The majority of CMOs’ reading this will know it is not so simple for them to navigate this highly emotive topic in a time of hybrid working. With increasingly distributed teams, the challenge of keeping everyone up-to-date and focused is an ever-present concern for every CMO.
According to Edward J. Beltran, CEO of leadership development and training company, Fierce, CMOs looking to retain their top talent should begin by considering the team on a personal level first.
Edward J. Beltran, CEO, Fierce,
Beltran: “Start by focusing on people – human beings with full lives, on whom we rely to achieve our strategic initiatives. Mindful of that, CMOs should ensure flexible working arrangements for their people and focus on creating a results-oriented culture. Create and communicate clear expectations and KPIs rather than rely on facetime or time-on-premises to measure productivity. Adopting these principles now, ensuring they are part of the culture, and providing the necessary training for people managers will provide a strategic foundation for hiring and retaining the right people who can work anywhere.”
The need to regularly connect with your employees is something that every high performing CMO can connect with. Team communication also consistently comes up as one of the most important - but also contentious - topics facing marketing leaders in this new era of post-pandemic work.
Beltran feels that greater people-management skills will be vital for CMOs to continue to develop - include knowing how to give feedback, delegating effectively, and how to hold a team meeting: “Having the right people in the room in order to amplify diversity and inclusivity of thought is critical. As a CMO, you will optimally achieve your desired outcomes while attracting and retaining top talent, but only if you focus effort on enriching relationships and remember to focus on them as human beings.”
Leslie Marshall, CMO of enterprise VR company Mesmerise which helps companies run meetings, conferences, and training sessions in virtual reality is acutely aware of the importance of maintaining a positive team culture. Marshall believes that conducting meetings with the very latest best practice is key for CMOs – especially when managing a hybrid team.
Leslie Marshall, CMO, Mesmerise
Marshall ”It’s never been more important to foster a strong team dynamic with a hybrid team. It requires a commitment to a variety of communication tools. To me, the most important best practice is to ensure a strong sense of connection exists, no matter if you’re virtual or in-person. Hybrid work settings aren’t going away, so ensuring there’s no ‘them vs. us’ mentality is key–we’re one team, and new technologies, like virtual reality, can help foster connectedness and collaboration.”
Marshall employs some interesting tactics to make sure she remains connected with her team members all over the world – “I set my calendar up to reflect different time zones so I’m always aware of what time it is for other team members. I also use different messaging platforms, like Teams messages or DMs (direct messages) depending on the purpose.” Marshall uses this approach to remove unnecessary standing meetings but remaining available as required by her team.
However, some meetings are inevitable, so how best to ensure everyone remains engaged? The key for Marshall is making it a worthwhile place to be. “I’ve found that a huge part of running seamless meetings for a hybrid team includes encouraging the sharing of team wins, updates, and news or trends outside of the meeting itself to create value where team members have a chance to share as well and come to our meetings feeling energized.”
Hybrid Communications
Marshall is also no fan of the idea that communication channels are just a “megaphone for the manager.” Instead they should foster a mentality of being unified at all times: “It is one thing to verbally express the ‘one team’ mentality, but it’s another to provide your team with the tools necessary to truly establish a feeling of co-presence - the feeling of being in the same room, even if we’re not.”
For Marshall this means recognising that for managing hybrid teams the most important aspect is to host a variety of meeting formats - from in-person, as well as on Teams or Zoom, to hosting a meeting only with a VR presence. “Being aware of participation in a meeting is key as well. Watch for digital cues to acknowledge a team member and bring them into the conversation by saying, 'Hi <team member!> I noticed you came off Mute, did you have a comment?’ Close the meeting with a question such as, ‘Are there any final comments on our next steps before we log off?’”
Taking things to a more futuristic footing, at Mesmerise, both the leadership team and Marshall’s marketing team gather weekly through VR – something that has already seen an increase in engagement: “The benefits we’ve seen for VR meetings across the board have been impressive: ripple impacts, like saving hours on corporate travel or bringing down a corporation’s carbon footprint also emerge as people enjoy them so much.”
Having been a marketer for nearly two decades, Marshall is more than familiar with the feeling of uncertainty that comes with trying to lead a team when the way we work is changing so rapidly.
“First, with the rise of the web, then mobile, social media and now all the buzz about Web3 and the metaverse, CMOs need to recognise there’s always new opportunities to use technology. However, I believe it is crucial for marketers to get up to speed quickly. So many of these technologies have come to play pivotal roles in the workplace, the best leaders will continue leaning into new, immersive technology to manage and empower their hybrid teams.”
It is clear that CMOs need to be ready for more change as all companies navigate a changing workplace. Creating a high-performing team is top of every CMOs wish-list in 2023, but the key is to focus on the needs of a marketing team's members as individuals is key to maintaining harmony – as is ensuring they are available and present as their leader.
