The Secret to Optimising Hybrid Work
The pandemic has reshaped our work environment, leaving many organisations and leaders facing the challenge of managing hybrid teams. In this blog, we share insights from my conversation with Bretton Putter, author of Culture Decks Decoded and Own Your Culture, to uncover the secrets to optimising hybrid work. Brett dives into how to navigate the transition to hybrid work successfully, emphasising the importance of maintaining a strong company culture, effective team management, and staying connected with your team to boost productivity and engagement.
The Current State of Hybrid Work Environment
While you might expect the transition to hybrid work post-pandemic to have gone smoothly, the reality is that it’s been a challenge for many companies. Some organisations have seen positive outcomes like increased productivity, reduced costs, and better work-life balance.
These are the 5 types of personas in the workforce now:
Doesn’t want to be in the office
Wants to be in the office
Moved out of the city and doesn’t want to commute
Wants to travel/commute
Has children and wants to come into the office around that
Flexibility has become a key selling point for companies, with many promoting the idea that as long as employees get their work done, they can be as flexible as they need to be. But many companies are struggling with maintaining team cohesion and communication, and many employees are feeling disconnected from the company culture. The truth is, that most companies are still figuring out how to implement hybrid work effectively.
Challenges that Leaders Face
A survey of over 8,000 hybrid workers highlights key challenges in the new work environment. Many employees feel less connected to their organisation’s culture, with decreased team collaboration and strained coworker relationships due to reduced face-to-face interaction. Cross-departmental communication and task coordination have also become more difficult.
A major issue is that many managers are struggling to adapt to hybrid work because they’re unsure how to maintain a strong company culture in this setting. With fewer in-office days, we're missing out on spontaneous interactions and learning opportunities that once naturally fostered culture. The big challenge now is figuring out how to build and sustain a vibrant company culture in a hybrid environment.
Many managers are not adapting to hybrid work. Because they don’t actually know how to adapt to hybrid work. - Brett Putter
Creating A Strong Culture
To build a strong hybrid work culture, leaders should first assess whether the hybrid model is genuinely supported by their team or if it's being enforced. Address any disconnects between leadership decisions and employee needs to retain top talent. Middle managers are crucial here, so give them the right tools and training to manage different work styles effectively.
Brett suggests focusing on three key areas that will help you build a culture that works in a hybrid environment.
Collaboration
In an office setting, most of us know how to work together, but remote work brings new challenges. Many of us haven’t had much experience with remote work best practices, and yet, if we're spending 60% of our time working from home, it's crucial to get this right. To improve collaboration, it’s important to understand where we’re strong and where we need to improve, especially in remote work.
To get hybrid work right, it's important to balance synchronous and asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication allows people to focus deeply on their tasks and manage their own schedules, like taking a break or walking the dog, while still staying productive.
With asynchronous communication, it's helpful to delegate tasks across multiple projects so your team members don’t end up waiting for responses. This way, everyone can keep making progress and switch between tasks as needed. As a manager, understanding and effectively implementing asynchronous communication is key to keeping things running smoothly in a hybrid work environment.
Collaboration for me is process definition, documentation, and documentation capability. It’s about communication, it’s about balancing synchronous and asynchronous work, it’s about social connection and social capital bonding where you build that community and that cohesion. Then it’s about trust and transparency. If you can get those five right, you're way ahead of every other manager in the organisation. - Brett Putter
People Management
There’s a fascinating study from Georgia Southern University conducted before the pandemic. They looked at 220 teams of four and split them into two groups. One group worked in an office and chose their manager, while the other group worked remotely and also chose their manager.
The results showed that in the office, teams tended to pick what I’d call "alpha leaders"—those who are outgoing, enjoy giving instructions, and use their personality to lead. On the other hand, remote teams selected leaders who were more focused on facilitating, coaching, and managing projects—people who helped get the job done efficiently.
When it comes to managing remote teams, regular one-on-one meetings are crucial. These meetings aren't just about checking on project status; they focus on how team members are doing personally and professionally. The conversation is often led by the employee, not just a status update. These regular one-oo-ones help managers build strong connections with their team members, creating multiple touch points that strengthen relationships and enhance team cohesion.
Team Culture
Managers once didn’t have to worry too much about team culture because it naturally reflected the broader organisational culture, which was shaped by being in the office. In the office, we could easily pick up on and contribute to the company culture through daily interactions.
Now, with many of us working remotely two, three, or even four days a week, experiencing and maintaining that same culture is challenging. Team leaders need to figure out how to cultivate a strong, cohesive team culture within the larger organisational culture. The key is finding ways to build a high-performing team culture that complements and enhances the overall company culture, even when working outside the office.
The first step is to take the company’s core values and work with your team to interpret them together. Ask your team: What behaviours align with these values? How can we demonstrate these values in our daily work? While this team-specific culture may not replace the broader company culture, it will give your team a strong sense of purpose and autonomy, guiding how they work together and behave as a unit.
Making the Most of Social Capital
Social capital is all about the value you gain from your connections and relationships with others. Instead of leaving it to chance, create a plan to build social capital through meaningful interactions. Start by assessing how your team is connecting with each other. Use one-on-one meetings to understand who knows whom and how well.
Also, consider who your team members are engaging with outside the team. As a leader, you can help by introducing team members who might collaborate well together. Encourage them to build rapport and interact with others outside the team. For example, if your team needs to interact more with the engineering department, arrange opportunities for cross-team collaboration, like a show-and-tell or a joint project discussion. This approach helps build confidence in your team’s ability to work together and collaborate effectively, both internally and externally.
Embracing Hybrid Work & Flexibility
From my conversation with Brett, we learned that confident leaders embrace flexibility, understand the core elements of hybrid work, and are self-aware of their leadership style.
Hybrid work can challenge even the most confident leaders, but it’s crucial for the future of our businesses that leaders regain and maintain that confidence. To help you build that confidence and create a thriving hybrid work culture, Brett has launched a new online course focused on managing hybrid teams.
Brett has also put together an amazing course designed specifically for leaders navigating the hybrid work environment. The course dives deep into what you need to do to lead effectively in this new landscape. You can check it out on the website culturegene.ai
Tune in to the podcast episode here: The Secret to Optimising Hybrid Work with Bretton Putter
Share your thoughts with me in the comments, on YouTube, or on social media.
