During the pandemic, remote work for many companies became the norm. While things have settled into a new normal, many companies are still allowing remote or hybrid work. Hybrid work means that some workers spend time working both in the office and remotely, while others are fully remote.
This trend has continued for a few reasons. One, employees are demanding remote work options and are often seeking other opportunities if their employers won’t permit it. Two, companies have found that remote workers are still productive and that the companies can also save money by downsizing their office spaces.
Of course, remote and hybrid workforces bring new challenges, particularly for HR managers. They’ve had to adapt their management practices to manage these types of workforces.
Here we’ll cover how HR managers are managing hybrid workforces in the real world. You can find other articles about current HR topics here.
Setting Expectations
First of all, HR managers must set clear expectations for both remote and in-office workers. Both should have measurable goals to reach both daily, weekly, and monthly. Goals should be both in terms of hours and productivity, and have clear benchmarks.
Expectations should also be set related to communication and collaboration. Standards need to be set related to the message or phone response times to ensure that workflows are not delayed.
All of these goals and expectations must be communicated by the HR manager and should be in writing and available to all employees.
Communication and Collaboration
Communication is of paramount importance for remote and hybrid workforces. Fortunately, during the pandemic, many new digital tools emerged that facilitate remote communication and collaboration.
These tools include both digital messaging tools, virtual meeting tools, and project management tools.
All of these are important to keep a team connected and on the same page as far as project collaboration, and the tools must facilitate conversations between groups and individuals. Project management tools must allow all team members to see the status of projects at any given time.
HR managers must ensure that all employees are trained to use these tools effectively, and also must monitor their use to make sure that all employees are engaging with each other regularly.
Managing Performance
HR managers must also be able to track and manage the team’s performance, ensuring that goals are being met, and that workflows are moving at the right pace. The communication and collaboration tools should allow HR managers to monitor productivity to see if employees are meeting the goals that have been set for them.
Managing performance also involves opening channels for employees to communicate when they are having issues meeting goals. They should be encouraged to report any issues immediately and have a clear route to do so. It then falls on management to address these issues.
Policies also need to be set to manage performance and address performance issues. If employees are not meeting their goals, the policies should state what action management will take, including coaching of the employees to improve performance.
The HR manager will work closely with department managers or upper management to identify and solve performance problems.
Building Culture and Community
One of the biggest challenges with remote and hybrid workforces is maintaining a positive company culture and a sense of community among team members. HR managers must be proactive about doing so, to ensure that employees don’t feel isolated or undervalued.
Regular virtual team meetings play a big part in keeping the team connected. In these meetings team members should be encouraged to share their work progress and issues, but should also be allowed time to simply chat and connect. It’s up to the meeting facilitator to make this happen by starting conversations of a more casual nature.
These meetings should occur at least weekly, but not be so long that they affect productivity.
Digital communication tools should also become places of community where everyone can connect and share personal stories or comments, as well as professional comments. Managers can even start these kinds of conversations by wishing someone happy birthday in a group message, or asking a team member about their vacation.
Team members also need to feel valued, so successes should be posted in groups, and employees should be encouraged to share their own successes.
Essentially, HR managers and other managers must lead by example, being positive, creating connections with the team, and making team members feel appreciated.
Training
Training both new and existing employees is yet another challenge that HR manages must tackle when dealing with a hybrid workforce. They need to find ways to design and implement training programs that can be done either digitally or in-person.
They need to first identify training needs by working with department managers, but also by assessing the skills of new and existing employees to locate gaps. Then they need to design programs to fill those gaps and gather resources to implement the programs in a way that is inclusive of both remote and in-office employees.
Addressing HR Challenges
Of course, HR must still manage the normal challenges that can come up in a workplace, such as compliance. They need to ensure that diversity and inclusion policies are being followed, and that no one is violating discrimination regulations or policies. They also must address any issues of digital sexual harassment or other conflicts that may arise between team members.
HR managers must also ensure that all employment laws at both the federal and state levels are being followed, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Equal Pay Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Conclusion
Remote and hybrid workforces appear to be the way of the future in many industries, so HR departments must continue to adapt their policies and strategies. Remote and hybrid work do present specific challenges, but with the right strategies, these teams can still be managed effectively.
When preparing their hybrid workforce management strategies, HR managers need to work closely with the entire management team. The responsibility does not fall solely on the HR department and requires a holistic approach and adaptation by all managers to ensure that the company continues to advance toward its goals.
