{"id":2381,"date":"2022-03-02T08:30:53","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T07:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:02:59","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T10:02:59","slug":"how-to-unite-a-team-split-between-remote-workers-and-office-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/how-to-unite-a-team-split-between-remote-workers-and-office-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to unite a team split between remote workers and office workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-8 my-auto\">\n<p>The pandemic restrictions of 2020 and 2021 forced UK employers to reconsider their working patterns. For many, this resulted in a move from perhaps an entire workforce based in the office to remote working and eventually hybrid working as restrictions were gradually lifted. A vast number of employers now face the challenge of managing teams, departments, and whole workforces who are split between those on-site and those working from home. Add to this the ongoing challenge of a job market that is candidate-led, and it becomes obvious that overcoming this challenge is paramount in retaining employees. So how can an employer unite a workforce that operates in different locations \u2013 be that home or office \u2013 and rarely meets in person?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-4 my-auto text-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/9814.jpg\" alt=\"How to unite a team split between remote workers and office workers\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Agree a clear method of working<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Avoid any confusion, mistakes, or even bad feeling within a team or department by ensuring that each member knows exactly how they will work with their colleagues, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>forms of communication and how often that communication will happen<\/li>\n<li>a schedule of meetings, including what will be discussed<\/li>\n<li>how each team member can make their availability accessible<\/li>\n<li>goal and project plans, schedules, and deadlines<\/li>\n<li>how often each member will keep the rest of the team updated and in what format<\/li>\n<li>the technology that will be used, for instance, Google Docs or Microsoft Teams<\/li>\n<li>best practice guidelines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Use the same technology<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Make sure that the team, whether working from home or the office, use the same technology. You might be surprised by how many applications of technology impact on a working day, for instance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>document creation, updating, and sharing<\/li>\n<li>video conferencing<\/li>\n<li>screen sharing<\/li>\n<li>emails<\/li>\n<li>online research<\/li>\n<li>access to diaries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Employers generally have no obligation to provide IT equipment and software to remote workers, but it may be useful to consider ease of access to certain software for home-workers, for instance, using a free video conferencing app such as Zoom.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of video conferencing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cipd.co.uk\/Images\/online-meetings-ie_tcm18-73400.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the CIPD provides 10 helpful tips on holding effective online meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Maintain regular communication<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Regular communication, whether 1-to-1 chats or group meetings, is key to maintaining team morale when that team is split between office and home. Without it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>remote workers may fall victim to feelings of isolation, depression, and demotivation<\/li>\n<li>office workers may receive preferential treatment from managers because they are more visible<\/li>\n<li>hybrid workers may lose touch with the team\u2019s overall goals and missions as they experience a \u2018ships passing in the night\u2019 existence, rarely encountering the complete team in one go<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Regular communication just for the sake of it, however, is not the answer. Instead, it should be inclusive (accessible and at a suitable time for everyone concerned), scheduled (pre-arranged and announced well in advance), and intentional (there\u2019s a reason to hold this video-call or send this email).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Working practices that suit all<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Where a team or department is made up of employees working on-site, at home, and perhaps also on a hybrid basis, it is important that its working practices are suitable for all and that they offer each member the same opportunity to contribute.<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ensuring that team meetings are suitable for everyone to attend<\/li>\n<li>holding team meetings by video call, even for those employees in the office<\/li>\n<li>not arranging team meetings on-site that remote workers can\u2019t attend<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Make sharing easy<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Where sharing information and resources is important, make it easy for all team members, whether remote or office-based, to have access. Consider using an online-hub that, while sufficiently secure, can also be accessed by all team members.<\/p>\n<p>This might be done via a corporate virtual private network (VPN) or by using a cloud service such as iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Docs. However, do remember to check the legal requirements for data processing and storage first.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ico.org.uk\/for-organisations\/guide-to-data-protection\/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The ICO provide a useful, up-to-date guide on data protection<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Bring everyone together<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Teamwork happens more smoothly when the members of that team know each other and feel that they are working towards a common goal. In fact, the same team-spirit can be key to motivating an entire workforce. Team meetings have an obvious work-related purpose, but they don\u2019t have to be all business. Here\u2019s how team get-togethers can be a social event too:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where there\u2019s a new face at the meeting, begin the meeting with a round of introductions including everyone\u2019s name and what they do. Beyond conveying information to the new team member, this gives everyone a chance to feel heard and valued.<\/li>\n<li>In-person social events can be an ideal way to bring a team together but where this isn\u2019t possible, organise an online event such as a pub quiz night.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce a regular \u2013 but not more frequent than once a week \u2013 lunch-time video call where team members can chat away from the subject of work. Treat it like a virtual break-room or water-cooler experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h3 font-weight-bold\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p>As the UK moves into a way of living and working that is free of most pandemic restrictions, the existence of teams who are split between remote and on-site working is likely to continue. It may well be the path that many employers remain on in response to a candidate-led job market and an increasing demand for work-from-home employment. It is therefore imperative that employers quickly learn how to effectively manage a team working from different locations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pandemic restrictions of 2020 and 2021 forced UK employers to reconsider their working patterns. For many, this resulted in a move from perhaps an &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employers","category-hiring","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2381"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2428,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions\/2428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}