6 Tips to Effectively Lead a Hybrid Startup Team

Managing a hybrid team is very different from leading an entirely remote or completely on-site team. When you add in the startup element, things can get tricky pretty quickly if you don't have a plan and some solid guidelines to work by. You may have led many teams in the past, but managing hybrid workers will undoubtedly be an adjustment for both you and the team. 

Here are some of the best practices we've sourced for hybrid team startup management.

If your team is unsure of what’s expected of them, disaster is imminent. Not only do vague expectations make it difficult for you to lead effectively, but this will also result in your team feeling insecure and unsure of where they stand.

Outline exactly what you expect from them in both remote and in-office situations. This includes availability, expected responsiveness, and desired outcomes. Allowing your team the autonomy to choose when they work in-office or remotely can be empowering for them, but it is important to clarify exactly how these choices should be communicated with the rest of the team.

One of the main difficulties in managing remote workers is ensuring those workers still feel valued and recognized. It's also imperative to ensure they still have equal opportunities to grow within the company. The phrase "out of sight, out of mind" should most certainly not apply to your work-from-home team members, but you have to put plans in place to ensure that doesn't happen.

Team members who predominantly work in the office may also end up feeling like they are working harder than their remote colleagues. Encourage inclusiveness and fairness by ensuring that all of your team members bond equally and have fair access to team leaders regardless of their location. Don't forget the perks and benefits. If you occasionally provide lunch for in-office employees, you'll need to find a way to do that for remote workers too.

If you are going to go with a hybrid working model in your startup, it's important to acknowledge that your remote workers need to have access to the same tools that your in-office workers do. Setting all employees up with the capability to work remotely from their first day in your team is key to successful hybrid working.

Whether an employee thinks they might work remotely or not, access to collaboration software, video calling capabilities, and any team messaging apps should be part of your standard onboarding process. The day may come when that team member needs to switch for many reasons, and a seamless transition will benefit everyone. 

This area really needs some thought because communication doesn't just happen in writing. Some of the best communication happens around the water cooler or in the lunchroom. How can you replicate that for remote workers? 

Of course, there are a number of apps and software programs for internal messaging, but sometimes, that just isn't enough. One-on-one meetings with team members are essential and should be scheduled beforehand and stuck to like clockwork. On that point, though, be sure not to overdo the number of meetings. Effective communication is not about quantity; it's about quality. 

If you are not starting out with a hybrid model and this is a shift your startup is making, be sure to allow for an adjustment period. Not everyone will transition smoothly into a hybrid model on day one. That goes for team members and leaders. 

You may well find that the initial groundwork you set up needs some tweaking after a few months, so be open to that. Hybrid working is about increasing flexibility, so be flexible!

When setting up the concept for your hybrid working model, consult your team. They may well have ideas, feedback, or previous experience that proves invaluable. Then, once the concept has taken shape, go back and bounce it off everyone again.

Consider how it might impact each individual department's tasks. How does HR effectively do their job, for instance, or how might remote work impact your finance department? Hybrid work will mean different things for different team members, and for it to be successful, you need to consider this upfront.

• Internal Communication Software
• Project Management Tools
• Employee Training Software