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Today, hybrid and remote work has become the norm within many industries – and for good reason. An IBI study in 2022 found that remote and hybrid employees are 22% more productive, 21% more satisfied, and 51% more highly engaged. In fact, nearly half (47%) of remote-working employees say they would rather find a new job than return to the office full-time, according to a 2023 Integrated Benefits Institute report. But working remotely also presents a new set of challenges for people leaders compared to traditional in-office work.
Managers of hybrid and remote teams must now build and maintain interpersonal trust, feedback mechanisms and employee motivation levels with few (or zero) face-to-face interactions. Leaders must also find a way to build and maintain company culture and employee connections digitally. And while executives and people leaders have been trying their best, not many organizations offer training on “remote workplace managerial best practices.”
Enabling managers to perform their best in a hybrid/remote workplace is a challenge that requires a strategic approach and assistance from HR. By addressing common leadership challenges with targeted solutions, HR can empower managers to foster a digital culture of employee engagement, recognition, and continuous improvement. Keep reading to learn how.
Why developing a manager enablement strategy is essential
The stakes are high when people leaders are involved. Workplace leaders directly influence employee satisfaction and performance. According to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workforce Report, 70% of the variance in team engagement can be attributed to the manager. Therefore, enabling managers to perform optimally in remote conditions is essential to both team and employee engagement and performance.
Hybrid/remote leadership challenges and how HR can help
To effectively enable managers of hybrid and remote teams, it’s important that HR team members understand five common remote leadership challenges and the role they play in solving for them:
1. Lack of employee recognition
Challenge: Many leaders forget to make an effort (or don’t know how) to acknowledge employee achievements in hybrid and remote work settings. A lack of recognition often leads to employee disengagement, a decline in performance, and increased turnover.
Solution: HR can champion an always-on, company-wide recognition strategy using modern recognition software. Such software should enable public recognition, milestone reminders, and automated celebrations. By implementing employee recognition and rewards software, HR can ensure that every employee feels valued and appreciated, regardless of their work location, and that managers have the tools they need to recognize their employees
2. Failure to acknowledge important milestones
Challenge: In hybrid and remote work settings, managers often miss key employee milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays, or promotion celebrations due to the absence of face-to-face interactions and the challenge of keeping track of these dates.
Solution: HR team members and people leaders should lean on technology to automate milestone reminders and celebration messages to ensure that important events are acknowledged and celebrated promptly. Digital celebrations not only boost remote employee morale, but also help leaders efficiently create a positive team culture.
3. Becoming disconnected from the team
Challenge: Without regular face-to-face interaction or digital one-on-ones / team meetings, leaders can quickly become disconnected from the day-to-day realities of their remote teams.
Solution: HR should help leaders establish regular employee feedback loops through continuous pulse surveys and feedback mechanisms. Regularly surveying employees will help leaders stay more closely connected to employee sentiment, and allows them to take rapid action if any issues are surfaced.
4. Lack of access to employee survey data
Challenge: At organizations where employee surveys are already in place, many HR departments decline to share employee survey results with front-line managers, leaving them uninformed about team sentiment or challenges with their leadership style.
Solution: HR and executives should ensure that managers have access to real-time, actionable survey data. This transparency helps them make informed decisions and address issues promptly. This especially helps in a remote work environment where employee sentiment and challenges are not always visible.
5. Not acting on employee feedback
Challenge: Organizations collect employee feedback in an annual engagement survey but then fail to act on it, leading to employee frustration and disengagement.
Solution: HR should train managers on interpreting employee feedback and developing action plans. Encourage accountability among managers by tracking progress and following up on feedback-driven changes.
HR’s critical role in leadership development
HR teams are crucial in bridging the gap between potential and performance for people managers operating in a remote or hybrid environment. By providing access to technology, targeted resources, and ongoing training, HR can empower managers to not only create a work environment that fosters high employee engagement, but also lighten the lift for managers and help them continue to develop as leaders.
Implementing a comprehensive recognition program
A formal, holistic Employee Recognition & Rewards (R&R) program is one essential way to support managers with building culture and connection on their hybrid teams. Such programs should be:
- Consistent: Recognition should be an ongoing practice, not limited to annual events.
- Inclusive: Ensure all employees, regardless of their location, feel valued and appreciated.
- Actionable: Equip managers with tools to give specific, meaningful, and timely recognition.
Developing a feedback strategy
Regular, anonymous employee surveys provide valuable insights into team dynamics and areas for improvement. HR can help empower leaders with actionable employee insights and feedback by:
- Conducting regular pulse surveys: Run (or empower managers to run) regular pulse surveys to gather real-time insights and allow for quick interventions. Speed is especially important for remote teams, where issues can go unnoticed without regular check-ins with individuals.
- Sharing results: Make survey data available to all leaders to foster a culture of transparency and continuous improvement. Regular surveys ensure that remote team members feel their voices are heard and valued, and sharing results helps people managers grow, learn, and develop from team feedback.
- Training managers: HR should ensure managers know how to interpret and act on survey feedback. Emphasize strategies for addressing remote-specific challenges, such as maintaining team cohesion, managing virtual workloads, and promoting a healthy work-life balance.
Leveraging technology for leadership enablement
Modern software platforms can enhance remote and hybrid managerial effectiveness. HR can serve as an advocate for leaders and can help lighten their lift by looking for tools that:
- Integrate recognition and feedback: A unified platform simplifies processes and provides visibility to both managers and employees. It ensures that remote employees receive timely recognition and that their feedback is addressed by leaders.
- Offer real-time data: Immediate access to feedback and recognition data allows managers to act promptly, crucial for maintaining morale and addressing issues before they escalate. This is especially helpful in a remote setting, where challenges can more easily go unnoticed.
- Provide actionable insights: Tools that suggest next steps and actions based on survey data can help managers implement meaningful changes.
- Ensure confidentiality: Third-party survey platforms encourage more honest feedback from employees. In remote environments, where face-to-face interactions are limited, maintaining confidentiality can significantly enhance trust and openness among team members and can help them share concerns or issues with leaders.
