Managing Hybrid and Remote Teams

About the Course

While it may feel like a new concept, remote and hybrid working has been a feature in many organisations for years, especially within those with a need for geographically dispersed teams to work together. However, as a result of the sudden shift to remote working resulting from the global Covid 19 pandemic, leading and managing remote and hybrid teams has taken on a new and unparalleled urgency. In short, while the pandemic didn’t create the idea of hybrid working, it has been vastly accelerated by it.

Post-pandemic, it appears to be a widely accepted fact that remote working is here to stay. Organisations that refuse to adapt to this new reality face a serious risk of missing out on attracting the best talent into their ranks. Therefore, it is paramount that managers and leaders acquire the skillset needed to operate effectively in this new reality.

This Managing Hybrid and Remote Teams training course is designed to help delegates with these challenges. They will get the opportunity to level up with the latest research into this highly evolving field and leverage their insights to pro-actively work out a management approach that works best in their unique circumstances. Managers and leaders will discover the five essential elements of leading hybrid and remote teams, learn how to align fractured or disconnected teams, and utilise the latest technology to help them succeed against the multitude of challenges they face in this new reality.

Core Objectives

Delegates will achieve the following objectives:

• Develop effective strategies for leading hybrid and remote teams
• Discover the 5 Essential Elements for managing employees remotely
• Learn how to drive productivity, motivation and engagement
• Leverage technology to lead dispersed groups of people
• Tailor modes of communication to reach team members where they are
• Learn techniques for bringing together a disconnected, fractured team

Training Approach

This course is driven by a blended learning approach and draws on various adult learning techniques such as action learning, experiential exercises, group discussions, video case studies, role play and self-reflection activities. The resulting variety helps delegates stay engaged throughout the course, feel challenged and draw quick wins for their development. It also ensures delegates are exposed to ample opportunities to apply what they learn to the real-world challenges they face back in the workplace.

The Attendees

This course is suitable for anyone required to manage virtual, hybrid or remote teams, regardless of their seniority. It offers practical value to Team Leaders, First Level Managers, Mid-Level Leaders and Senior Leaders from various disciplines, including sales and marketing, product innovation, development and engineering, and support functions such as legal, finance, and HR.

Likewise, it will be valuable to the professionals but not limited to the following:

• Sales and Marketing Managers
• Project Managers who lead teams
• Finance, Legal or HR Managers
• Managers in the fields of Product Innovation, Development, or Engineering
• Division or Branch Managers
• Technical Managers

Daily Discussion

DAY ONE: A NEW WORLD OF WORK - AND HOW TO NAVIGATE IT

• Levelling with the latest research around managing remotely
• Examining and understanding the ‘Hybrid Paradox’
• The permanence of remote working - and what it means for managers
• Capitalising on the opportunities presented by hybrid and remote work
• Adapting your leadership style to succeed with your dispersed team
• Understanding the risks of failing to adapt to the 'New World of Work’

DAY TWO: THE 5 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR MANAGING REMOTELY

• Ensuring balance, fairness and equity within your team
• The crucial importance of trust - and how to foster it remotely
• Establishing clear Rules of Engagement
• How to build and maintain essential team connections?
• Attaining top-level remote meeting facilitation skills

DAY THREE: DRIVING PERFORMANCE AND ENGAGEMENT

• The Vertical Dyad Linkage Model - and its impact on managing remotely
• Setting performance expectations remotely
• Determining key ‘non-negotiables’ with your dispersed team
• How to on-board new team members remotely?
• How to engage, motivate and integrate employees who are not in the office?
• Developing remote members of the team

DAY FOUR: TAILORING YOUR COMMUNICATION TO SUIT ‘REMOTE’

• How to communicate effectively in a hybrid context?
• Communicating through the ‘virtual’ lens
• Leveraging technology, tools and apps to connect with remote teams
• Developing effective channels of communication to reach your team wherever they are
• Understanding the risks and pitfalls of communicating with your virtual team

DAY FIVE: ALIGNING DISCONNECTED HYBRID TEAMS

• Understanding the Thomas-Killmann Conflict Model in a virtual context
• Aligning your remote team behind a united purpose
• How to create a ‘North Star’ vision that works for your hybrid / remote team?
• Recognising and avoiding managerial actions that cause teams to disintegrate
• Action Planning