioritize Professional Development

Whether they are working in the office or remotely, all employees should have equal access to opportunities for advancement. An employer can provide online training sessions for interested workers through “lunch and learn” sessions or funding professional development courses.