A hybrid team is a combination of on-site employees, remote workers and contractors, all working together to accomplish the same goals. To make sure everyone has a productive, frictionless experience, it’s essential to have clearly defined company policies.
But what are company policies? They’re the rules that every employee should be aware of from day one. Company policies allow your organization to operate at peak performance, while protecting sensitive information and keeping business operations streamlined.
In this blog post, you will learn about best practices when managing a hybrid team so your team operates smoothly and efficiently. Keep reading to discover company policies you need for managing a hybrid team.
A brief introduction to hybrid teams
Hybrid teams are collaborative groups that may be co-located or have members who work remotely. They are a natural evolution of distributed teams, with the added nuance of co-located partners integrated into the mix.
Why are hybrid teams
becoming more popular? Technology has made it possible for companies to hire employees from around the globe, and business has become increasingly global and virtual. As you move toward a hybrid team, you need to understand the various types of employees you may have on your team such as the following:
- Leaders: Lead employees are the leaders of your team. They are the ones that make decisions about the direction of your organization, and they are responsible for leading the team to success. These members will be responsible for allocating tasks, implementing strategies and executing on goals. When you hire a leader, you need to ensure that they have a clear vision of your company’s future, so you can build relationships with them.
- Communications: Your communications team is essential to any company and should include a solid strategy to communicate with customers and investors. This is where communication between leaders becomes vital when working with a hybrid team. While your communication may be in person or via email, it must be done with urgency. Communication should be quick so that you can respond in real time to any issues or concerns being raised by your business partners, as well as provide feedback that may help strengthen your relationship with them.
- Operations: Operations staff work closely with customers and investors on business decisions, but they must have an understanding of how their jobs will impact other people’s lives at work or at home if their job goes away or if they lose their job. This is where things get messy when companies move from centralized teams to hybrid teams because people may not know what is happening within their company and even if they do know it can be very confusing for them! As a result, you will need some way for management teams to communicate effectively about risks.
1. Have a car parking policy
Before you hire your first remote employee, make sure you have a car parking policy in place. You don’t want to make the mistake of assuming that your team members will park in the same garage every day.
If you don’t want parking to be an issue, make it a company policy that remote workers should park at least two blocks away from the office. By having enforced policies in place, you can make sure that everyone on your team is safe.
Having parking policy samples in place makes it easier for new hires to settle down in the office and make some initial arrangements. If you don’t have a car parking policy in place, your remote staff members could park in the same garage as your office employees or the general public.
2. Have weekly team huddles
Some companies have a daily stand-up meeting where everyone on the team updates their progress. Others have a weekly huddle, where all team members discuss their goals, achievements, and challenges.
Regardless of which approach works best for your organization, make sure you have a weekly team huddle in place for your hybrid team. Holding a weekly meeting will help you keep track of who’s doing what, and it will keep your team on track toward achieving the goals you’ve set.
A weekly huddle is essential if you want to make sure you’re in sync with your hybrid team. You may also need to have team huddles for specific projects. For example, if you’re working on a big client project, you may need to have weekly meetings with the team members assigned to this project.
3. Remote worker rotation
If you have a large hybrid team, consider implementing a rotation policy. This is where you have a set schedule for who works remotely on what days. This way you avoid having too many people working remotely on the same days.
By rotating remote workers, you ensure that they have time to go to the grocery store, walk their dog or spend time with their family. Working from home four days a week is draining if you don’t mix it up with occasional face-to-face interactions.
By rotating remote workers, you also avoid burnout (which can happen when you work too many hours). A remote worker may start to feel resentful if they feel they’re always expected to work at home, while other team members get to go into the office. You also avoid this resentment by having a remote worker rotation in place.
4. Conferencing etiquette
The nature of remote work means that you’ll probably be having virtual meetings with your team. Make sure you have conferencing etiquette in place to avoid confusion. For example, you may have a rule that all team members should mute their mic when they leave the room.
When you’re in a meeting, you should have a rule about who speaks when (for example, the person who’s leading the meeting should speak first and end last). Having a clear, consistent set of rules for virtual meetings will help your team collaborate more effectively and efficiently.
You also want to consider investing in an online meeting tool, such as Zoom or Google Hangouts. These tools help make meetings more efficient, and they are a useful addition to your hybrid team policies.
5. Company-wide communication policy
Every company needs a company-wide communication policy. This is the set of rules that determines how employees should communicate with each other. By developing a company-wide communication policy, you ensure that your employees are using the right tools to communicate.
You also make sure that they’re communicating in the most effective way possible. You build your company-wide communication policy around these core components: Presence, Tools, Behaviors, and Roles.
6. Remote working to be announced employee policy
If you have a few remote workers on your team, you may decide to have a remote working policy. A remote working policy is a set of rules that determines whether a team member can work remotely.
If you have a lot of remote workers, you may decide to have a remote working to-be-announced employee policy. This is a set of rules that determines which employees will work remotely.
There are a few factors you can consider when deciding whether or not to allow a team member to work remotely. You can also use these factors when deciding who can work remotely.
- Dependability: You want to make sure that your team members are reliable. If you notice a consistent pattern of tardiness or absenteeism, you may want to re-evaluate whether the member can work remotely.
- Expertise: If a team member is an expert in their field, you may want to allow them to work remotely so they can share their knowledge with others.
7. A seat at the table for all employees
All employees should have a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making. You don’t want to make big decisions without consulting your team members. You may have to schedule meetings with your hybrid team members to discuss important issues.
If you’re making large decisions without involving your hybrid team members, you’re probably making mistakes. If you have a remote team member who has a good idea, you should be receptive to hearing their suggestion. If you have a team member who wants to brainstorm a new marketing campaign, for example, you should let them speak up.
8. A culture of transparency
It’s crucial that your organization has a culture of transparency, especially if you have a hybrid team. This includes sharing salary information, equity information, equity option plans, and stock options.
By being transparent about the compensation package for all team members, you avoid any potential problems. If you have a hybrid team, transparency is essential. You need to share financial and business information with your entire team.
This includes the data that you would normally keep private, such as financial projections. If you don’t share this information, your team members could resent you. They may think that you’re hiding information from them, or they may think that you don’t trust them.
Bottom line
Hybrid teams have become increasingly common as technology has improved. These teams combine on-site staff with remote workers to accomplish the same goals. To make sure that everyone has a productive, frictionless experience, it’s essential to have clearly defined company policies.
Having these policies in place, you can ensure that your organization operates smoothly and efficiently while protecting sensitive information and keeping business operations streamlined.
Author bio
Cosmas alias Cosii-Riggz is a technology enthusiast and SAAS writer who helps clients understand products by explaining services for businesses.
He has been featured in websites such as PV Magazine and Bitcoin Kenya. During his free time, he likes traveling to new places and exploring what’s new on the internet. Contact him on his LinkedIn page or email.
