Marsha’s Hybrid Work Playbook
By now, most teams are either gearing up for a partial return to work or are already in a hybrid work format. It’s a time of transition either way and ensuring you and your teams are prepared to adapt to changing needs and work together to establish new processes is your recipe for success.
As we reshape how we think about the traditional work format, there’s a common sentiment that if everyone isn’t physically in the office, creativity and collaboration suffer. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Below I’ll outline the best tools and reminders for a successful approach to this new age of digital work and virtual collaboration that’ll keep fresh ideas flowing and teams tuned into the brainstorming process!
Stay Creative
Virtual collaboration is a necessity for most teams these days so employing new methods can keep things fun, creative, and help generate the best ideas. It’s also a way to keep Strengths fresh by helping employees lead with their talents, making the team unit stronger. Here are a few ways to master hybrid collaboration!
Virtual Ice Breaker: Start meetings, especially ones where there’s a mix of virtual and in-person attendees, with a fun ice breaker! It’s a great way to get everyone engaged in the conversation, reacquaint team members with each other, and generally bring energy to the meeting to encourage participation. Consider the meeting topic and design a “quiz” around it to kickstart the conversation, play one-word association games to gauge opinions about X topic, or take an informative approach to introductions by having everyone share one thing they would want people to know about their job.
Use the right tools: Up to 65% of the population are visual learners so how do you balance that in a hybrid work format? There are a plethora of free and paid real-time virtual collaboration tools that make idea-sharing, discussion, and even client-sharing possible. Milanote and Conceptboard are both great examples.
Post-it Exercise: For interactive brainstorming sessions, try this exercise. Set a timer and have everyone write their ideas on post-its. If there are multiple categories, consider setting a limit or how many ideas to jot down per category before moving on. Once times up, put the post-its up on a wall or whiteboard according to ease of implementation and level of impact. This helps categorize ideas and prioritize which to tackle first.
Stay Connected
Without a doubt, a feeling of connection is the biggest thing workers lost during the pandemic, and look forward to regaining. Whether it’s monthly events or weekly meetings, creating occasions for everyone to be in the office together helps teams maintain a connection. Events and meetings don’t have to be just about work either, in fact, creating time for structured socialization can be a wonderful way to ameliorate and smooth out any hybrid work kinks. They’re also opportunities to collect valuable feedback about how individuals are doing, what procedures are working or not working for teams, and generally take the temperature of the organization.
Stay Curious
Learning new skills and generally focusing on professional development is important from the individual to the team level, all the way up to an organizational level. In fact, Gallup found that organizations that invest in employee development report 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees. When employees are encouraged to pursue learning their craft and further, given the tools—whether that’s educational stipends, access to coaching, or simply attending conferences and networking— they’re energized and excited to bring their new knowledge and skills to work.
As you navigate the world of hybrid work, keep your Strengths in mind for tackling any challenges that arise, and remember it’s okay to pivot direction if a certain strategy doesn’t work for you or your team. Feedback and adapting are the keys to success. If you need a Strengths refresher, I couldn’t think of a better time to uncover talents, fortify workplace culture, and simply reestablish connection and team affinity as we embark on a new chapter.