Prior to covid19, some major companies did believe and follow the hybrid model, letting their team members work from home and offices. This was mainly because people needed flexibility and never saw the office as the only space for work.
Let’s do a deep dive in terms of
- What is a Hybrid team?
- What is a Hybrid model?
- Challenges leading Hybrid teams?
- Tips for leading Hybrid teams?
PMI research, such as Pulse of the Profession®, which indicated that more organizations
and practitioners are embracing agile and hybrid models along with new ways of working
(i.e., tools, frameworks, technologies, etc.).
What is a Hybrid team?
Hybrid team = Flexibility
A hybrid team is a staff that includes both office-based staff and remote employees. It could also mean that employees split their time between the office and their homes. A hybrid work model can allow employees to choose how and when they work most effectively and open up new kinds of talent to employers.
What is a Hybrid Model?
In a hybrid work model, employees have more flexibility to get work done when they’re most productive. For example, some people work best early in the morning while others do better in the evening. They can also choose to work with teammates on-site or do heads-down work from a remote location.
This may not be possible in a typical 9 to 6 environments.
Challenges leading Hybrid teams?
While adapting and embracing hybrid teams doesn’t mean there are no challenges.
- Communication: more and more virtual connections making it difficult and chances of people burn out
- Information gathering and dissemination
- Especially you are working on new projects, people. Collaborating makes it very difficult. Identification of New Ideas and Solutions (especially brainstorming)
- To solve a simple problem, getting on Zoom or WebEx meetings is necessary. losing Face 2 Face friendly collaborations
- Recognition
- Time and Utilization tracking
- Coaching
Read More: Project Management Software for 2022
Tips for leading Hybrid teams?
- Clear rules of engagement and developing daily rituals
- Ensure team members have the right tools
- Meeting facilitation and Management
- Clear communication and collaborating on a regular basis, one 2 ones, Ease of communicating with leadership/management
- Be Flexible & Transparent
- Building a positive and friendly working Culture
- More importantly Celebrating small wins
- Usage of work management software for time tracking etc.
Read More: Build a strong foundation and togetherness within and your teams
Conclusion
Meeting your team members virtually is not a great way of collaborating nor does it improve productivity, missing those small talks. But coming up with an appropriate communication plan and building a strong relationship mechanism is critical, more importantly there is a chance of improving our style and getting along with the new normal.