Spot-on Strategies for Remote, In-office and Hybrid Team Building

Employees across the U.S. feel increasingly detached from their jobs and are looking
for new opportunities at the highest rate in a decade. Gallup calls this the “Great
Detachment.” It means team building has never been a more critical strategy for attracting and retaining the talent you need.

Team building forges connection and relationships that improve employees’ sense of
wellbeing and desire to stay. In 2025, workplace dynamics will continue to evolve into
remote, hybrid, and in-office structures that present unique challenges as well as
opportunities. The strength and effectiveness of your team-building program will directly
impact your business outcomes. This is the time to review and improve your current
strategies as you look ahead to the new year.

The 2025 Remote and Hybrid Workplace Landscape

Remote and Hybrid workplaces are no longer an experiment. Most people recognize that we will never return to what used to be considered “normal” work environments. 

Employers who offer flexible work options now create more hybrid jobs than remote ones. In 2023, fully on-site roles declined from 85 to 68 percent and currently represent only about 65 percent of job postings. The more challenging it is to find employees, in more rural areas for example, the more flexible the work arrangements. 

A majority of remote-capable employees currently work in hybrid or fully remote arrangements. Six in ten of them prefer the hybrid option, about one-third want to work fully remote, and less than 10 percent prefer to be fully onsite. 

Increasingly, employers see the value of embracing flexible work options. Not the least of this value is the strong and undeniable link between remote and hybrid work cultures and recruitment and retention. With location no longer a barrier to employment, and people looking for work environments based on wellbeing and work-life balance, companies can both broaden their talent pool and give employees what they want most. These two factors are critical in positioning companies competitively. After all, it’s basically the same cultural elements that attract and retain top talent. 

Underlying the trends toward flexible work options are a multitude of impacts on every aspect of work. Each organization must find its unique mix of flexibility and connection based on a balance between the company’s business needs and culture and their employees’ preferences. This may involve radically tailoring individual roles, tasks, and work hours along with where people choose to do their jobs. It will also require providing teams with the tools, training, and resources to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate in new ways. 

Unique Challenges for Disbursed Teams

Building cohesiveness and a sense of belonging in disbursed teams brings a set of new challenges to employers. Hybrid, remote, and in-office options require different solutions. It’s more difficult to maintain cultural alignment, foster engagement, and build rapport when people are physically working apart. It’s also difficult, but critical, to develop strategies that are both tailored and fair to each team. A sense of unfairness easily destroys morale.

In addition to their unique challenges, disbursed teams share several common ones, including:

• Decreased opportunity for collaboration with teammates
• Lack of personal connection to coworkers
• Diminished trust
• Communication silos 
• Reduced cross-functional interaction
• Disrupted processes
• Increased difficulty in coordinating schedules, tasks, and timelines

• Less access to work resources and equipment
• Feeling less connected to the organization’s culture
• Decreased sense of inclusivity

How to Build Highly Effective Dispersed Teams

Effective teamwork is essential in any work environment and is even more important when teammates are disbursed. Cohesive teams evolve from a sense of camaraderie and belonging that ensure members are engaged, motivated, and productive. 
The active participation of leadership helps build trust and unity that lifts morale and reduces turnover rates organization-wide. Leaders should lead by example, open channels for employees to share concerns and suggestions, and ensure mental health initiatives are incorporated into team-building efforts. Be clear and encourage feedback to meet the specific needs of your team. 
Following, are additional team-building strategies for remote, in-office, and hybrid arrangements.

Fully Remote Teams

• Fostering open communication by implementing tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and video conferencing.
• Hosting virtual team-building activities like online trivia, escape rooms, or virtual coffee chats. 
• Providing opportunities for informal, non-work interactions.
• Prioritizing recognition and celebration by shouting out accomplishments in virtual meetings, for example, and using recognition platforms to celebrate personal milestones to foster connection.
• Investing in technology based on collaborative software that streamlines teamwork.
• Combating silos by encouraging knowledge sharing and consider putting information on a single platform.

In-office Teams

• Reimagining physical spaces to create collaborative workspaces and breakout zones and incorporating wellness efforts for physical wellbeing, mental health, and similar benefits. 
• Organizing in-person events, like team lunches, workshops, and offsite retreats, where you focus on fun and bonding rather than just work-related tasks.
• Promoting inclusion in decision-making by listening to employees; encouraging all voices to be heard during meetings, and hosting brainstorming sessions that tap into diverse perspectives.

Hybrid Teams

• Focusing more on employee experience than productivity.
• Finding ways to hold high value activities like onboarding and strategy meetings in person.
• Creating opportunities for collaboration using technology or other means.
• Establishing hybrid work norms by aligning expectations for remote and in-office staff and ensuring meeting schedules and participation are inclusive.
• Rotating in-person and virtual events by balancing accessibility for remote employees with in-person bonding.
• Creating hybrid mentorship programs by pairing remote and in-office employees to encourage cross-learning.
• Implementing data-driven solutions by using engagement surveys and analytics to understand team dynamics.
• Structuring team meetings and outcomes on days where employees are in the office to avoid the frustration of driving into the office and conducting activities they could complete at home. 

The benefits of remote and hybrid work arrangements are clear and they are becoming the norm in organizations across the nation and around the world. More than anything, the future of work is about adaptability, with strategic team building as the cornerstone for creating success. This is a space where your employees and your business can thrive.