8 tips for managing a hybrid team effectively

In recent months, the organization of work has changed profoundly and challenges managers in order to maintain balance in the management of their teams. Employees each have different expectations, your company has certain expectations in terms of productivity and performance, the health situation has not yet regained its stability… In this context, the challenges of managing a hybrid team (combining face-to-face and remote work) are numerous and are shaking up management codes.

How to meet the needs of your management and your employees? How to establish effective and relevant communication within your hybrid workplace? Here are our 8 tips for managing your hybrid team effectively!

🎯 Set clear goals

Whether you have to manage a hybrid team or not, setting clear objectives is an absolute necessity! These objectives or goals must be defined collectively, so that your team has a common direction. But they must also be defined individually, so that everyone knows their place in the group effort 💪

Your employees gain in motivation and productivity when they know exactly where they have to go and what is the meaning of their respective and collective missions. If you are not able to communicate it to your team, it is because the subject is not already clear at your level… You must then raise the subject and clarify the strategy in which you are engaged as a manager. This is the best way to set up a good hybrid work model.

🗣 Opt for communication and transparency

When you manage a hybrid team, you must be all the more effective in interpersonal communication to federate your employees. Encourage them to communicate about their needs, their problems and their daily progress. And to help them in this sense: be transparent with them yourself!

Communicate as much as possible on the state of the company, on the progress of the strategy and the objectives, and also talk about yourself. If you want your employees to be comfortable enough to talk about them, also give of yourself to create this climate of trust and transparency that is ideal for a hybrid workplace 👌

🔄 Give and receive feedback

Managing a hybrid team involves giving regular feedback on the work of your employees. And this feedback must be formal, as during annual interviews for example, but also informal, by having a coffee for example.

Give priority to face-to-face meetings as much as possible to give your feedback, especially when you have a lot of points to deal with with your collaborators. If you can’t do so, then make sure you find the right tool to do remote meetings. Preferably choose a channel where you will have both sound and image (like WorkAdventure 😉).

Also feel comfortable asking for feedback yourself! Feedback on your own work is always useful and will allow you to improve your hybrid work model.

🔨 Choose the right tools

As you will have understood, good hybrid management involves good communication. And for it to be effective, you need to find the best channel to do it!

• Prefer emails to keep track of important exchanges.

• Implement a collective calendar so that your teams can follow the events of your company.

• Use a more informal communication channel like WorkAdventure that allows you to recreate everyday social interactions.

In any case, do not multiply your communication channels! This would be the best way to cut off communication with your hybrid team and lose them in the transmission of important informations. Involve them quickly in the use and implementation of the tool(s) so that they adopt the right reflexes 💡

🤸🏻‍♂️ Focus on team cohesion

Maintaining a strong corporate culture with good team cohesion is essential in the creation of an efficient hybrid workplace. Set up individual and collective routines to encourage exchange and strengthen ties.

To achieve this, organize internal events and team buildings: weekly or daily meetings to share your current moods and challenges, online escape game and board games, online karaoke, sharing good practices or the company state regularly, … Do not hesitate to ask your hybrid team about their needs and desires and involve them in the organization of some events! 🎈

👂 Make yourself available and practice active listening

Active listening is a structured way of listening to your interlocutor and responding to him. When you listen actively, your attention shifts to your interlocutor to allow you to understand, evaluate, and feel what he is saying to you. Developing your active listening skills with your team will allow you to establish a climate of trust and create a safe hybrid workplace.

Here are some tips for developing your daily active listening skills:

• Ask open-ended questions to help your interlocutors express themselves on the subject and take a step back.

• Be observant: the non-verbal takes a majority place in communication. The attitude and the body speak a lot for us.

• Rephrase what you hear to confirm that you have understood correctly.

• Don’t be judgmental and have an open mind! 🤝

⚖️ Help everyone find their professional/personal life balance

Everyone has their own vision of professional/personal life balance. And that’s especially true when you’re implementing a hybrid work model. Therefore, it is important to listen to everyone’s needs to best support them in establishing this balance.

To achieve this, you will need to establish dialogue with your employees by:

• Defining and communicating clear collective and individual objectives.

• Encouraging the right to disconnect and setting an example yourself: just because you’re a manager doesn’t mean you shouldn’t disconnect.

• Implementing communication and exchange rituals during the week.

• Giving and asking for feedback from your hybrid team to regularly take stock of their feelings and have a clear vision of your and their daily actions.

One point of vigilance: be careful not to be intrusive and to respect everyone’s privacy by setting clear limits! ⚠️

🛑 Alert when necessary

In order to prevent all Psychosocial Risk Factors within your hybrid workplace, immediately alert your HR department or your company management if you notice that one of your employees is not feeling well in his daily professional life. They can help you manage the situation and put in place appropriate solutions.

In conclusion…

To face the many challenges of this new organization of work, you will in any case need to test your actions and adjust according to your hybrid team’s feedback. Listen, ask them about their needs and ask for feedback in order to find the best solutions. Then you will be able to implement an efficient hybrid work model that ensure collective and individual balance.

And if you still feel a little lost in the implementation of a good hybrid workplace, our teams are there to support you! Write to us on [email protected] to discuss it 🚀