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Top Tips for Managers of Hybrid Teams
Andrew Stubbs • Dec 02, 2021

Hybrid teams are a new and still-evolving form of work culture. Increasingly common in modern organisations, a hybrid team is one made up of staff who have differing "work modes".


These are teams with some mix of employees who telecommute from home, freelance workers hired locally, subcontractors working remotely, staff members who attend the office at their discretion and full-time staff who work the traditional Monday-Friday office hours. There can even be people who shift between all those modes as their tasks evolve.


The hybrid team trend has been gathering momentum for a long time, and, as it comes to full flower, it presents management with new challenges around keeping their crew cohesive, coordinated and effective. Meeting these challenges with new skills and tools is the topic of this post.


Read on for some pointers that will help you get to grips with hybrid teams, how to overcome their unique obstacles and, ultimately, lead one of these teams effectively.


How To Successfully Manage A Hybrid Model Team


1. Social Technology For The Win.


If anything has enabled a remote or hybrid team to work well, it's high-bandwidth internet connections that underpin social technology tools such as Slack and Zoom. These technologies enable new forms of remote yet real-time collaboration.


When coupled with solutions that make team collaboration easier, such as Google Workspace (recently renamed from G Suite), the ability of your people to quickly and seamlessly have planned or impromptu videoconferencing calls via your preferred service is greatly magnified. So long as the time zones and availabilities work out, it doesn't matter where your team members are physically.


2. Fostering a Remote-First Culture


What does it mean to be remote-first? It's not just a buzzword. To put it simply, this approach makes remote work the default for your team. People are enabled and empowered to successfully do their jobs from anywhere. 


Even if you have employees who are working on-site, you, as manager, are still focused on leading a remote work team. When you make this shift in approach, it helps you get the right systems and processes in place to enable your entire team to do great work. Those working at the desk next to you enjoy the same quality of engagement and support to be effective as those who are on the other side of the world. Indeed, nothing really changes for any of the team members when you, the team leader, are the person whose work location changes from one day to the next.


To achieve this, your employees should have access to the same files, the same information and the same resources regardless of where they're working. They might not get the free break room coffee when they're working from home, but everything else they need should be easily and equally available to them - including access to your advice, expertise and support.


3. Set Expectations and Accountabilities Early 


There are generally two ways an existing team becomes "hybrid": a top-down corporate policy change or by evolution as more hybrid options are gradually introduced. Either way, when it is clear that your team is now hybrid, you must set expectations and make accountability clear to all staff. Both your home and office-based employees must understand how they can work together productively and have an unequivocal view of who is doing what. As part of this, you might run regular meetings with your entire team to start each day or week on the right foot. From this common touchpoint you can then share progress regularly on key projects with the entire team to maintain momentum.


4. Define Clear Working Hours 


When everyone knows when everyone else is available - and not available - it helps you and your team know what to expect from their co-workers. Sharing work calendars will help to further boost the visibility of this crucial information. It will enable your team members to keep abreast of whether someone is "on the clock" and what they are doing at any one time, including colleagues who they do not physically sit near or may never have met.


5. Understand the Benefits of Each Working Situation to Ensure Fairness 


Knowing how all the different working modes play out in real life is important because, for example, your employees working from home may find it easier to maintain a healthy work-life balance than those who are in the office most of the time. You might therefore try to encourage or facilitate the same level of balance for your office-based team members. Perhaps give them the flexibility to pick their kids up from school or go for a run during working hours. It's also important to role-model healthy working behaviour yourself, regardless of where you are based.


6. Commit Equal Time and Focus to Each Member of Your Team.


The amount of attention and help that you give to each employee shouldn't depend on where they're working or what their role is. Just because some members of your team work remotely, they should not receive less of your time and support. Likewise, just because someone is nearby, that doesn't mean they can waltz to the head of the queue when they want access to your time or guidance. The convenience of proximity should not be a reason to skip the proper protocols.


7. Be Mindful of Communication. 


It's unavoidable that your remote workers will miss out on face-to-face interactions - both with you and with their teammates. Because of this, you'll need to think carefully about how you can make them feel equally included via virtual remote meetings. This goes double in those instances when your end of the virtual meeting has more than one person sharing the same camera. It can very quickly make the remote worker feel like the outsider in an us-and-them workplace dynamic.


Managing a Hybrid Team: Maintaining Awareness is the Key 


At the end of the day, managing a hybrid team means maintaining awareness. Remote staff and on-site staff have different experiences. Acknowledge, understand and anticipate them and then be proactive to level the playing field. Maintaining strong team dynamics is the goal.


Choosing the right technology plays a pivotal role; so too does maintaining strong communication and information-sharing practices. Next, ensure your assignments and responsibilities are clearly set. Finally, give everyone some travel flexibility. Find the right balance between these key points and you will set your people free to do their best work: your hybrid team can then really perform!

By Andrew Stubbs 05 Jun, 2022
Here's some good news if your business sends invoices to business or government customers. Peppol* is on its way. (That's Peppol, not Peppa .) Ever had this conversation in your business? You or one of your team: "Hello, I'm calling to follow up the invoice we emailed to you last month. It hasn't been paid yet." Customer: "Really? We didn't receive that invoice?" In addition to the time and expense of following up, the cash flow delays create stress for you and they hurt your business. Thankfully, the adoption of Peppol will solve this problem. What is Peppol? Peppol is an obscure acronym for Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line. What's more important than what it stands for, is what it enables. Peppol is an international 'eProcurement' framework for the electronic exchange of information. It creates a standard approach for governments and businesses to structure and exchange information such as invoices and other documents. What Peppol means for you and your business Peppol makes electronic ordering, invoicing and shipping between governments and private companies faster, simpler and more secure. This means your business will get paid faster when dealing with government and larger businesses. In 2019, Australia and New Zealand adopted this platform for e-invoicing which, when implemented, will make 'we never received your invoice' issues virtually impossible. The new e-invoicing system is more secure than email and provides many other benefits. Which countries are adopting Peppol? There are currently 40 OpenPeppol member countries: 32 countries in Europe plus Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Singapore. Each country has a Peppol authority. For example, in Australia that's the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Is Peppol already in use? Yes it is. For example, the SuperStream system in Australia-which many businesses are currently using to automate the payment of employee superannuation contributions-is based on the Peppol protocol. How does e-invoicing work? The system connects the accounting systems of all businesses and government departments via the secure Peppol network.  Suppliers generate sales invoices in their accounting systems which are sent to Peppol.
By Andrew Stubbs 04 May, 2022
If you're a director of an Australian company-or you plan to be-take 5 minutes now to read this article. All existing directors (and intending directors) of Australian companies need to be aware that the Australian Government has announced the introduction of a new mandatory Director Identification Number (DIN) system. (You'll notice the term director ID is also used for DIN.) This system is the initial step in the Modernising Business Registry (MBR) Program which has been established under the Treasury Laws Amendment Act which was legislated by the Australian Government in 2020. More information on the MBR program can be found here . What is the DIN system trying to achieve? The DIN aims to provide accountability and traceability of a director's relationships over time, across all companies and will provide information on a director's involvement in what may be repeated unlawful activity, including illegal phoenix activity. It should also solve the problem of false or fraudulent director identities. What are the key features? It is mandatory for all directors, foreign directors and alternate directors of Australian companies to hold a DIN. The DIN is a unique 15 digit number. The first 3 digits will be 036 which is the identifier for Australia. The last digit is a check digit to help with accuracy when quoting your DIN. Like your tax file number, you will only be issued with one DIN which you will hold for life - even if you cease acting as a director for any period. To obtain a DIN, you will need to prove your identity so you will not be able to hold multiple DINs. Other office holders (e.g. company secretaries) are not required to register. The director is responsible for updating the DIN records for any changes in personal information within 7 days of the change. The director must apply personally. The process cannot be completed by your accountant, lawyer, spouse or executive assistant. There are significant penalties for non-compliance. How do you apply for a DIN? Directors have 3 options for applying. You can apply online from 1 November 2021. To use this method, you must first establish your identity via myGovID (an app you download on your smart device which is different from myGov). Once set up, your myGovID will make accessing a wide range of government services easier. (It's not just for your DIN application). For information on how to set up a myGovID please go to https://www.mygovid.gov.au/set-up During the DIN application process, you will need additional information such as your tax file number (TFN) and your residential address as per ATO records. It would also be advisable to have other personal details such as bank account details, medicare card or a recent income tax assessment available in case these are required. You can also apply by phone ( 13 62 50 ). During the call, the operator will ask for the identity documents you would have used to obtain your myGovID (passport and driver licence) as well as the additional information listed above. These details will be confirmed with the records held on existing government databases and, assuming the details agree, your DIN will be issued. Or you can apply by mail, but this is not recommended because the process for doing this seems vague ("Write to us") which means you can probably expect a lengthy process of certifying documents and coping with the vagaries of the postal system. One of the other two methods would be a better choice. When will you need to apply for a DIN? Transitional arrangements will allow directors to become familiar with the new requirement. When you need to have a director ID will depend on when you were appointed as a director.
By Andrew Stubbs 07 Apr, 2022
If you're a small business owner, you're always on the lookout for better ways to go about routine tasks to boost growth and underpin reliability. So, yes, you have the will; now, what are the ways? What are those consistent routines you can instill that will have the most benefits? This article looks at the top 6 things you can do to help your business thrive. We're going to cover finances, goals, marketing, technology and you ! So, let's take a look… 1. Your finances are a scorecard … and a predictor Boil it all down and dollars in the bank are the report card on the health of your business operations. Surprising then that so many people don't really pay much attention to how much they've earned, nor how much they're likely to earn. As much as it might feel like a chore, reviewing your sales and financial projections and then using them to ascertain if you need business financing is a discipline worth cultivating . If you suspect that your cash flow is precarious, you should be checking out your options today. First metric to check: your credit score. If it is too low, you need to take steps to shore it up. Next, check in with your bank or finance broker about what loans are available. 2. Goal setting, goal achieving, goal celebrating So, if you're using current and future dollars in the bank to keep score, the next thing is to do something about it. This is where goal setting comes in. If thoughtfully set and persistently pursued, goals help you orientate your willpower and your energy at each moment of the business day. This is the hidden power of goals: giving you a good sense of direction and a way to channel your instincts towards wise objectives. Constantly checking in with your goals makes them a benchmarking tool to keep your business pointed in the right direction. Yes, just having goals helps. Actually achieving a goal helps too, of course! 3. Increasing the impact of your marketing Marketing is not magic. It is not a mystery. It is not an art. However, many less-than-reputable marketers will try to claim that it is. They do so to gain wiggle room to pad their invoices and cover up their lack of skill. What this means is that it is easy to waste money on ineffective marketing. The good news is that there are many low-budget marketing strategies that actually work to help grow your brand and reputation. Scout around on the internet and choose one or two new tactics. Deploy them and test them. If they work, double down. If they don't, try something else. If you can't tell if they're working, also try something else. Social media is the obvious starting place for these low-stakes experiments and the old classics of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are where to trial them. 4. Bringing your business up to date technologically The ability of modern productivity and project-management tools to give small players the same capabilities as the big boys simply cannot be ignored. Harness them properly and they'll let your small businesses operate with the same productivity as the titans of your sector. And, if your business is in the services sector, the increased controls that business technologies can yield also lets you be highly agile - that's something the big boys can't do. So, ask yourself: are you taking full advantage of what's out there? Don't worry, the answer to this question is always 'no' - the field is simply moving too fast for anyone to be able to take full advantage. However, if you have a realistic view of your needs, then you have a yardstick to help assess all the solutions out there. When you know what you need the technology to do, then you can wisely choose what hardware, software, platforms and techniques to introduce. 5. SEO has changed and it is going to change again Google - indeed all platforms offering broad search functions, from Youtube to Facebook - are constantly altering and optimising their algorithms. This, in turn, means SEO practice must constantly evolve to keep pace. So, if your SEO approach hasn't been overhauled in a few years, the time has come to give it some attention. Do a review of best practice and score how you cater to SEO in your online presences. Yet, because the underlying concept of SEO has not changed, the corrective actions you need to take may not be major. Then again, they might be! It is better to know unpleasant news sooner than outright bad news later. 6. Download the right new apps The remote work trend has gone mega and this means mobile productivity apps are very much of-the-moment. See, you can get a surprising amount done with just your phone and tablet. And apps are how it all happens … plus connectivity and a full battery, of course! Usually, apps are best for keeping an eye on things, boosting effectiveness on the "busy" tasks and enabling you to give your stamp of approval to work that needs your say-so to progress. In general, these are not value-adding tasks, just the value-neutral tasks that get in the way of the value-adding tasks. Now, there is no end of apps out there. So, as always, don't bother looking until you have some idea of what you need. 7. You are the ultimate business tool Health is the single most important aspect to consider for anyone running a business. It's the non-negotiable factor that governs everything else you are capable of. To adapt a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger, being fit and healthy is "a status symbol. It reflects you worked hard for it; no money can buy it. You cannot borrow it, you cannot inherit it, you cannot steal it". This means that you must get enough sleep every night (most people need 7 hours or more). This means a healthy diet must become your preferred way of eating. This means that you should exercise every single day (except when sick). This means you must give your mind a rest too . Meditation isn't some mystic monkish thing, it's simply the practice of letting your thoughts come and go while you - the observer - stay peaceful and undisturbed by them. Think of it like this, meditating is mediating your mind. Take stock, choose wisely, make small steps in the right direction In this article, we've talked about some improvements you can make to what you're already doing. You don't have to do all of these at once. Start with the one that seems easiest and then stick with it to see if it works. Remember, it's not always about big changes. Often, you can make major improvements in outcome by making small changes to input. Doing the little things better. So take stock, choose wisely and be sure to make those small steps in the right direction for success today, tomorrow and the next day.
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