In a world where remote and face-to-face work are increasingly merging, collaboration in a hybrid team is becoming increasingly important. But what makes for a good team? How do you define teamwork, and which rules help promote productive collaboration? In this blog article, we give a clear definition of teamwork, highlight the importance of teams and present the 10 golden rules for good cooperation.
Key facts
- A team works together on clear goals based on role distribution, communication and trust.
- The challenges of hybrid teams are Communication problems, a sense of distance and lack of transparency & can make collaboration difficult.
- Hybrid teams benefit from fixed communication times, distribution of roles and the use of suitable tools.
- In a hybrid set-up, managers must build trust, promote feedback, show flexibility and celebrate success strengthen teamwork.
What does “team” actually mean?
A team is a group of people who work together towards a goal. It is characterized by clear roles, mutual support and shared responsibility. But not every team is automatically successful — it requires structure, communication and trust.
Above all hybrid teams are characterized by the fact that a large part of this communication and work takes place asynchronously. As a result of switching between office and home office, employees as well as managers need a different type of cooperation arise. This requires time to complete the cultural transformation.
Definition of teamwork
teamwork means that all members actively work together to achieve a common goal. This requires that the individual strengths of the team members be used and weaknesses are balanced out through cooperation.
What makes for a good team?
A good team is created when:
- Clear goals be set
- Roles and Responsibilities are defined
- Open communication reigns
- Trust and respect form the basis.
Challenges of working in hybrid teams
Hybrid teams, which work partly in the office and partly remotely, face particular challenges:
- Communication: Voting can be more difficult without random encounters in the coffee kitchen.
- Cohesion: Physical distance can make team members feel less connected. Among them, the employee retention suffer.
- Loss of control: Especially the Management at a distance ensures that many managers and team leaders have a sense of loss of control. Due to a lack of transparency & unclear responsibilities, employees in management positions are concerned about the productivity & innovative capacity of their teams.
- Office presence: This feeling can quickly result in mandatory office quotas be introduced. According to studies, employees are not fans of these hybrid policies. Voluntariness and clear guidelines for working in the office are important so as not to interpret presence in the office as a compulsion.
- Transparency: Information is often lost if no clear processes are established.
The 10 golden rules for good cooperation in a hybrid team
In order to work well as a team, you can follow these rules:
1. Clear rules for cooperation
Define together how and when to communicate. For example, whether important updates are shared via email or in chat.
2. Reliable communication
Hybrid teams need fixed times for Meetings, regular updates and clear deadlines.
3. Build trust
Trust is the foundation of every collaboration. This is achieved through openness and compliance with promises. Also cultural events, such as Team events or Team building lead to improving trust within the team.
4. Clearly define roles
Each team member should know which tasks they are taking on and how they contribute to overall success.
5. Use technology wisely
Uses tools that make hybrid work easier, e.g. Collaboration tools like Slack or MS Teams. But workplace engagement software such as Seatti also helps you to promote collaboration across departments by bringing your employees back to the office on the basis of social incentives.
6. Regular personal meetings
Physical meetings are also important in hybrid teams to strengthen ties. Team days, which involve working on projects together, are particularly important to strengthen teams.
7. Promote a feedback culture
Constructive feedback ensures that problems are identified and resolved early on.
8. Set common goals
Clear and achievable goals motivate and keep the team on track. However, these goals cannot be equated with a regular office presence. Remember that every employee achieves their goals differently and in an individual way — whether working from home or in the office doesn't matter.
9. Show flexibility
Respect different work styles and schedules Hybrid also means creating free spaces and the Work-life balance by employees.
10. Celebrate success
Celebrate success together — big or small. This strengthens team spirit and motivates future projects.
Make team work more efficient with Seatti
Working in a team means sharing responsibility, creating trust and working together towards a goal. Especially in hybrid teams, clear rules, good communication and the correct use of technologies are important.
With our workplace engagement software, you can use social incentives to make working in a team easier and more transparent. Use the colleague overview and receive social nudging notifications when your team is in the office and connect with just one click.
Spend time together as effectively as possible by planning team days, arranging for lunch with our Lunch Roulette, or planning after-work events to celebrate your corporate culture to strengthen.
