Hybrid teams are the newest evolution in the quest to minimize expenses and increase team productivity. In a hybrid team, there are remote workers and in-house workers, and some people are a mix of both.
When teams are together in an office, it’s easy to communicate and get fast answers, clarification, and help. However, when remote employees are involved, it’s harder to keep everyone connected.
If you’ve got a hybrid team, here are some ideas for keeping everyone in communication and feeling like they’re part of the team.
- Use digital signage
Digital signage isn’t just for marketing to customers – it’s also a powerful tool that will keep your hybrid teams connected, whether they’re in the office or working from home.
According to Visix, omni-channel strategies are the best way to unify team communication through digital signage. For example, instead of creating an email, a digital signage message, and intranet posts, you create one message that gets posted to all of your platforms.
When the same message goes out to all platforms for your employees, nobody will be left out, no matter what platform they use. For instance, your in-house team members will see the message on the office monitor, while remote employees will see the message posted to the company’s intranet.
- Conduct regular check-ins
Whether you check in with your team via email, a Zoom meeting, or a group chat on Slack, check in with everyone once in a while. Sometimes a third-party needs to bring teams together to make them feel connected.
Check in with your team at least once a month, if not every week. It doesn’t need to be a massive scheduled event. You can reach out to teams through your task management application or through your group chat software.
Ask how everyone is doing and if they need any help or have any questions. Give them the opportunity to share what’s on their mind, whether it’s a complaint, a concern, or an idea.
- Don’t keep remote employees completely separated
There’s a tendency to keep remote team members separated from the rest of the team on digital platforms. Remote team members are often given different assignments and don’t need to be involved in the daily grind alongside in-house workers. However, that exclusion has a cost.
Remote workers are already prone to isolating themselves from the rest of the team, in part or in full, depending on how often they visit the office. If they can’t see what’s going on with the company as a whole, they might start to feel detached from the company and even their role.
Remote workers may not need to see the daily happenings in the office, but making it visible (at least with project tasks and chats) will make them feel included as part of the team.
Feeling included will make them feel like they are part of a team rather than working in a silo. When employees feel included, they’re more likely to ask for help, admit mistakes, and strive to produce better work.
- Allow everyone to work from home sometimes
If your hybrid team consists of people who work from home and others who only work in the office, consider allowing your in-house staff to work from home occasionally.
Studies have shown that 65% of employees are more productive when working from home. Also, people want to work from home. If you allow everyone to take a couple remote days each week, they’ll feel better and will produce better work for the company.
- Get Slack
Of all the tech applications out there, Slack is by far one of the best productivity tools around. It’s more than a productivity tool, though. It’s more like a platform for group communication that segments discussion topics.
All posts are text-searchable, so employees can easily find posts made by other team members based on their username or keyword.
Slack keeps teams on track to meet deadlines and makes it easier to reference client requests, revisions, and technical details that get lost in emails and task management applications.
Your team collaboration tools matter
People get frustrated when they’re forced to use cumbersome collaboration tools that require endless navigation and clicking to get around. Teams. There are people who swear by these applications, and that’s okay – they serve a purpose. However, Slack is infinitely more powerful because of its user-friendly design.
Strengthen your business by keeping your teams connected
Your employees are on the front lines, dealing with customers, clients, and meeting important deadlines for projects that keep you ahead of your competitors.
Ultimately, your team members will make or break your business. Keep your business strong by keeping your teams connected.
