There’s been such a stop start nature to hybrid working over the last year, now is the perfect time to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked. Setting clear expectations together for the months ahead is a great inclusive activity to do as a team. It will give everyone a sense of real team purpose as well as clarity on how they need to work.
We call this activity a Hybrid Team Pledge. In essence it is a set of clear expectations and ways of working that apply to Hybrid. These expectations are not set in stone but act as a guide for a set period of time – and are then reviewed and amended as needed.
So you may be asking what you put in a Hybrid Team Pledge.
Ultimately this is up to you and the team, however the following questions may help to get you started:-
- How do you want to run your hybrid team meetings?
- How do you ensure no one feels excluded?
- What is a reasonable response time for emails and slack messages?
- Do you want to have a zoom free day once a week?
- How should you schedule you time in the office and at home to get the most out of both?
- What are the most appropriate communication channels to use?
- How/when do you want to come together socially as an entire team?
Remember that clarity is key here. Make sure each theme is discussed in detail, everyone is clear on what is expected and even if they are not in full agreement, the team has bought into giving it a go.