The Role of HR in Remote Workforce Management

Post-covid remote and hybrid workforces are the new normal for many organizations, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Studies show that hybrid work models have increased significantly in recent years, and so have employees’ desire for flexibility around when and where they work

These changing employee expectations have created a whole new set of challenges to designing effective workforce strategies and for leading productive and cohesive teams. You must find new ways to facilitate collaboration among team members to maintain productivity, communication, and cohesion.

How to Manage a Remote or Hybrid Workforce

Effectively managing a remote team takes a different set of skills and strategies. Let’s look at some of the key ways you can make sure your team is functioning effectively.

Set Clear Expectations

One of the first steps to establishing an effective working relationship when managing a hybrid workforce is to set clear expectations. Without in-person supervision, remote employees often need well-defined goals and guidelines to stay on track.

Clear expectations prevent misunderstandings and ensure everyone is aligned with the company’s objectives. Make sure you also create a positive process for checking up on your employees, and they feel comfortable asking questions that relate to their role.

Promote Work-Life Balance

Remote work can blur the lines between work and home life, leading to overwork and stress. Encouraging defined separation between work and home life prevents burnout and helps employees recharge and perform better.

Implementing flexible working hours is a great way to empower employees to work in a way that fosters a healthy lifestyle. For instance, you could set mandatory work hours as 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and allow each team member to determine whether they want to work the rest of their eight hours in the morning or afternoon. They can also move that time around to work later on Thursday so they can finish Friday a bit early. You might also offer resources and workshops on time management and self-care. 

Managers should also model the work-life balance through practices such as scheduling emails to only go out during work hours and encouraging staff not to respond outside of work hours. You might also implement a shutdown routine to help employees smoothly transition out of work at the end of the day.

Foster Collaboration Through Clear Communication

Facilitating strong collaboration and teamwork is one of the most challenging elements of managing a hybrid workforce—and one of the most important.

Choosing the right software for communication and project management are critical to the collaboration. Tools like Google Workspace, Slack, or Microsoft Teams can facilitate real-time communication and file sharing, as well as allow workers to set status updates and notify others when they are off work.

But just as, if not, more important is the implementation and training of those tools. Just having the software available will not make teams more collaborative. Managers need to ensure their team are comfortable using the tools and have a common set of practices on how to use them.

If one team member prefers to communicate about a project in Teams, but the rest of the team is communicating about the project in Asana, collaboration can quickly fall apart. Even answering a seemingly simple question around whether gifs and emojis are acceptable in messages can go a long way to bringing cohesion to a remote team.

Create Processes for Recognition

Recognizing and rewarding remote or hybrid employees is crucial for maintaining motivation and engagement. It shows appreciation for their hard work and fosters a positive work culture. 

Remote or hybrid workers are often overlooked compared to their in-office counterparts thanks to what’s known as proximity bias. That’s why it’s critical for management to build processes for recognizing staff regardless of their work environment.

A great way to do this is to implement a recognition program where employees can nominate their peers for outstanding work. You can create space to do this inside or out of your regular meeting schedule or use platforms such as Bonusly or Kudos.

Encourage Social Interaction

Social interaction builds a sense of community and support, which is vital for employee well-being and engagement. Encouraging social interaction helps remote or hybrid employees feel connected to their colleagues and reduces feelings of isolation.

An easy place to start is by organizing virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, or team-building activities. You can use video conferencing tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to host regular social events and create channels in your messaging platform dedicated to non-work-related topics.

Scheduling in-person events is also key. While it may not be feasible to fly-in staff spread across the country (or globe) on a frequent basis, even an annual meet up can go a long way to cementing team bonds.

Enable Professional Development

Investing in professional growth and learning opportunities for remote or hybrid employees is essential for their career advancement and overall job satisfaction. However, mentorship and career growth can be a lot harder in a remote environment, which is why you’ll want to establish strong mentorship programs and conduct regular discussions on career aspirations and development paths. You should also provide access to online courses, workshops, and certifications to help employees along that path.

Lead by Example

Employees look to their leaders to set an example, and by modeling good practices, leaders can inspire their teams to follow suit. It will allow you to set a standard and create a positive work culture.

Consistently demonstrate the behaviors you want to see in your team. Communicate openly, follow through on commitments, and show empathy and understanding. If you value punctuality, make sure to start meetings on time and be prepared.

The Role of HR in Managing a Remote Workforce

Understanding how HR can help with remote workforce management will allow you to make the best use of the resources at your disposal.

Training Managers to Effectively Lead Hybrid or Remote Teams

One of the most important parts of HR’s role in managing remote workers is to train managers to be more effective leaders for their virtual team. This can include workshops, webinars, and guidance in online training options. Expert HR professionals can train managers in effective communication, empathy, emotional intelligence, team cohesion, and more—specifically as they relate to remote and hybrid work environments. These trainings should cover things like proximity bias, social isolation, and outcomes, not visibility based management.

Expanding Search and Recruitment

Remote teams mean finding the right person is no longer limited by geography. While this does open up the playing field to a greater number of candidates, more doesn’t necessarily mean an easier (or better) hiring process.

With flexibility being a top priority for many jobseekers, job posting for remote or hybrid roles often see a significant increase in applicants. This influx can overwhelm hiring managers. Engaging HR to manage the hiring process can take a large burden off a hiring manager’s plate, while also increasing the quality of applicants that make it to the interviewing process. 

HR also plays a critical role in creating and improving processes for search and recruitment when local professional networks and face-to-face interviews may not be useful or feasible. They can find more effective locations to post jobs as well as ensure a smooth process for interviewing and hiring employees that a manager may never interact with in person.

Virtual Onboarding

While you may not need to acclimate remote employees to the unwritten rules of the office space, the onboarding process is no less important than it is for employees who work in a central location. Onboarding doesn’t just mean learning the ropes, it should be providing a smooth transition for getting new hires to feel engaged, welcome, and productive members of the company.

Some businesses believe a new hire’s managers and coworkers are the only ones who need to be involved with training, and they try to manage onboarding without the help of HR services and professionals. However, sidestepping HR in onboarding often means missing opportunities for culture building and fostering company-wide, cross-functional cooperation.

In the case of remote workers, forming a relationship with HR from the start can help new hires make connections beyond the people with whom they work directly, which in turn can bring them closer to the company as a whole.

Engaging Remote and Hybrid Workers

It can be easy for staff working remotely to feel less engaged in the company’s overall mission and culture. Engagement is important to both employee satisfaction and productivity and ultimately overall business success.

Fostering engagement for remote workers is an area where HR services can really shine. A great strategy is to keep everyone up-to-date on important events and milestones for the company.

A newsletter or company bulletin that discusses business goals, new initiatives, and employee matters can help ensure that employees are on the same page and get people excited about the work they’re doing. Another strategy is regular performance reviews. While they might not sound engaging, the platform for regular feedback can help all employees—not just remote ones—feel more fulfilled.

One strategy that may help is limiting remote meetings and keeping them as short as possible. Since remote meetings can be scheduled back to back, some employees might find their calendars filling up quickly and cutting out their time to recharge between meetings. Encourage staff to block off work time on their calendars so they have more control over their schedules.

You might also minimize internal emails and opt for chat apps that allow for faster, more flexible (and more informal) conversations. This can help replicate water cooler discussions that are no longer happening in the office.

Effective Virtual Communication

While remote workers may enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working from home, there are some downsides to being away from the office. Studies have shown that remote employees report feeling that their work is undervalued and that they are left out of project decisions.

Research has found that introverts and extroverts can have very different experiences with remote and hybrid work. Approximately a third of introverts have said a lack of feedback or communication is their biggest daily hurdle, and they can also find hybrid work environments overwhelming. Investing in communication tools and training will help you build a cohesive team where people feel that their voices are being heard.

You should also ensure that there are tools and processes in place to receive honest feedback from virtual employees whose voices may go unheard or forgotten.

Strategic Development

HR services have been evolving beyond the traditional roles of hiring, compliance, and compensation planning to become part of a strategic business leadership team within their companies.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace flexibility is now standard for many workplaces, which puts the spotlight on HR staff to help executives manage their staff in this new environment. Being able to work with constant change and using a data-driven approach is critical to your team’s success in this new environment.

An experienced HR professional can help your team set expectations, create new policies, crunch data, and keep track of any legislative efforts that can have an effect on your organization.

Start Improving Your Remote and Hybrid Workforce Management Today

Interested in working with an experienced agency to integrate HR professionals into your remote workforce management? Reach out to the team at HR Collaborative today.