Tips for Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams

There was a time when very few Baylor employees worked remotely. Then, overnight during the pandemic, remote work became the norm. Since then, many teams have become hybrid with some people working in-office, some working remote, and others doing some combination of the two. This raises the questions, “How do we lead in a post-pandemic environment?” and “How do we set everyone on a hybrid team up for success?”

There was a time when very few Baylor employees worked remotely. Then, overnight during the pandemic, remote work became the norm. Since then, many teams have become hybrid with some people working in-office, some working remote, and others doing some combination of the two. This raises the questions, “How do we lead in a post-pandemic environment?” and “How do we set everyone on a hybrid team up for success?”

Those are important questions. Research from Gallup found that, in general, remote employees are 10% less likely to feel cared about or recognized, 7% less likely to feel aligned with mission, and 5% less likely to feel their opinions matter. Those aren’t huge numbers, but suggest that, all else being equal, leading remote employees and hybrid teams may require more focus in certain areas.

When everyone is in-person or everyone is remote, it’s much easier to create a consistent employee experience. However, with a mix of situations, managing the team becomes more challenging.

Like many aspects of leadership, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. However, there are several tips, ideas, and best practices to consider. Before we look at solutions, let’s identify some of the challenges.

Challenges Remote Workers Face

When remote, there is little opportunity for connection or relationship building. It’s much more difficult to get to know people and develop camaraderie and trust when you only see them on a video call or email and text messages.

One of the things remote work reveals is just how much information sharing and connection in the office happens naturally, informally, and unplanned: a quick touch base while waiting for a meeting to start, passing in the hallway, walking together back from lunch, stopping by the other person’s desk for chat, etc. All of this tends to be lost when people are working remotely.

Communication suffers as well. So much of communication is non-verbal, yet in meetings done through video on Teams or Zoom, body language is difficult to read or convey. Additionally, it’s easy to get interrupted, talked over, miss out on side conversations, and not know when to speak. All this can leave remote participants feeling uncertain, awkward, and left out.

All of the challenges are amplified on hybrid teams where some are in the office and others are remote. This can highlight feeling disconnected and create an “us” versus “them” dynamic.

All that said, there are some great benefits to working remotely and to hybrid teams but managing a mixed team well takes additional awareness and intentionality.

With a better understanding of some of the challenges faced, let’s look at some solutions.

Set Expectations as a Team

A simple and common mistake leaders often make is operating as though nothing has changed. Instead, take the opportunity to have a team discussion around differences, advantages, challenges, and expectations for operating as a hybrid team. Giving everyone a voice can identify even small changes with big impacts.

When setting expectations, it’s helpful to acknowledge the challenges are real and there won’t always be perfect answers. You may need to experiment by trying different things for a while and then reevaluating whether they are working or could be further improved.

Help People Feel Connected

Leaders have always played a role in helping employees feel connected to the organization, the team, and their work. In a remote world, this need becomes even greater as there are so many more challenges and barriers to feeling part of the team. After all, it’s natural to feel more connected to those we see in person on a regular basis compared to those we see less frequently and mostly on a video screen.

Make the extra effort to connect with remote employees individually through one-on-one meetings and occasional check in’s. When possible, holding fully in-person team meetings can help people connect and feel included. Even a monthly in-person staff meeting where people have the opportunity to meet, talk, share, and contribute can make a difference.

Encourage Open Communication

Back in 2011, Google studied their teams to determine the factors that differentiated low- and high-performing teams. The most significant difference was that, in the high-performing teams, all team members contributed equally in meetings and collaborative projects. Rather than their meetings and discussions being dominated by only a few people, everyone has, and uses, the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives. As important as this was in 2011, it’s even more important today as it’s much easier for remote employees to feel excluded or be less likely to contribute to the conversation.

One thing that can be done to include everyone is to hold meetings either entirely in-person or on Teams/Zoom. This puts everyone on the same footing. In meetings, when some are in-person and others remote, those who are remote are often at a disadvantage. They miss out on any side conversations, it’s sometimes more difficult to hear others, and it’s much more difficult to read facial and body language. In fact, they can often feel like they are observing a meeting instead of being an active participant.

There are several things you can do to improve meetings for remote employees, including: everyone having cameras on, using the chat function to increase participation, letting remote attendees speak first, and directing questions toward specific people to ensure everyone is being included.

One big question to consider is whether the meeting needs to be hybrid at all. Experience shows it’s probably better to have the meeting either all in-person or all on Teams/Zoom rather than trying to make things work with some people in the room and others on video.

Additionally, it’s possible for those in the office to inadvertently exclude remote employees from a discussion that affects them. Make sure one of the team standards is to always include all those affected in the conversation, even if it means setting up an additional meeting.

Seek Input & Encourage Feedback

Getting the best out of hybrid teams is much more about co-creating than making top-down decisions. It requires flexibility and willingness to do things differently than before.

The best way to know how well the situation is working for each employee is to simply ask. This can be done formally through a survey but is often quickest and easiest to ask informally during team meetings, one-on-one meetings, or just a quick outreach to get their thoughts. Check in to see how you can improve the hybrid experience, see if they feel left out or fully included, and ask for their ideas.

The team members are in the best position to know what is and what isn’t working for them and others. Sometimes, even small changes to meeting times or format, communication flow, or work structure can make a big difference in the team’s ability to meet deadlines and create results.

Additionally, regularly asking for (and listening to) feedback and ideas encourages team members to actively identify and share improvement ideas and have ownership in helping the hybrid team be even more successful.

Connect Work to Purpose

While working remotely has many benefits, it is easier to feel disconnected, both from people and purpose. Common sense tells us that people who don’t see a connection between their work and the organization’s mission are less likely to be engaged and more likely to quit.

It’s often easy to assume employees know how their work impacts the mission, but this isn’t always the case. Leaders can help connect work to purpose by sharing individual and team successes and why they are important to constituents, the team and organization. When assigning work, identify why the task or project is important, how it impacts others, and/or how it fits the overall mission.

Be Accessible

Many leaders have an open-door policy where any employee can stop by with questions or concerns and get the leader’s full attention. However, this becomes a bit more difficult in the virtual world. Those working remotely can’t see when you’re available, catch you right after a meeting, or just stop by your office at the beginning or end of the day. Additionally, calendars seem to be tighter than ever and questions often need to be answered sooner than the next blank spot on your calendar will allow.

To counter this, let your team know the best way to contact you quickly. Do you prefer email? Teams? Text message? It may also be helpful, though not always practical, to block time on your calendar for regular “office hours” when you’re available every day. For example, you might block off the first 30 minutes of the day, or right after lunch, or another time that works for you to keep that time from getting taken for other meetings and provide space to meet with employees as needed.

Have Regular One-on-One Meetings

One-on-ones are a helpful leadership tool and, as important as they are under normal circumstances, they are even more important when leading remote employees. These short, employee-driven, weekly meetings can surface issues that would otherwise be missed, ensures two-way information flow, helps identify current levels of morale and engagement, provides the opportunity to seek and receive feedback, and helps build the relationship and sense of connection between mangers and employees. Gallup found that employees who have regular one-on-ones are almost three times as likely to be engaged in their jobs as those who don’t.

Monitor Remote Work

Not being able to see the employee or talk in person can create a disconnect where the focus becomes solely on the tasks and misses the human element. This is yet another reason to make sure you’re regularly connecting through one-on-ones and other conversations. Some managers may also wonder how to monitor work when they are not able to see it getting done.

In many ways, monitoring the completion of work hasn’t changed much between employees working in the office and working from home. Work is assigned with deadlines, followed up on either in one-on-one meetings or as needed, and the completed work is evaluated and any feedback is provided. In many cases, the only significant difference is a remote employee can’t be seen at their computer.

Regardless of whether their work can be physically observed, what a manager evaluates remains the same: are they accomplishing what they were asked to accomplish in the required timeline and at the expected quality?

Stay Intentional

The best leaders are always intentional in their words and actions and the challenges of leading a hybrid team makes that intentionality even more important. How do you want the team to function? How do you want employees to feel about their work and being on the team? What can you do to purposefully foster and build relationships, be even more clear and intentional in your communication, and ensure everyone stays connected to purpose, mission, and desired results?