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In the workplace, hybrid leadership is a skill that's increasingly in demand. As more and more employees push for the flexibility of work-from-home days, an opportunity arises for business owners and managers to adopt a new set of leadership skills.
The hybrid work model is a highly valued benefit to many workers, who appreciate the convenience the set-up offers. For some, going back to in-person work five days a week is a dealbreaker. Research conducted by global consultancy McKinsey & Company confirms this. Twenty-nine percent of employees surveyed indicated they would think about quitting their jobs if their employer ceased to offer at least hybrid work.
The task of managing hybrid workers demands innovative, adaptable and empathetic leaders who are skilled in the areas of digital technology and employee engagement. In this post, I’ll cover seven of the most important hybrid leadership practices for you to master now. By grasping these hybrid leadership skills, you’ll be able to pave the way for a more dynamic and efficient future for your organization.
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Many hybrid and remote teams miss the frequency of in-person connection they felt in the office when they were in person daily. But with a few tweaks to your collaboration style, hybrid work doesn’t have to lead to a pause in communication.
Digital communication tools (outside of email) may not have been necessary before your office adopted a hybrid work structure, but with employees working remotely at least part of the time, these tools can offer a huge leg-up. Digital communication tools improve efficiency and allow employees to communicate quickly and in real-time.
To leverage the best possible methods of communication with your hybrid workforce, you should be using tools that minimally allow you to share files, videoconference, share your screen in real-time, and send instant messages.
According to Statista, digital communication tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Slack have become extremely popular for managing hybrid workers.
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Leadership in hybrid workplaces requires managers to be able to connect face-to-face with their employees, no matter where they’re located. When employees aren’t in the office, managers may feel they lose the ability to have impromptu conversations. This doesn’t have to be the case when you utilize tools that offer instant messaging and voice/video calls. You can also beat the lack of connection with scheduled check-ins at frequent intervals.
Once-a-day formal check-ins are always a good idea if you can make time for it. While hybrid leaders should be sending communication throughout the day, even a 15-minute planned one-on-one call between a manager and each of their reports can do wonders to keep a working relationship on track.
During these meetings, be sure to enquire about the employee’s planned tasks for the day, whether they need help with anything on their to-do list, or if they have any questions from the day prior or for the day ahead.
Just because your employees are working from home doesn’t mean your team gets a break on its revenue goals, customer satisfaction metrics, or other important benchmarks and KPIs. Managers may feel a greater sense of assurance if they can find a way to keep track of their team’s progress and show other internal stakeholders that employees are just as productive when working from home.
While Gallup polls indicate that employees feel more productive while working from home, colloquial knowledge reveals that temptations often exist amongst employees who aren’t too far from their household chores, daily errands, or their TV remote.
While you can’t (and shouldn’t) control your employees’ every move, you can make efforts to keep employees engaged by holding your team to timed, tangible goals that will keep them on track to hit the benchmarks set out for the month, quarter, and year.
To do this, ask yourself and your team specific questions about what can realistically be accomplished during a given period, and then break that period up into manageable pieces. At each interval, measure progress and review wins and challenges that your team can learn from during the next phase of the project.
For many work environments, some tasks are better performed in a face-to-face, collaborative setting, while others can be performed just as well completely alone.
Even if you’ve already established a hybrid work routine with your team members, it’s never too late to take a step back and re-evaluate what tasks you’d like to complete together and which you can handle individually.
For example, if you’re working on a shared document as a group, you may benefit from being able to look over each other’s shoulders and offer ideas in real time. One-on-one meetings, on the other hand, may go more smoothly when each participant can speak freely in the privacy of their own home. Split these tasks up into categories and assign them to in-person or work-from-home days as necessary.
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While hybrid work has many benefits, one challenge for managers is the work structure’s limited visibility into employees’ workloads, bandwidths, and productivity. Some managers may take on the attitude that as long as metrics are met, it doesn’t matter when work is completed.
Others prefer to maintain an understanding of their teammates’ working hours and levels of output. If you’re of the latter mind, there are ways you can measure productivity in real time without being invasive, running afoul of worker protection laws, or breaching your employees’ privacy.
Tools like Microsoft Teams provide live and up-to-the-minute colored status indicators to show when employees are active at their computers, stepping away for a break, in a call/meeting, or are completely offline. Team-focused output tracking tools are also available, such as software that alerts managers to productivity metrics at various intervals.
For more information about how managers can monitor employee activity in a compliant way, reach out to experienced HR compliance specialists.
Employee engagement can suffer even in the most cohesive and collaborative of hybrid work environments. Keep comradery high by maintaining a temperature reading on employee engagement.
You can measure employee engagement qualitatively and quantitively by tracking performance metrics and by surveying your team members to get a gauge on how they’re feeling. Ask questions such as “do you feel like you have the tools you need to do your job well?” and “what do you like and dislike about your position?” Sometimes, you won’t know what your employees need if you don’t ask.
No matter your budget, you can increase employee engagement by showcasing empathetic leadership in hybrid workplaces. When employees work from home, the line can be blurred between on and off time. Encourage a healthy work-life balance and make efforts to allow employees to disconnect in off-hours.
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Leadership and development training shouldn’t falter just because your employees aren’t in person five days a week. If you received leadership training prior to moving toward a hybrid work model, you may benefit from a fresh perspective—one with hybrid leadership in mind.
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As we've explored throughout this post, effective hybrid leadership hinges on mastering specific practices, from embracing digital tools to tracking employee engagement. Remember, the journey doesn’t end here. You can also invest in the learning and development of your broader team.
When employees grow and learn, your company reaps the benefits. Implementing these strategies not only enhances your leadership capabilities but also fosters a more dynamic and adaptable workforce.
If you’re interested in learning about how Axcet HR Solutions can assist you in implementing leadership training for managers and professional development plans at all levels of your organization, our experienced HR consultants are just a conversation away. Reach out today to start shaping the future of your hybrid leadership journey.
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