THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM-WORK IN A VIRTUAL HYBRID WORLD

The remote and hybrid work environment is here to stay, therefore, teamwork is more important than ever to keep teams engaged in their respective jobs. Simply put, teamwork is a combined action by a group of people to accomplish a common goal. While successful teamwork may have traditionally been accomplished while working side by side, that’s no longer the case. With the right motivation, communication and collection of diverse views, synergy can be accomplished no matter where your teammates sit.

The following are four tips for making teamwork thrive at your organisation in a post-pandemic world:

Define and establish clear and common goals
Make sure everyone has the ability to collaborate
Be transparent
Build teamwork into your culture

Everyone is searching for the right answers – Managers are struggling to find the correct way to return employees to the office whereas employees are delighted with the concept of a flexible return. Recent articles have indicated that 75% of employers report that they expected the typical “core” employee to be back in the office 3 or more days, which is the exact opposite of employees who want to work from home 2 or more days a week. These two competing views can create and cause disruption in the new hybrid workplace.

Whether your teams are in person, fully remote or hybrid, encouraging collaboration allows them to come up with new and creative ways to solve whatever problem you put in front of them. Different members of your team will bring different expertise and skills, which leads to a new way of thinking about solving the task at hand.

One huge benefit for people working face-to-face is employees get to know each other in healthy ways, they start to care more about each other’s well-being, both professionally and personally; that mutual understanding strengthens trust between colleagues. The power of playing together cannot be underestimated – virtual workers can feel a sense of isolation and building bonded teams can potentially become more difficult when there are few opportunities to meet face-to-face.

Whether employees work from home one or two days per week, 5 days per week, or choose to go to the office every day, the work culture should be the same for all. These simple tips can help to foster a healthy work environment:

Use tools that can be accessed anywhere
Centralise communication in one platform
Schedule a regular sync (one to one) – to offset challenges
Establishing core hours when all the team need to be available
Establish clear goals that include the whole team – clearly communicate both individual and team goals and explain how they fit in with the combined team goals.

Challenges do exist and cannot be ignored – with increased reliability on technology, there is less human interaction which in turn could potentially lead to individual burnout. Another potential challenge faced is teambuilding from a distance. Challenges are real for both the employer and employee and it’s imperative that the right overall balance is achieved.

It looks like the hybrid work model is here to stay. To manage the challenges faced by these teams, it’s important that everybody feels like they are a valued, contributing member. Truly great teamwork means the sum is greater than the parts; ensure all individual team members understand how their piece fits into the organisation and how their role is integral to the success of the team overall.

We now live in a new world, and the old saying “every-day is a school day” has never been so true.

Mike Morissey

(Director) MRGC, MRMC, MCIPD – Cork Office

Mike Morrissey has extensive knowledge of production, quality and engineering, having worked for Dell, Creative Labs and Tyco Safety Products /Sensormatic.

His expansive operational experience is grounded with training as a Six Sigma Black Belt.

As a lead auditor, he is very familiar with compliance and quality standards and has project managed the implementation of the environmental standard ISO14001. He has successfully utilised his project management and team leading skills in implementing numerous cost-saving and process improvement projects.

Since joining CareerWise Recruitment, Mike has graduated with a Diploma in Personnel Management from UCC and is a Chartered member of the CIPD.

Tags: