As vaccinations take hold and we begin to turn the corner on Covid-19, more employees will be returning to the office. Most of us are still working remotely; a recent survey from Mercer shows that 75% of American firms are still doing so. But the return to the office will likely begin over the next few months. The specifics will vary—some team members may be working entirely in the office, some will still work remotely part of the time—but many team members will still be working remotely. Hybrid teams—a mix of remote and office-based workers—will be the norm. Hybrid represents a new way of working, so just as we did with the shift to fully remote, we also need to learn how to make the shift to a hybrid work environment. Building trust and psychological safety will be critical in ensuring that shift succeeds.
While trust and psychological safety are vital for any team—Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the top factor driving high-performing teams—hybrid teams have some unique considerations. Because team members are working in very differing situations, with differing levels of autonomy, ability to socialize and access to the team leader, we need to ensure that all team members are treated equally and fairly, regardless of their work arrangement.
There are many possible ways to configure hybrid teams, but the most common situation will be a mix of schedules and working arrangements, with not everyone in the office at the same time or on the same days. Here are five steps to help build and maintain high levels of trust and psychological safety in such situations.
1) Relaunch The Team With A Kickoff
Whether project-based or permanent, every team needs a kickoff; a real or virtual gathering that emphasizes building interpersonal bonds and team cohesion.
But kickoffs should not be a one-time event. They can be done multiple times as the team’s focus or scope change. When a good chunk of your team begins returning to the office, consider that an excellent opportunity to do a relaunch or reboot of the group by having a kickoff to celebrate your new status as a hybrid team.
With the move to hybrid, the work environment has changed, so a kickoff to acknowledge that new work environment, talk about it and celebrate it will go a long way towards reinforcing trust between team members, and between the team and their leader.
2) Level The Playing Field For Remote And In-office Team Members
In the days before Covid-19, working remotely was occasionally seen as a perk for some. With a move to a hybrid workplace, unfairness or inequality—real or perceived—must be tackled to maintain team cohesion and individual employee well-being. Avoid an us versus them situation. Ensure everyone has equal access to the manager and awareness of what is going on in the office.
If one group, office-based or remote, is beginning to feel isolated or unequal, the team leader should start working the same way to show empathy and support for them. If remote workers are struggling to feel connected to the team, putting yourself in their situation will help them feel that they now have equal access to the manager.
It can also nudge in-office colleagues to adapt their behaviors to accommodate remote colleagues, as they will need to communicate with the team leader remotely.
As another example, when running remote meetings, have each in-office team member join from their computer. Avoid the communication and collaboration inequality that can arise when half the team is together in one room and can chat freely, while the other half is each sitting alone at home and seeing everyone through a Zoom window. Level the playing field by having everyone join the meeting remotely, even when in the office.
3) The Team Leader Needs To Over-communicate
Increased communication from the team leader—both in frequency and in different ways of communicating—plays a crucial role in remote team success. That approach to communication needs to continue with hybrid teams and not just with the remote members. Those in the office will also have their issues and concerns, especially if there is a situation where remote work is still seen as a perk, so office-based workers may feel they are not equal to their remote peers.
Greater frequency and variety in how you communicate (email, chat, video, face-to-face) with the entire team and with each team member will create an environment of psychological safety. Show that everyone has equal access to the team leader.
Listen to how each team member is coping with their work situation, and use that knowledge to design workarounds for each individual and the entire team.
4) Understand Each Team Member’s Preferred Working Style
As part of that increased communication with each team member, find out what’s working for them and what’s not. Learn more about how they like to work and how you can support that.
This is not just about preferences for remote or in-office work. It can mean things like preferred level of autonomy, ways to engage with you (email, phone, chat or video) to something as simple as what times of the day they are most effective or most creative, so you can schedule meetings and calls accordingly. Set up regular one-on-ones and check-ins around their schedule and preferences, rather than yours. While they may not have control over working remotely or not, they should have some control over how they work daily. The team leader can support that.
Once you know everyone’s working styles, use that knowledge to engage with the team to create a communication charter.
5) Establish New Hybrid Team Rituals and Norms
Routines, norms and rituals are a vital part of any team. These can be as simple as a daily stand-up meeting, weekly team games or drinks, or starting each meeting by catching up on non-work topics. These help foster a team culture and identity, build mutual empathy and fight social isolation. They can also bring a much-needed element of fun to the workplace.
Take a look at any norms and rituals that the team created or evolved naturally when the team was working remotely, and consider how to adapt them to the new working environment. Are there ways to take those Zoom coffee chats or Friday afternoon happy hours and adjust them to a hybrid work environment?
Be intentional about this. Create norms and rituals to reinforce the team identity and cohesion, so that each team member feels included regardless of whether they work remotely or in-office.
We must promote equality and inclusiveness to reduce the possibility of hybrid teams fracturing into office-based and remote sub-groups, who increasingly find less in common with each other. This list can provide a starting point for creating and reinforcing trust and psychological safety in remote teams. We can take many more steps, but by starting with a few of these, we can ensure that our teams survive and thrive in the new world of hybrid work.
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March 28, 2021 at 09:54AM
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Five Ways To Build Trust And Psychological Safety With Your Hybrid Team - Forbes
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