Managers are having to find fresh ways to sustain connections with their teams – to check in with home-working individuals so they feel looked after, supported and primed to perform well in their roles.

It’s perhaps easy for bosses to assume that all is well with their teams in the virtual workplace. However, the absence of complaints doesn’t always equate to satisfaction and productivity, and a hybrid work environment that’s causing individuals stress is in no-one’s interests. Critically, they need to find authentic ways to ask the question: “How are you doing today?”

It’s why I launched my online business Team HOi: to help leadership teams define a new company culture matching the needs of remote or hybrid working employees in the areas of personal support, performance and productivity. Every new start needs a boost, and I got mine when NatWest Group’s chief economist Sebastian Burnside told an audience of business leaders at a recent event in Edinburgh that the challenges associated with hybrid and remote working would be among the biggest hurdles they will face over the next decade.

Firms understand that they need to revive and sustain a culture of collaboration within teams (stock.adobe.com)

It reaffirmed to me that I was doing the right thing, as did my success in securing work with business services, construction, energy and third-sector organisations. Hybrid working isn't a new concept, and its benefits have been proven long before the recent workplace transformations. Before the pandemic there were those of us who worked to this structure for a multitude of reasons. I have been hybrid working for 16 years. During that time, I crafted people strategies and remotely managed local and global marketing, talent and integration teams successfully through seismic corporate shifts.

Successful companies move with the times, and in this context they need to discover, define and improve essential modern workplace behaviours so all employees – wherever they are working from – feel valued and motivated to contribute.

I’ve already detected a sense of change, with companies increasingly understanding that they need to revive and sustain a culture of collaboration within their teams – that effective communication channels and personalised support are essential elements in enhancing individual performance.

The launch of Team HOi – the name, incidentally, stems from the concept of organisational health on the inside – has been an exhilarating and fast-paced experience. It’s also one in which I’ve enjoyed some invaluable support through business advisory group The Alternative Board (TAB).

Louise Barnes, founder of hybrid and remote working support start-up Team HOi

Leadership loneliness can be a thing, but joining peer-to-peer group TAB has exposed me to welcome insights and advice from others in areas ranging from finance to personal growth and professional learning opportunities. I’d also like to think my own corporate experience has equipped me to reciprocate, offering help and guidance to others at our regular meetings.

That spirit of collaboration very much aligns with our mission at Team HOi, where in our work with clients we advocate the principle that good team communications are fundamental to good individual performance – and need to be a central consideration in the fast-changing world of workplace practices.

As some employers look to return to how things used to be, many hybrid-working employees will resist, resulting in companies losing valuable talent and a dip in overall productivity.

Addressing specific organisational issues, rather than a blanket return-to-office mandate can foster a more effective and harmonious work environment.

Embracing hybrid working is key to a successful, balanced future.

Louise Barnes, founder of hybrid and remote working support start-up Team HOi

Supporting people, performance and productivity in a new world of hybrid work - Louise Barnes

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