COVID-19 has transformed organisations and all kinds of business in several different ways. From WFH to relocating the human force to more affordable locations, the atmosphere pre and post pandemic will be totally different once the new normal finally arrives.
Regardless of the size of the company or business, the biggest challenge for managers is to integrate the new ways of working and the new ways of living to achieve the goals team members need to achieve. As managers the best way to navigate virtual environments relies on detecting which teams need to be offline and which teams to keep digital. Also when talking about hybrid work which team members can be more productive in one environment or the other. From the management point of view it is more important to focus on how good the environment can be in terms of performance (productivity, focus, motivation, etc) and how can this environment leverage the results of the team as a unit. Developing teams that can interact themselves under a digital environment is key to enhance team performance, as some team members might need to get together to complete some projects or tasks, some other parts of the team can just join a Zoom call on remote. It’s imperative to know how each team works on its own for the company or business and how managers can help these units of work to complete their goals by providing more specific tools. Â
In the current work environment managers and companies must focus on stopping managing people, especially team leaders, as this micromanaging does more damage than good. These days people want to lead, be autonomous and show on their own terms how they can contribute to their team, this is clearly shown on research data. During the industrial revolution, people came to the factory, worked for 8 hours and then left. This is something that has changed today for corporations and societies. Society dynamics are changing and our corporations need to change or adjust at least, in order to keep up with the current markets. There will always be people motivated to have a 9 to 5 job and there will always be people motivated to empower their own solutions as part of a company. Currently the most important is to give people the best work environment possible and that is only achieved by doing better management and HR work. Focusing on the individuals as parts of the units not all the way around. So, how can how employers can understand team dynamics better by Rosi Ross.
Define working style
Defining which working style is better for the organisation or business is first as managers and business owners need to understand better how the hybrid mode, NFH mode and office mode can fit their productivity and performance better. Also this is important for any business structure as this affects how the business units respond about their own duties. Some business units might need more hours at the office or meetings than others but it will always depend on the goals and milestones the organisation needs to achieve.Â
Get to know team members
Getting to know team members and what they do in the work unit is important as this allows them to know two key things. First, how well a team member will perform within its duties changing the work mode. Second, changing work mode is necessary. And last, changing the work mode will improve performance and results. Usually some people need more physical contact with the office to stay focused and productive while others need their own dynamics in order to give the best they can. Once managers can determine who belongs to which style it will be better for the understand team dynamics to allocate the right person to the right working mode.
Have a deep knowledge on team duties
Understanding team dynamics is important as managers and business owners can have a deep knowledge on the main duties of the teams and which people are needed to do which activities or tasks. In the way team dynamics are better undertaken there will be a more clean path on how the working styles can be better applied. Some members can be WFH on the same team as some members need to attend the office. There will be other teams where people will need to meet 3/2 times a week. When it comes to social dynamics, the group marks the trend, not the other way around. Similar work in the office environment.Â
Assign working styles
Working style assignment is a great task for managers if done properly as every team member can reach their peak performance on their own and also as part of a team. This will ensure the team can align better to achieve common goals and also higher productivity. Regardless of being in an office or not, social studies have proven that each individual will perform better in a personal environment.
Set common goals
Common goals are the sauce of any company or business and being at the office, WFH or doing hybrid work, when the right working style is assigned to team members these goals are achieved greater and faster. Usually as people perform better on their own dynamics, companies can rely on good performance and autonomy when it comes to personal responsibility. Social studies also shows people are more kind and approachable when enjoying their own dynamics and they also feel more proud of their results. The most important task for a manager is to assign the right working style to the right team member for a work style to be successful for the organisation.
