When you want to work in a hybrid way: 7 rules managers can follow
We have been talking about hybrid for two years. When COVID first appeared, the thought was it would dissipate in a year or less, and we could go back to "normal." We quickly figured out how to work remotely, which was not a foreign concept for those who were used to working in and managing global teams. This was a massive adjustment for those who saw their team every day in an office.
We then shifted the conversation from remote to hybrid. What did hybrid look like? Should we mandate days in the office or allow people to come in whenever they want? Companies set dates to return to the office only to be delayed and delayed again. Then, companies stopped naming dates because variants and infection rates became rapid and unpredictable.
For HR professionals, we grappled with vaccine mandates and mask mandates. What is suitable vs. convenient? What is practical vs. comfortable? Would we lose people if mandated? Would we lose people if we asked anyone to return to the office?
Some desperately want to return because they miss in-person interaction and the effectiveness of face-to-face collaboration. Others have adjusted to working from home and will quit before returning to the office.
What on earth do we do? We can't make everyone happy. The closest philosophy we can embrace to at least try to make everyone happy is flexibility.
Now, flexibility is open to interpretation. Flexibility cannot mean that we have winners and losers in this situation. We need to meet people where they are and create mutual agreements based on facts, work, relationships, company needs, and personal needs.
This may look different for each person, which inadvertently creates inequality. But, remember, equality does not mean everyone gets precisely the same thing. It means everyone has the same chance or opportunity.
So, how do we manage in a hybrid situation? Hybrid means people work from an office when they need to and work from home or somewhere else when they need to….all based on the work required and producing quality work.
Here are my seven rules of engagement, and I would love to hear your thoughts as I know many of you are thinking through the same.
One size does not fit all.
We need to ensure people have equal opportunity, but one size may not fit all. In these times, managers need to understand each person's professional and personal factors to see what works for them. The first question I always ask is how is someone's performance? If they perform well or exceptionally well and want to work remotely, then why change that? If someone is struggling, the manager needs to dig into why they are struggling. Maybe the person can't work remotely because their environment is too noisy. Perhaps they lack the discipline to work independently or can't stand the isolation. It is essential to understand how your team members thrive individually. You can then decide how to assemble the team based on personal preference.
Ensure constant connection.
Whether someone is in the office or not, staying connected through agenda-driven, meaningful meetings as a team and one-on-one is critical to building and maintaining a good relationship, building a sense of team, and staying on track with performance, engagement, and outcomes. I know how busy managers are these days but ensuring you have scheduled time as a team and one-on-one is the best engagement tool. This is also a good predictor of success in achieving your goals.
Talk about and measure performance and outcomes.
Not every meeting needs to be all business, but focus your management efforts on goal progress and measuring outcomes. Now, this does not mean micromanagement. It is very tempting to become more micro when your team is not next door to you in an office. However, when you micromanage, you communicate how much you do not trust your team. To retain and engage your team, you need to demonstrate trust by allowing your team some autonomy and flexibility to achieve the outcomes in their way. We need to focus even more on results these days and seek to understand barriers in our way so we can address them. The quickest way to lose someone is not to trust them and make them come back to the office full-time so you can keep an eye on them.
Don't count days in the office.
I may get some dissenters here, but I don't believe in counting and mandating certain days in the office. If we embrace hybrid, which we should for many reasons, the best of which is engagement and a reason to stay with your organization, we need to reconcile that sometimes people will be in the office and sometimes they won't be. I don't feel we should say you need to be here every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Instead, we should be saying that we would love to connect in person weekly. If you live near an office, we should strive to be there weekly. Human connection is critical to our well-being and our relationships. What that looks like should go back to #1, determine what works for all parties involved, and consider the points in the next section.
Create business reasons to be in the office.
There are many business reasons to be in the office: brainstorming, creating, innovating, planning, talking through challenging issues, and building relationships. We certainly have been able to do these activities remotely, but we can't deny that face-to-face can be more effective. We need to have solid business reasons for being in the office. If someone has a day where they are on web meetings with people not located in the office they work in, then why come in? Just to see someone sitting at a desk is meaningless unless they are there for a reason. If someone has early or late meetings for their time zone, asking them to squeeze in a commute may be too challenging for them to juggle their commitments.
Focus on quality work.
Before COVID, I had a former colleague who always took phone calls at the local Starbucks. This situation was challenging as the loud background commotion drowned out every call. This made it challenging to have a fruitful conversation, and the work and relationship suffered. I couldn't get the answers I needed because I spent more time asking him to repeat himself than solving problems. For those employees who want to stay remote, I get it. I truly do. Just make sure you are performing well and turning in quality work. If you are, then go forth and do good remotely!
Build intentional teams and culture.
I will write more about this last point next week. I have read many articles and heard several leaders lament the loss of a "culture" and a sense of solid teams because people don't commute to an office building. This is the perfect time to intentionally discuss and focus on values and culture in a hybrid way. Define why people should come to an office. Define the values we all should be living regardless of where we work. Create opportunities to collaborate, chat, connect, and volunteer. All these activities create "culture." A physical building is not culture. Culture is about how we work, treat each other, and treat our customers. I genuinely don't think we all need to be in the same building to live this. And, if you are global, you really can't be in the same building.
There is a balance between in-person and remote. I encourage people to set ground rules for this now. I encourage people to train managers on managing people in a hybrid situation and beware of recency bias (judging based on the last thing you saw or heard) and proximity bias (favoring someone because they come into the office more).
This is a delicate and crucial time to get this right to maximize the office, keep our teams engaged, help our teams balance life, and achieve strong performance.