Leading Hybrid and WFH Teams

The key to being a good leader is providing a sense of purpose and a feeling of belonging throughout your team. This is founded on trust and requires good communication.

This is an ongoing challenge for all leaders, especially those with remote staff or where teams are based away from the leaders office. Whilst these situations have existed for many years (I managed team in Darwin and Adelaide as well as the team in Perth, for instance), it has become more commonplace with the increase of working from home and hybrid arrangements.

There are undoubted benefits in regard to reduced commute time leading to more time the worker can spend with their family and friends, as well as the environmental positives Of reduced emissions. Some businesses have also had lower running costs through smaller office space, or even dispensing with the office completely.

However, from a leadership perspective, hybrid and WFH poses additional challenges in regard to ensuring that there is a sense of team, of belonging and a common purpose. Additionally there is less opportunity for innovation, as employees may not have time discussing issues with colleagues.

It is therefore imperative that the leader ensures that there is opportunity for the team to be united and have the sense of belonging which is so important to delivering productive results and reducing the cases of presenteeism, absenteeism and attrition.

The team needs regular interaction to be aware of how their individual work combines to the team purpose and the business objectives of the wider organisation. It is important to implement formal communication processes and also to encourage informal discussions between the leader and the team members as well as between team colleagues.The latter is difficult to administer. The leader must encourage free discussion (not always about work, but to ensure that the team is bonding), but be aware that some people may abuse this.

This is where an output based productivity model is more effective than a time based solution. Rather than watch the amount of time the team is spending on a task, focus on the results that they achieve. If two individuals are discussing an issue, then their combined time may result in an improved process which could lead to less time spent in the future, or a better product or service offering. In addition, showing that the leader has trust in the employees will ensure that they are more committed to the team and the purpose leading to even greater results.

As well as communication, it is important that the workers know that their workplace is fit for work, whether it is at home, in the office or at another location (such as a clients premises). Consider the risks that exist in the workplace from physical, mental and emotional perspectives.

As a leader, check that you have the following in place to provide the best workplace conditions and practices for your employees and hence, for the productivity of your team:

• Regularly review the workplace (including WFH) facilities.

• Implement formal weekly, open, meetings with the whole team regardless of their location. Where there are remote employees, ensure that everyone is using their laptops to ensure an equal interaction for all team members.

• Use these meetings to discuss workplace conditions, incidents and near misses, safety shares so that lessons are shared to the wider team. Encourage the team to be innovative with new ideas, and discuss the progress in regards to the purpose of the organisation and their role within it.

• Encourage interactions between team members regardless of locations. Ensure that it isn’t seen as wasted, or down time, when they are meeting. Promote trust in them so that they will reap benefits from these discussions and they will reward you accordingly.

• “Catch up” with each of your immediate team at least once a week, even if there is no work priority. (I scheduled a time on Friday afternoon for each of my reporting managers, but only used it if I hadn’t been in contact with them earlier in the week)

• This is an opportunity to engage with your team and try to find out what is happening in their life so that you can appreciate those factors that may impact their lives, which, in turn, impacts their work and the performance of the team.

• Recognise good performance in the formal meetings.

• Organise an offsite meeting on a regular basis to ensure that there is an opportunity for direct interactions. Make it a celebration, if possible.

Ultimately, Hybrid and WFH teams need to be treated the same as those based in an office or a shared workplace. The leaders role is to ensure that this happens, which may require them to recognise or develop new skills.

Ensuring the workplace is psychosocially safe is part of the leaders responsibility, and this is made more difficult where every worker has a different workplace. Adopting People Focused Leadership skills can help any leader manage these challenges for the benefit of their workers and the productivity of the business.

For more information on People Focused Leadership, contact InteChange, or DM me on Linked In.