Effective Communication in Hybrid Teams
In a study of effective communication in hybrid teams, Riedl & Woolley found that successful hybrid teams work and communicate in short bursts interspersed with periods of individual focused work. These hybrid teams align work patterns to communicate in these short periods when everybody can respond rapidly and attentively. It’s imperative that everyone in the team is equally present in these brief windows. This requires reliable Internet connectivity.
Delays in joining online meetings or loss of connectivity for one team member can affect the whole team’s productivity.
The importance of video
All meetings need good voice and task sharing capabilities but building trust and resolving conflict benefit from being able to see the other people’s video streams.
Video streams allow team members to see gestures, facial expressions, and what other people are looking at while they are listening and speaking.
The technological struggles of hybrid meetings are well known, such as the difficulty of hearing / seeing remote attendees. If the video is not of good quality, employees will not be able to participate fully, undermining team building.
Improvements in technology
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, technology has improved. Ottie is an example of a solution which ensures seamless connectivity even when the remote worker’s broadband connection is unreliable. As soon as someone’s broadband connection fails, Ottie takes over and transfers the business traffic to the best available 4G/5G network.
A hybrid meeting could offer advantages compared to in-person or full-team video meetings, provided that every participant is given an equal opportunity to engage and is actively encouraged to contribute
Building resilience
With climate disasters and public health crises always on the horizon, organisations must foster resilience. Improving the reliability of remote workers’ connectivity and ensuring your employees can work effectively from home can help mitigate these crises.
Contact us today for more information and a time limited special offer. No matter what you do, Ottie keeps you connected.
