As businesses around the world are slowly reopening following the Covid-19 pandemic, the question of what the future working life will look like becomes increasingly relevant, both for employers and employees.
Studies show that workers may never want to return to the office—at least not full-time. According to a recently conducted survey, 73% of employees globally want to maintain flexibility in their work schedule, whereas 67% of employees look forward to being able to collaborate in person with their colleagues.
As employees have growing expectations from their employers and as there is a shortage of workers with the right skills, employers may need to seriously consider remote working as a viable option even if they do not want to. For many companies, hybrid work appears to be the ideal compromise.
The hybrid model is obviously here to stay, and it is high time to make sure you are ready for the challenge. In the article below, we’ve gathered our best tips for effective hybrid business leadership that will guarantee company success.
3 Best Tips For Effective Hybrid Business Leadership
#1: Give Clear Guidelines
At the beginning of the pandemic, business leaders around the world were forced to move from leading in-office to leading a team of remote workers. Many of those same leaders are now faced with the task of switching to hybrid work. Understandably, some of them feel a certain reluctance to change their leadership style once again. But if a hybrid work model is to work, all levels of the company must be on the same page.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help managers handle the transition to hybrid work. You can start by reviewing the policies that apply in the workplace and adapting them to the requirements of the new hybrid model. If your team leaders receive clear guidelines about, for instance, working hours and communication, this will make it easier for them to adjust.
Once you introduce hybrid work, it’s a good idea to set aside time for a series of informative meetings for both managers and employees. In this way, the organization’s leaders have the opportunity to discuss their goals and visions and ask questions about the transition.
Don’t forget that most company leaders have spent years developing their leadership style for an in-office model and you cannot expect them to change overnight. Among the best things the organization can do to facilitate the transition is to offer leadership training with a special focus on leading a hybrid workforce.
#2: Consider Time Tracking Solutions
Keeping a close eye on your employees is an important thing to do both when your employees are in-office and when they work remotely. Even if you feel that most of your employees are motivated and doing their best, sometimes they can end up not spending their time on important tasks and assignments.
For this reason, employee tracking software can be an incredibly useful tool in ensuring that your hybrid team remains productive and engaged during working hours. This type of software solution will give an insight into what your employees are working on, and how fast they move through tasks and get a clearer picture of their productivity levels, which, in turn, will enable you to make adequate changes based on the gathered data.
This data will help you build better leadership skills as it can provide you with more information and help you pinpoint what aspects of their work approach can become more efficient and help them avoid bottlenecks that could harm growth and productivity.
#3: Focus On Inclusion
Maintaining an inclusive atmosphere in the hybrid workplace can be a challenge. The most important thing is that the leaders understand these challenges and find ways to create an equal experience for those who work remotely and those who work in the office.
One of the biggest inclusion challenges in a hybrid work model is communication in the team. It is easy to have a conversation in the workplace and forget to transfer the relevant information to the remote workers. To meet this challenge and communicate effectively, leaders need to think in a new way about workplace communication and invest in digital tools that enable seamless communication between team members.
Regardless of the type of hybrid model your organization develops, you’ll probably hold many meetings where some employees are in-office and others participate remotely. This means that you should ensure that you have collaboration spaces suitable for hybrid meetings.
Make sure your employees receive recognition for their achievements as this can lead to higher levels of engagement. Investing in a recognition program or adapting your current program to the hybrid work model can be a great way to promote inclusion in the workplace.
Final Thoughts
These simple yet practical tips can help business leaders manage the hybrid model smoothly and eliminate common barriers to success while fostering productive team collaboration. Since hybrid teams are a growing trend, leaders should continue to learn to engage and build a positive culture.
