Hybrid work arrangements have gone mainstream in recent years, but Candace Marles has been a part of — and managed — distributed learning and development teams for nearly 20 years.
Whether its effectively managing virtual meetings for on-site and remote employees, being more intentional in building culture, or simply having a little more patience for parents working from home, there’s a unique set of challenges for managing a hybrid team.
Candace is excited to share her experiences and the best practices she’s seen help turn happy, empowered employees become high-performing teams thanks to the flexibility of the hybrid model.
You can connect with her on Linkedin, and below, you’ll find the two articles she published on managing hybrid teams:
About Candace
Most recently the Manager of Digital Learning Development at SAS, Candace spent seven years managing the team responsible for creating digital courses that reached more than 400,000 users in the past three years.
Her journey in L&D began in 1997 when she shifted from a career as a music theory professor to become a training consultant working on-site at GSK, where she would remain until 2008 when she joined SAS.
Originally hired as e-learning developer at SAS, Candace transitioned to management in May 2016 and held that role until April 2023.
Find Leading L&D anywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple and Spotify, where you’ll be able to find our past conversations with learning leaders.
Here’s a full playlist:
Summary
Candace Marles joins us for a discussion on leading hybrid and remote teams in the corporate world, particularly focusing on L&D environments. Candace shares her extensive experience from working at companies like GlaxoSmithKline and SAS. She discusses the challenges and best practices of managing hybrid teams, including how to conduct effective meetings, maintain team relationships, and ensure equal participation from both remote and in-office employees. The conversation explores how the pandemic has transformed workplace dynamics and the importance of adapting leadership styles to accommodate hybrid work environments. Key insights include the need for intentional communication, structured team building activities, and leveraging technology tools for collaboration. Candace emphasizes that successful hybrid team management requires trust, transparency, and regular check-ins with team members.
Highlights
Introduction to Hybrid Team Leadership
Candace introduces her experience with hybrid and remote teams, noting her background at GlaxoSmithKline’s global learning services team. She explains that many companies had hybrid teams before COVID-19, with team members distributed across different locations including RTP area, Philadelphia, UK, and Europe.
Challenges of Remote Work Transition
The speaker identifies the main challenge of fully remote work: the loss of casual interactions like hallway conversations and lunch meetings. She emphasizes the need to deliberately create opportunities for team interaction in a remote environment.
Managing Hybrid Team Meetings
Candace details specific strategies for running effective hybrid meetings, including having all participants join from individual laptops even when in the same room, and assigning someone to monitor chat and hand-raising in virtual platforms. She emphasizes the importance of ensuring equal participation opportunities for both remote and in-office attendees.
Building Team Relationships in a Hybrid Environment
The discussion covers maintaining team relationships through regular virtual check-ins, informal team channels, and online team-building activities. Special attention is given to integrating new team members, particularly early career professionals, into a hybrid work environment.
Leadership Evolution and Development in Hybrid Teams
Candace explains how hybrid leadership required more intentional thinking about team interactions, collaboration, and development opportunities. She emphasizes the importance of regular one-on-one meetings and ensuring equal development opportunities for all team members regardless of their work location.
International Team Collaboration and Benefits
The speaker discusses the advantages of working across time zones, particularly in content development projects. She explains how teams can leverage time differences for efficient workflow and highlights the benefits of hybrid work models, including increased employee trust and flexibility.
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