How To Manage Hybrid Work Environment

The pandemic's impact on the workplace appears to be lasting. As businesses consider returning to the workplace, employees hope managers become more flexible regarding in-office work. 

Workers now prioritize flexibility because many have little to no external childcare or are tasked with coordinating their children's virtual-based schooling. However, others are eager to leave their home and return to their workstations.

As a manager/unit head, you may wonder how to manage these different employee needs while treating everyone fairly. You may want methods that ensure your employees, whether working at the office or from home, are on the same page.

Keep reading to learn about hybrid working. This concept will inform you about managing flexibility and erratic workplace situations. You will also learn how to assist employees in managing their stress levels during this home-to-office transition. 

A Brief Introduction to Hybrid Working

Hybrid working is a flexible working concept wherein employees work part-time in the physical workplace and part-time remotely. As a manager in a hybrid environment, you need to reward qualities that improve the workplace. 

These qualities include: 

• Task progression
• Consistent milestone achievements within deadlines, 
• Dynamism, etc. 

When recruiting, look for candidates with soft skills like empathy, resilience, collaboration, team building, change management, etc. Candidates with deficient soft skills may not be the best fit for hybrid positions. These skills are needed for effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving, which are the key requirements for success in hybrid jobs.

Benefits of Hybrid Working

The system has many upsides, but here we'll only consider a few of the strongest ones, which include:

• Employees can decide what days are most favorable for work. This power of choice makes them more engaged and productive.
• The opportunity to work in a less-crowded office boosts creativity and efficiency.
• The company spends less than it would if it were at full capacity. For example, you can cut down on utility bills.

Tips For Organizing Hybrid Work Environment

To fit the demands of the hybrid work environment, consider the following factors:

Provide Resources and Support

Employees in hybrid workplaces may not always be in the office, but they still need the resources and support that the workplace offers. This means they must be able to communicate with you and other staff members when needed. So, you will have to provide your team with the tools they will need if they work from the office. 

Develop an Inclusive Environment

While hybrid staff are not entirely remote, their in-person work schedule may differ from that of their colleagues and managers. As a result, some staff members may be excluded from critical conversations, such as new mandates or key changes. Since they are less visible, a few employees may be overlooked for high-profile task assignments.

Managers may also allow personal productivity biases to influence performance appraisal. But instead, you should divide work equitably based on skills and include all crucial players in project discussions. Don't just contact whoever is in the office when you're there.

Make Conscious Efforts to Build Collaboration and Trust

Collaboration and Trust are essential for fostering team member creativity and innovation. Traditional methods, such as strolling the office floor, chatting at the coffee pot, or taking employees out to lunch, are less common. Also, insecurity can lead to some people micromanaging and controlling others. As a manager, you must foster Trust by modeling and supporting reliability, acceptance, openness, and authenticity. 

One temptation that managers may face when working with hybrid team members is to rely on meetings to regularly check-in. Meetings can help the team-lead handle progress discussions, and status updates more efficiently because they hear from everyone at once. These gatherings, however, may be a waste of time and appear like micromanagement to employees.

It's one thing for a manager to inquire about what someone is working on or how much progress they have made with a project. But having to give a weekly progress update and listen to status updates that may or may not affect their work is yet another. Using performance management platforms, like Teamnety, could loosen managing hybrid teams and help maintain high level of inclusion needed for this type of environment.

Have Clear Expectations

Clear expectations provide a sense of structure, which can aid in the prevention of negative emotions. Knowing that everybody is expected to come into the office at least three times a week eliminates the possibility of favoritism. Principles like these can also assist managers and teams in task coordination. When the entire group is working in person, you may want to organize roundtable discussions or important meetings. Clear expectations also give employees enough autonomy to complete solo tasks without interruption.

Final Thoughts 

Hybrid work settings are a new approach to work and a setup for which many managers are unprepared. Traditional ideas about productivity and leadership, such as always knowing what staff are working on, can get in the way. Managers of hybrid teams can practice true leadership principles when they let go of conventional management methods. Balancing autonomy and flexibility with standards and equitable support is an excellent place to start.