It’s an exciting time for the workplace. After years of experimentation, it looks like hybrid collaboration is quickly evolving into the future of work. More employees and managers than ever are now considering transitioning from fully in-person or remote work and embracing the flexibility of hybrid workforces.
The only problem? Many companies that are already trying their hand at hybrid collaboration aren’t that great at it.
On most hybrid teams, there’s an imbalance between in-person workers and remote ones, with remote employees feeling “left out” from everything from office perks to promotion opportunities. To make matter worse, many companies aren’t doing enough to address the challenges of mixed/hybrid work.
Effective hybrid teamwork requires more than scheduling virtual team-building activities. Instead, hybrid collaboration requires a radical rethinking of your entire work environment, from the digital to the physical to the interpersonal.
What is hybrid collaboration?
Hybrid collaboration is a work approach that combines in-person and remote interactions among employees, enabling them to collaborate, brainstorm, and work together on projects. Hybrid collaboration has several benefits, including increased flexibility, improved work-life balance, and increased productivity.
While this kind of work is not necessarily new, what is new is entire companies making hybrid collaboration their official workplace policy.
This means employees get the freedom to work the way they want. Whether they prefer going into the office and having face-to-face interactions with their colleagues, staying at home to avoid a commute or take care of their family, or embracing some mix of the two, hybrid work collaboration policies promise to give both teams and entire workforces the flexibility to be as productive as possible.
Hybrid collaboration styles
Collaboration is often defined by where teams are located, and when the work happens. For example, traditional collaboration is typically in-person and collaboration occurs during a given meeting or working session. However, this isn’t the only way to collaborate. When adopting hybrid collaboration as a practice, teams should use these five types of collaboration to design teamwork that works for them.
In-person & synchronous
Characterized by teams working together in a physical location and at the same time, this type of collaboration is helps teams build rapport, solve complex problems, and interact face-to-face.
In-person & asynchronous
An underutilized style characterized by employees working in the same location but collaborating together on their own time, this style is helpful for providing visibility for shared information, solving simple problems, and reflecting on shared challenges.
Remote synchronous
Remote synchronous involves remote teams working together in in real-time from different locations and is recommended for building personal connections over time, involving a broad group of stakeholders, clarifying ambiguous situations, and running focused working sessions.
Remote asynchronous
Defined by remote employees working separately on their own schedules, this method is best for working across time zones, sharing information that doesn’t require discussion, and deep work to solve problems individually.
Mixed synchronous
Characterized by a mix of remote employees and workers in the office, this is the most familiar style of hybrid collaboration. This style is best-suited for building strong team relationships between in-office and remote teams, conducting project coordination, decision-making, and real-time collaboration with many team members.
Hybrid collaboration will work differently for every team, but this framework can help teams identify where hybrid collaboration will help them in daily work and build connection with one another.
Challenges of hybrid collaboration
When done right, hybrid collaboration can help remove a variety of barriers, from geography to gender bias. But establishing a hybrid work policy that achieves this across an entire company can be difficult. To be successful, companies must first consider the following three hybrid work problems.
1. Social Struggles
When we surveyed over 400 people on their experiences with remote collaboration, their biggest frustrations included missing connection with colleagues, lack of spontaneity, difficult communication, and struggling with creativity.
When collaborating in a hybrid work environment, these issues tend to get worse, leading to remote team members getting the short end of the socialization stick.
Mitigating the “here vs there” mentality
In many hybrid environments (at least pre-pandemic), the “core” employee group works together in the same place. Remote workers, on the other hand, make up a smaller cohort. To make matters more uneven, leadership is usually part of the office group.
This “we’re here, you’re there” mindset creates a number of negative downstream effects. One is an “unintended hierarchy” with on-site workers at the top and their remote colleagues at the bottom. Members of the C-suite run into in-person employees in the hall and see them in meetings, leading to promotions and high-visibility work. At the same time, remote workers can be seen as less reliable, capable, and willing to lead. They also experience reduced access to resources, from in-office snacks to mentorship opportunities.
Learn more: Hybrid vs remote work — pros, cons, and how to chose the right one.
One big shift that needs to happen is a complete reversal of the traditional here-there mentality, with remote being “here” and the office being “there.” One great way to build this into your hybrid work culture is by adopting digital-first habits. Conducting a brainstorming session or designing a new team workflow? Use a collaboration platform that your teams can access from anywhere. Bringing team rituals online and making them more accessible will help level the playing field between remote and co-located teams.
Another way to bridge the gap between here-and-there teams is the widespread adoption of work-from-anywhere (WFA) policies. With this shift, everyone is a potential remote worker, so location becomes completely irrelevant. No more here, no more there — only intentional collaboration.
Capturing camaraderie
Hallway conversations pre- and post-meeting chats happen naturally when in person. It’s not uncommon for people going in and out of meeting rooms to talk about the topic at hand. Sometimes, decisions are even made during those unofficial conversations. In those cases, remote coworkers get left in the dark or miss out on opportunities for connection.
Try adopting a shared space where teams can regularly get together and talk about non-work things. A virtual water cooler is always a good place to start.
2. Technical difficulties
Just about everyone has been forced to use a tool that didn’t really meet their needs. Technical issues on both the tools and apps used for everyday work are a major challenge for hybrid teams.
Even the smallest technical difficulties can cause large interpersonal issues within a hybrid team.
Before you hold a hybrid meeting, do a trial run with the tools you plan to use with your team. Work through those video conferencing hiccups beforehand for just a few minutes can prevent hybrid collaboration from getting sidelined by technical difficulties.
Overcoming audio problems
"Can you all hear me? No? Let me try to reconnect.”
How many times have you heard that over the past year? During hybrid meetings, there will most likely be an imbalance in audio signal. For folks co-located in the room, distance from the mic may make their voices louder or softer. People who are remote may also be using different mics and devices. The net effect is an unequal audio signal for participants, leading to comprehension and audibility issues.
To mitigate these real-time issues and save everyone from Zoom fatigue, re-evaluate your meeting frequency. Do you really need to have all those meetings? Instead, take back your calendar and look into how asynchronous collaboration is a much more inclusive alternative to a meeting.
Addressing tool proliferation
Think about your team’s collaboration stack. How many tools do you have at your disposal? We’re guessing the number is pretty high. How many of those do you use every day? That one is probably a lot lower. And which of those do you actually like? Probably even lower.
Some tools might be more valuable for in-person teams, while remote workers may struggle to use them. Also, each group may use a tool differently. As a result, some key pieces of information might live in one place, and others might be somewhere else. Plus, the way in which people can contribute in words or images will differ across the group types.
We suggest adopting a visual collaboration space (may we suggest Mural?) so team members are free to express ideas, challenges, and insights in whatever way they feel the most comfortable with.
3. Collaboration hurdles
Working as a team is hard enough when everyone is in the same room. Add in different time zones, spotty WiFi, and poor conference room audio and you’ve got a real challenge on your hands. To make collaboration as seamless as possible, you’ll need to manage the unique dynamics of hybrid workspaces.
Consider all your hybrid team's collaboration hurdles so you can maximize productivity and connection.
Ensuring equal participation and inclusivity
The aim of hybrid meetings is to encourage equal participation between remote and co-located attendees. Otherwise, it could lead to in-person dominated conversations and decision-making.
However, conversing and taking turns is much easier when face-to-face. The pace of an in-person conversation can easily overtake the rate at which remote teammates are able to contribute. This might have real consequences on leadership and even promotions.
What’s more, differences in communication patterns may be exaggerated with hybrid collaboration. For instance, extroverted individuals tend to interrupt more frequently than introverted ones.
For remote participants, there may even be a heightened gender bias in the conversation. An introverted woman dialed into a room full of extroverted men may not get a chance to speak. To address this, include intentionally designed activities in your meetings to ensure balanced communication and equal participation.
Keep in mind, however, that one size won’t fit all when it comes to collaboration in hybrid workplaces. Different teams will probably have different needs. And if your workplace is more fluid, allowing employees to move from home to the office and vice-versa, be ready to shift your meeting habits as required.
Learn how to make more tips for building an inclusive hybrid environment with our guide to inclusivity in the workplace.
Managing different rules of engagement
During hybrid collaboration sessions, the team needs to deal with two sets of instructions: one for the in-person group and one for the online team. Getting each of the group types to move into breakouts, for instance, requires different coordination and timing. It will take a lot longer for an in-person team to physically move to another location than for the online team to change Zoom rooms. Same in reverse: in-person teams often take longer to reassemble after breakout sessions. Hybrid teams need to anticipate these variations and plan meetings accordingly.
Note that for facilitators, the logistics of a meeting or workshop will be more complicated. You’ll have to direct in-person with a different set of instructions than the remote team.
Related: Virtual meeting etiquette: How to get the most out of your online video calls
How to make hybrid collaboration work for your teams
Okay, we did just list a lot of challenges. But hope is not lost! While hybrid collaboration comes with its own struggles, we’ve got some tips on building connections across teams:
Maximize together time
Before every hybrid meeting or collaboration session, come up with a list of expectations and a detailed agenda. In other words, get started before you get started in order to make the most of the team’s time together. And keep the momentum going afterward, asynchronously with a digital collaboration tool. How many times have you ended a great meeting only to forget your action plan? Keep it all in one digital resource for easy access and quick updates.
Re-calibrate your meeting methods
The goal here is to engage both in-person and remote teams to build a company culture that complements a hybrid work environment. Structure sessions to have a mix of individual contributions and read-outs with group discussions. Collaboration activities that don’t give everyone a chance to contribute individually and favor open discussion will naturally exclude people in hybrid contexts.
It’s difficult for one person to facilitate both the in-person and remote cohorts, so we recommend having two co-facilitators (one for each group). You also might want to have two scribes, two timekeepers, and two of any other roles you need for the session.
So, yes — the technology and tools you use are important. But without the right methods, and more importantly, the right collaboration that goes with them, no amount of hardware or software will solve your challenges. Make getting ready for hybrid collaboration a people problem first.
How Steelcase embraced a hybrid collaboration: With over 100 years of history and a global workforce of 12,700 employees, Steelcase knew that transitioning to a hybrid work model wouldn’t be straightforward. But they also knew that reaching their full potential meant giving their employees the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate from anywhere. Learn how they used Mural to make hybrid collaboration and asynchronous work a central part of their company’s future growth.
Ensuring equal participation and inclusivity
The aim of hybrid meetings is to encourage equal participation between remote and co-located attendees. Otherwise, it could lead to in-person dominated conversations and decision-making.
However, conversing and taking turns is much easier when face-to-face. The pace of an in-person conversation can easily overtake the rate at which remote teammates are able to contribute. This might have real consequences on leadership and even promotions.
What’s more, differences in communication patterns may be exaggerated with hybrid collaboration. For instance, extroverted individuals tend to interrupt more frequently than introverted ones.
For remote participants, there may even be a heightened gender bias in the conversation. An introverted woman dialed into a room full of extroverted men may not get a chance to speak. To address this, include intentionally designed activities in your meetings to ensure balanced communication and avoid burnout.
The key to hybrid collaboration: If isn’t digital, it didn’t happen
You’re probably thinking “well, won’t all these problems go away if we just go back to the office?” The answer is, no. While there were many perks to going into the office, they don’t outweigh the perks of a flexible work environment and you will very quickly see employees headed for the door.
Today’s workers care less about where work gets done and care more about how. And that’s why all hybrid teams need to adopt a “digital first” mindset and start looking at the viability of their workplace collaboration stack. The default motion should be to have information — input, ideas, decisions, etc. — start out in a digital format. Your decisions are only as good as the people you include, and if your remote teammates are missing out, you’re losing valuable input. That’s why digital discipline is so important. Your team needs to bake “digital first” into everything it does.
But truly effective collaboration doesn’t stop there. To take the next step, learn what high-impact teamwork really takes, then discover how asynchronous team collaboration may just be what you need to solve the rest of your meeting problems.
