Productivity Tips for Hybrid Teams: Turning Ideas Into Action

Six simple ideas to help businesses maximize collaboration and productivity in hybrid teams.

Generating ideas is one thing. Turning those ideas into action is another—and a particularly challenging task when hybrid teams need to collaborate. Gallup research found that employees are challenged by two key factors: lack of tools and an inability to collaborate effectively remotely. Companies can help remove these barriers by providing employees with easy-to-use tools that integrate with existing technology and processes. Doing so helps solve common hybrid work challenges, facilitates collaboration and productivity, and maximizes the massive upside of flexible work. The key is to keep things simple. These six tips may help.

1. Assess your team.

Consider your company’s current approach to collaboration. How often do teams need to meet? Are these meetings spontaneous or planned? How well are current processes working? Rather than make assumptions, ask employees for feedback. Understanding your team’s challenges is the first step to improving them.

2. Strive for simplicity.

Needlessly complicated technology is a barrier to getting things done, says Heather Green, global vice president for the Post-it® and Scotch brands at 3M. Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to getting people to adopt processes and tools. For example, when developing the new app, Post-it® for Microsoft Teams, a digital whiteboard embedded into Teams, simplicity was a priority. To keep that concept centered, her team kept the ease of Post-it products in mind. “As we developed a digital solution, we wanted to keep it just as simple,” she explains.

3. Create mini-plans.

Take steps to keep projects and progress moving. For example, at the end of each meeting, break down next steps, and assign responsibility and deadlines for each. Get your next meeting on the calendar before you close the current meeting. In addition, project leaders should create a clear accountability plan. For example, hybrid teams using Microsoft Planner, a simple planning application, can tag digital Post-it Notes and assign tasks to other team members.

4. Resist micromanaging.

Managers leading remote teams should resist the urge to micromanage, as that takes away employees’ sense of ownership. Numerous studies have found that people work productively at home, particularly when working on projects that require uninterrupted work time.

5. Respect different styles.

An inclusive workplace accommodates different work styles. Green suggests that teams use the Post-it app on their smartphones to capture notes and add them to a shared, physical board in the Microsoft Teams meeting. Employees who prefer to brainstorm without the distraction of the activity on the virtual whiteboard can choose Zen Mode, which hides other additions to the board.

6. Adapt as needed.

Continue to assess your team by considering the output of your work, whether projects are staying on schedule, and whether employees feel they have everything they need to succeed. With just a few shifts and tools, your teams can be more productive wherever they are working.