Author: Franz Malten Buemann

The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, I believe the same is true for dog parenthood. When I fostered my first puppy only to quickly find out he had fleas, I felt lost and in need of people I could turn to for trustworthy information, and as a dog mom today, I’m regularly looking for community support.So, when I started Dog Spotted to help NYC dog parents navigate the ins and outs of living with these adorable pets, I knew that community would be a big part of it. I didn’t just want a platform where dog parents could come to get expert advice and find the best local pet businesses; I wanted a place where they could all support each other on their journey.Of course, wanting a community and actually creating one are two very different things. The paradox of community-building is that it can often feel like you need community in order to create community. After all, nobody wants to show up to an empty party. It wasn’t easy, but I made it happen: About a year and a half since launching, Dog Spotted has a thriving community of over 15,000 dog parents. Retrospectively, there were three main steps that I think helped us succeed—a process I hope other business owners can learn from when building communities of their own.1. I Partnered With My Dream Advocates From the StartIn the early days, partnerships were our most powerful strategy for growing our community. We partnered with dog experts to create trustworthy content for our users. We partnered with dog influencers, both micro (as few as a couple hundred followers) and macro (tens of thousands of followers) to do virtual events that gave us access to their audience and aligned our community with a face people already knew. We even facilitated partnerships between the small businesses and influencers we worked with—the influencers would get free products, the brands would get exposure, and everyone would see us as a meaningful connector in the pet space, which propelled our reputation forward. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Discover Dog Friendly Places and Vets | NYC (@dogspotted) Doing simple Instagram Lives with expert influencers like @seniordogdoc grew our awareness among their audiences and gave us valuable, trustworthy content.I think these collaborations succeeded in a few ways to help us gain momentum. Obviously they  built  awareness that my brand even existed among the types of people I wanted to create the space for. They also made it look like the Dog Spotted community was already thriving: If all of these influential pet parents were already involved, who wouldn’t want to join in? Finally, they helped me build a foundation of trust amongst new members coming into the community. By partnering with experts that people already trusted, it built our clout. Many people are afraid to partner with similar businesses because they think they’re a competitor, but I truly believe collaborations can only be a net positive. There’s more than enough people who are passionate about their pups that all of our businesses can exist together. Share what makes your business different, and people will be thrilled to support both.Many people are afraid to partner with similar businesses because they think they’re a competitor, but I truly believe collaborations can only be a net positive. – Jamie Ruden, Founder of Dog Spotted2. I Empowered Community Leaders Beyond MyselfI could see that our partnerships were doing a lot for us in terms of growing our site visitors, social reach, and email subscribers. But I could see that turning that into an engaged community was going to take a little something extra. Around that time, I read the book Get Together, and it taught me the secret sauce: Building true community involves not only inviting people in to get involved, but asking them to take on a role. It can be so tempting as a founder to try and keep control of everything, but if I wanted to go from just being a source of information to being a source of community, I was going to have to pass the torch.The first time I tried this was when we were planning a week-long walkathon to raise money for seven rescues in NYC. My team could have done all of the planning and promotion ourselves, but instead we pulled in “team captains”—community members who were really enthusiastic about the event—to help spread the word, get signups, and lead walks throughout the week. We gave them some guidelines around our community values and norms, then let them take ownership. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Discover Dog Friendly Places and Vets | NYC (@dogspotted) Letting Dog Spotted members like @goodb0ycody head up aspects of our walkathon event made them feel more community-oriented and authentic.3. I Created Different Spaces for Different Community MembersFinally, to keep my community engaged over time, I’ve found it helpful to create different channels so that individuals can interact how they prefer and get exactly what they need from the space.For instance, while we love offering events for our members to meet in person, some may just want to follow us on Instagram for a regular infusion of dog advice. While Instagram is our most popular channel, our email has really high subscriptions and engagement because it includes content that can’t be found elsewhere.We’re getting ready to uplevel our community by building a stand-alone online platform where NYC dog parents, experts, and businesses can come together. While the goal in doing this is to centralize everything we’re doing in one place, I never want to be prescriptive about how people need to engage with the community. I think it will add value to most members to be able to get everything they need in one place, but some may prefer to stick to one of our existing channels, and that’s okay.As a final note, I’m committed to ensuring every member of our community continues to feel valued and invested in over time. Just like a plant, you can’t stop feeding a community when it’s reached the size you’d like—it’s always going to need attention even when it’s grown to a healthy number. If anything, I feel like I have to invest more time and resources into my community the larger it gets.But as much work as it is, investing in my community is investing in the future of my business. Competitors may come in and steal our ideas, but they can never take away the people who trust our brand because of the support we’ve provided and the connections we’ve built.Competitors may come in and steal our ideas, but they can never take away the people who trust our brand because of the support we’ve provided and the connections we’ve built. – Jamie Ruden, Founder of Dog Spotted

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College graduation is just around the corner, which means it’s almost speech season. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good graduation speech and all the platitudes that come along with it, but very few of them give guidance on how to find a job after college. 

We want to help. At HubSpot, we’re lucky enough to interview and hire a lot of recent graduates, so I’ve rounded up some advice below based on interviews, applications, and feedback we hear from hiring managers, recruiters, and job candidates alike. And for free templates and tools you can use to put the advice below into practice download this post’s complementary guide here.
But before we dive into how to find a job after college, let’s first shed some light on why the job searching process is so difficult for college graduates. 

Why is it hard to find a job after college?
One of the leading factors that make finding a job after college difficult is fierce competition.According to Statista, the percentage of the U.S. population that have a 4-year college degree has steadily increased since the 1940s. As of 2020, 38.3% of women and 36.7% of men have completed four years of college or more.With college degrees becoming more and more common, graduates are finding it difficult to stand out to employers. The competition can be even more intense for college students who either did not complete an internship in their field studies while pursuing their education. With that said, here is some advice to make finding a job after college less daunting. 
12 Tips for Finding a Job After College
1. Narrow down your search.
I asked a recent college graduate how many applications he submitted to companies each week as part of his job search. His response was, “As many as I need to get my parents off my back.”
Unfortunately, sending out countless applications isn’t strategic and is typically unsuccessful because:

It’s hard to stick out from the pack of other applicants when you’re trying to be all things to all people. 
You can’t properly research and follow up with hundreds of job applications. 
Juggling too many applications can increase the likelihood of spelling mistakes, misstating goals, or missing scheduled phone screens. 

Instead, I recommend doing enough homework to reasonably target 10-12 companies. This way you’ll have the time and energy to give each application the attention necessary to ensure they’re filled out properly. And you’ll be able to better hone in on the unique skills you’d bring to the job and really stand out to employers.  
2. Talk to 10 people about their jobs.
I recommend scheduling a 30-minute, well-organized and orchestrated phone interview with someone familiar with the company or its field.  
Ask a friend who graduated recently, a neighbor from your hometown, or check in with your career services office to ask for some input. If your immediate network isn’t a great resource, get to work on LinkedIn — identify individuals with job titles that interest you and ask if they would be open to a quick conversation.
Regardless of the field you choose, you are going to spend a lot of time at work, so it’s worth investing the time beforehand to understand what roles will actually be like after you secure the job.
3. Reach out to entry level employees.
You’ll want to focus on selecting people at or close to entry level jobs as they’ll give a much more realistic sense of what your day would be like and what skills you would need to succeed. This step can help you significantly refine your search and align your applications accordingly. 
While it may be tempting to reach out to senior leaders, it would be better to wait until after you have clear context on the types of roles you’re most interested in pursuing.
4. Ask Good Questions. 
Focus on asking questions about what their average day looks like:

What do they work on?
Are they mostly working alone at a computer or in meetings with other people?
How (if at all) do they interact with their boss?
What’s the culture at their organization like?
What do they like about it and what do they wish they could change?
What’s the most important skill to succeed in the job they have, and why?

These types of questions are specific and give you a real sense for what it’s like to actually do a given job.
5. Listen.
Active listening can be the single most effective tool in identifying the right company and role for your skill set.
Ask your professors and advisors if they know alumni working at companies where you could be a good fit. Ask your previous employers for feedback on what you’re best at and what you can do better. The answers to these questions should help inform your job search, but you need to actively listen to make their advice actionable.
Moreover, take good notes during these conversations. I’d recommend creating a Google doc with:

The name of the person you’re talking with

The company they work for

Key takeaways from the call

Next steps

After these conversations, make clear follow-ups and carve out time after every informational conversation to thank the person who gave you their time.
6. Identify three job tracks and create a playbook for each one.
After your phone calls and interviews help you identify a few roles that really interest you, visit the career site for a few of the companies in your preferred geography that offer the roles you’re seeking. Take note of the specific skills the position demands. 
Many applicants skip this step entirely, but it’s imperative to understand what the hiring managers are seeking and what experience is most relevant to the career paths you’re targeting.
Recognizing that the best hiring managers can screen for potential and skill, you need to craft a compelling narrative for why you are positioned to succeed in a role. Does that mean you need to check every single box? Absolutely not, but you do need a compelling story for why you are uniquely suited to the position.
Far too many people send the same resume for multiple positions that require very different skills and experiences. 
To avoid this, my recommendation is to fill in the blanks of this sentence before you start on a resume or cover letter: “I would be a great (_______________) because I have _________, ________, and _______ skills as evidenced by my work with ___________ and _____________.” 
This may seem elementary, but when you’re in the thick of a job search it’s easy to get lazy and ship the same materials to everyone. Creating a clear, concise summary of why you are positioned to succeed in a given role is a great foundation for the materials you’ll create next before applying.
7. Craft compelling application materials that tell your story.
Far too many people treat creating their resume, cover letter, and any other necessary application materials as a chore to be completed or a checklist to be generated. In reality, recruiters and hiring managers scan through hundreds if not thousands of resumes on a weekly basis, so make their lives easier by creating a truly compelling narrative on your interest in the role. 
Telling a great story doesn’t mean filling every square inch of space on a page. In fact, the best resumes and cover letters use spacing, italics, and bold text to make the materials more readily digestible and enjoyable to read for the hiring manager.
When it comes to crafting your narrative for applications, don’t underestimate the role of activities outside of work: You don’t need a formal internship or summer job to show that you’re interested in and capable of blogging, or a seasoned job in sales to show that you’re passionate about engaging people.
Did you blog for your college admissions office to help recruit incoming students? You should include that experience if you’re applying for a marketing, recruiting, or human resources position.
Did you use iMovie to create videos for your university’s theater program? Learn enough code to launch a website for your parents’ restaurant? If you’re applying for any role in technical support, design, or engineering, incorporate it.
Far too many people underestimate the role activities outside the classroom can play in demonstrating your potential and drive, so don’t overlook these experiences when you’re crafting your story.
8. Google yourself.
Most hiring managers will run a quick Google search before reaching out to you for a phone screen, so Google yourself before you start applying for jobs and ask yourself what story your online presence tells. If it doesn’t align with the narrative you’re using in your job applications, invest the time and energy to change it. 
Your online presence should reflect your personal and professional interests, and with the proliferation of free publishing forums (from LinkedIn to Medium to About.me), you have no excuse not to put them to work on your behalf in the job search process.
For example, let’s say you are interested in applying to Wistia, an online video hosting platform and one of our neighboring companies here in Boston. How could you convey a passion for video if you’re not an editor, producer, or director? 
You could share remarkable videos you see online as a consumer, or blog about how video marketing can influence the sales process. You can also incorporate your previous experience with video on your LinkedIn profile, or tweet articles covering recent brand video launches, among other things.
Be honest about what your current digital footprint says about your candidacy, and then invest some time and energy to change it from a liability to an asset before you start sending your resume out.
9. Apply thoughtfully.
Before you hit submit, triple-check everything for spelling, syntax, and grammar. Everyone knows someone with a particularly good eye for catching mistakes — pay them in lunch or coffee to help you do a final check of your materials before you ship them. Don’t let a spelling or grammatical mistake be the reason you don’t land a job. 
Also, be sure that you have the right details in the right applications. Create separate folders on your computer for each company so that you don’t proudly state how excited you are to work at Company X when your application is for Company Y.
Once you hit submit, you’re not done yet. I recommend creating a Google spreadsheet with tabs for each of the job types you’re applying for, along with the name of the company you applied to, the date you applied, a link to the job on the careers site (so you can reference it easily if asked down the line), as well as the name of the hiring manager or recruiter if available.
This quick exercise makes follow-up a breeze. If you haven’t heard back within a week, sending an email to your contact to politely check in and ask if there is anything you can do to support your candidacy is a great way to show interest without being overbearing. 
Logging everything (including return phone calls, informational screens, and rejection emails alike) in one document will also minimize embarrassing gaffes such as applying for multiple positions at the same company or missing a scheduled informational interview. Plus, having a centralized location means it’ll be much easier for you to react if something unexpected comes up, such as if a hiring manager calls you to discuss the role in depth.
10. Respect the process.
Treat every element of the entire candidate experience like a formal interview. A recruiter calling you to role-play what it’s like to work on our services team? That’s part of the job audition. The emails the hiring manager sends you with details on what to expect in the interview? Your response and timeliness are part of the interview process as well. 
If you’re taking a phone call from the company, find a quiet place to talk, answer the phone appropriately, and thank the hiring manager or recruiting coordinator for making the time to connect with you.
Part of respecting the process is really doing your homework. Here’s a checklist to consider when you’re doing your research:

Can you describe, clearly and concisely, what the company does to make money and the problem they are solving in the market?
Have you visited their leadership page to understand the backgrounds of people running the company and how the organization is organized?
Did you check out interview questions along with recent candidate experience reviews on Glassdoor to check out what people are saying about the company so you can ask better questions when you meet with current employees?
Can you reference any recent news the company announced on its company news page, investor relations site, or blog?
Have you followed the company on one or more social media channels so you can see how the organization positions itself in the market?
If you’re lucky enough to get an interview, have you checked out the LinkedIn profiles of everyone you’re meeting with so you know their role and tenure at the company?

It’s important to treat every interaction with the company and its hiring team with the highest degree of professionalism and consideration. Visiting a company’s website on the train en route to the interview does not constitute research. 
If you expect an organization to invest in you, invest two hours to properly understand its products, people, and value proposition so you can tailor your approach and responses accordingly.
11. Pass the receptionist test with flying colors.
No one wants to work with a jerk, and if you’re rude or dismissive of the person who greets you upon arrival for an interview, chances are you’re not the type of person I want to be in the trenches with on a daily basis. Plus, receptionists usually have the ear of top executives, so if you underestimate them, it could cost you.
Treat everyone you interact with at the company as though they are your interviewer. People don’t want to work with anyone who can’t make time for general pleasantries. 
In fact, when the co-founder of Warby Parker, Neil Blumenthal, appeared on The Growth Show, he said their entire organization screens heavily for empathy and humility in the hiring process. As Blumenthal correctly pointed out, you spend most of your waking life with coworkers, so hiring people who are jerks just creates “culture debt” — a huge price that your organization has to repay for years to come.
So be nice and gracious to everyone you meet: It will pay off for many years to come.
12. Know how to accept and negotiate an offer.
If you make it through the interview experience and are lucky enough to be offered a job, don’t botch your hard work at the one-yard line.
Instead, start off by thanking the company for the offer and asking clarifying questions to better understand the role you’re being offered, the team you’ll be joining, and the salary and benefits associated with the job. Typically, you’ll receive a call from a hiring manager or recruiter with this information, and then ask for the offer to be sent in writing. 
I generally recommend that people profusely thank their interviewer, then ask for a day to review the offer in detail and return with any questions you may have. Doing so ensures they know you are interested and gives you time to pour over the materials in depth to formulate good questions to ask of your potential employer.
For an entry-level position, you have to strike a balance between negotiating a fair deal and being a high-maintenance hire. I recommend formulating a list of your questions then reviewing the materials a second time to ensure that the answers aren’t contained in the information they sent for you. 
You want to ask questions that are thoughtful, insightful, and reflect what matters most to you. In other words, if your base salary is the most important factor in your job decision, invest most of your time on the phone asking clarifying questions — not on how much vacation time you will have.
There is no better time than the present to pursue the job and career track you love, but it’s not going to fall in your lap. Follow the guide above to narrow your search, target your prospects, and prepare yourself for the application and interview process. It’s an investment of time and energy well worth making — one that will pay dividends for your entire career. 

Home to countless cookie recipes, laughable memes, and perfect last-minute gift ideas, there’s certainly already a lot to love about Pinterest. But what if we told you that it’s possible to make money on Pinterest?

The simple truth is this: Amidst the ab workouts and IKEA furniture hacks, there lies a huge opportunity for businesses to use Pinterest to drive revenue. And with 31% of online American adults using Pinterest, this isn’t an opportunity you’ll want to leave on the table.
Can you make money on Pinterest?
Whether you are a content creator, have an eCommerce business, or are trying to drive traffic to your blog, Pinterest can be a key tool for monetization.
If your target customers are on Pinterest, they’re likely ready to buy. According to demographic data from Pinterest, 45% of adults in the U.S. with a household income over $100K per year are active on the platform. Additionally, 83% of Pinterest users make purchases based on what they see on the platform.

If you aren’t monetizing through Pinterest, now is a great time to start. To help you get a handle on how to make Pinterest work better for your business, check out the tips below.
How to Make Money on Pinterest
1. Generate traffic to your eCommerce products.
Best for: eCommerce businesses.
If you sell products online, one of the simplest ways to drive more sales is to pin your product pages directly to Pinterest. Creating pins that are linked directly to your online shop can generate meaningful traffic when paired with the keywords your ideal customers are searching for.
Before you start sharing your products on Pinterest, make sure you’ve enabled Rich Pins, which sync the latest information from your website into any pins created from your site. Product Rich Pins are able to pull the most up-to-date price, inventory, and product description from your website so you don’t need to worry about manually updating existing pins.
Rich Pins are free to use and only require adding a bit of code to your website. New websites requesting Rich Pins are typically approved within 24 hours.
2. Create pins for your affiliate partnerships.
Best for: Users with strong relationships with their affiliate partners.
Affiliate marketing is a popular tactic for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to build passive income. As an affiliate, you can receive a commission anytime someone makes a purchase from your unique link to a product or service.
To leverage Pinterest for your affiliate marketing efforts, consider creating pins that link directly to your affiliate links or to blog posts or YouTube videos that incorporate your affiliate links. By sharing your affiliate links on Pinterest, they can be found by anyone searching for that particular product, earning you a commission if they make a purchase.
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when using Pinterest to make affiliate sales:

Disclose when affiliate links are present. Per FTC guidelines, clearly state when affiliate links are being shared within a piece of content.
Only share direct links. Pinterest discourages the use of link shorteners or tools that disguise the final URL when sharing affiliate links.
Optimize your pins for keywords related to affiliate products. The beauty of Pinterest is that it operates as a search engine. When your content features keywords users are searching for, the content is more likely to generate clicks and engagement which could lead to increased sales.

3. Send traffic to your blog.
Best for: Inbound marketers and bloggers.
Whether you rely on web traffic for advertising revenue, or as part of an inbound marketing approach, you can incorporate Pinterest into your traffic-building strategy to drive revenue. Ranking for keywords on Google can be a complex, time-consuming endeavor. However, ranking for keywords on Pinterest can be more straightforward, and can lead to meaningful traffic gains.
According to Pinterest, 85% of users turn to Pinterest to start a new project or learn something new. If you’re creating helpful content that aligns with the keywords your potential audience is searching for, you can potentially capture some of this search traffic through Pinterest.
Here are some tips to help you grow your web traffic through Pinterest:

Use Pinterest Trends to discover which keywords are trending with Pinterest users.
Create multiple pins for each blog post that have an optimized title, description, and image that align with the keywords users are searching for.
Save your pins to boards that have optimized titles and descriptions incorporating the keywords users are searching for.
Create article Rich Pins from your website to incorporate the blog post title, description, and author information in your pins.

4. Join the Pinterest Creator Fund.
Best for: Creators who want to grow and monetize their Pinterest account.
In 2021, Pinterest launched the Creator Fund to help creators grow and monetize their content on the platform. These cohorts open quarterly and participants have access to unique brand partnerships and tools and resources from the Pinterest team to help them grow their reach.
This year, Pinterest announced an expansion of the program’s fund to support a wider range of creators.

Image Source
5. Share shoppable pins for your products.
Best for: Online shops and eCommerce businesses.
If you sell products online, creating shoppable pins for your products can be an effective way to increase sales. According to Pinterest, engagement with shoppable pins increased by 20% in 2021. One way to drive conversion from Pinterest is to enable Product Pins on your account.
Product pins allow online merchants to list their products on Pinterest so customers can make a purchase without leaving the platform. To set up shoppable pins, start by applying to be a Verified Merchant on Pinterest.
Below, you can see an example of shoppable pins by the skincare brand, Summer Fridays.

6. Create sponsored content.
Best for: Content creators and influencers.
Pinterest can be a lucrative space for influencer marketing. Content creators can work with brands to create sponsored content specifically for Pinterest or can negotiate a higher rate for sharing their sponsored blog and social content from other platforms with their Pinterest audience as well.
7. Manage Pinterest accounts for other businesses.
Best for: Virtual assistants, social media managers, and administrative professionals.
If you have the skills to manage and grow a Pinterest account, consider lending your services to other businesses. Many busy entrepreneurs don’t have time to manage their own Pinterest accounts despite the benefits of remaining active on the platform.
In this role, you could develop a Pinterest strategy for your client’s primary business objectives (such as growing web traffic or increasing conversions of shoppable pins), do keyword research to determine what their audience is searching for, and create and upload pins to their account.
It helps to have demonstrated experience in this area. Try creating a portfolio outlining the results you’ve gotten from growing your own or other businesses’ Pinterest accounts to share with potential clients.
8. Use Pinterest Ads to reach new users.
Best for: People selling digital and physical products online.
If you have an online business, consider running ads on Pinterest to get your offerings in front of potential buyers. Pinterest ads look like regular pins but can be strategically placed where your audience is most likely to see them including on the home feed and in search results.
To start running ads on Pinterest, make sure you have a business account. After you have your business account created, visit the Ads Manager to create a campaign and ad group.
Lastly, you’ll have the option to create new pins or select the existing pins you want to promote. Here’s how the company Daily Harvest uses paid ads on Pinterest to reach new customers.

9. Showcase your products with video content.
Best for: eCommerce businesses.
Idea Pins are multi-page video posts that are quickly gaining popularity on Pinterest. Though Idea Pins can’t link directly to web pages like standard pins can, users can tag specific products featured in their Idea Pins to make them shoppable. Cosmetics company Fenty Beauty frequently features video tutorials on Pinterest to promote key products.

Users can tag products using affiliate links, and merchants can tag products from their own businesses to drive sales. By sharing Idea Pins that feature video clips of your products in action, you can help expose new buyers to the features of your products.
With over 400 million users who are looking for inspiration and are ready to buy, incorporating Pinterest into your business strategy is a great way to engage with your audience and drive potential revenue.

According to Microsoft’s 2022 Annual Work Trend Index Report, 53% of employees are considering transitioning to a hybrid work setup in the next year and hybrid work is up seven points from 2021.

So, what does it take to lead a hybrid team? We’ve got a few tips.
1. Set rules of engagement.
When everyone’s in the office, many rules and behaviors go unsaid. After all, everyone is in the same space, so it’s easier to pick up on cues. However, when everyone is scattered, it changes how you approach them.
Microsoft’s report found that following the pandemic, few companies (only 28%) have met with their teams to define their new normal since switching to a hybrid or remote model.
This can lead to confusion, unmet expectations, and high attrition rates. Setting a structure around communication and collaboration allows the team to work more efficiently as it promotes cohesion among all members, despite the physical distance.
2. Leverage asynchronous communication.
Speaking of distance, it can be nearly impossible to get everyone on a call at the same time depending on where your team is.
For instance, say you have some team members in California, others in New York, and some overseas in Kenya. Those are three time zones, meaning three different work schedules.
One way to keep your team connected is to leverage asynchronous tools.
For instance, you can utilize bots within your messaging system, whether it’s Slack, Teams, or another platform, to invite your team to share updates, check-ins, etc.

With Geekbot, the software can be programmed to ask your team specific questions, then share their answers.
So, if your team is unable to sync up for daily meetings, you can still get progress updates from everyone in a channel of your choosing.
3. Have a robust onboarding process.
Having a strong onboarding process is more important than ever.
Data from the Microsoft report shows that employees onboarded during the last two years are at greater risk for attrition, are less likely to feel included within their teams, and tend to have weaker relationships with their direct teams.
Since the pandemic, new hires are relying more on their managers for onboarding – and that’s a good thing for the company.
The study found that new hires whose managers played an active role in their onboarding process were 3.5 times more likely to be satisfied with their experience.
Here are some tips to optimize your onboarding process:

Prepare training materials and create an onboarding guide.
Launch an internal mentorship program to guide new hires within the first few months.
Have a welcome chat to introduce the new hire to the team.
Send your new hire a survey about their onboarding experience to assess gaps in the process.

4. Trust your team.
Trust is the number one component of a successful hybrid or remote team. Without it, neither party is able to successfully respond to their responsibilities.
In the office, you can always keep an eye on your team. Walking by their desk to check in on a project, peeking to see if they’re actively working. When your team is hybrid, you lose that level of visibility.
As such, you’re forced to trust your team. How do you build trust? Well, it’s a two-way street and it starts with you.
Firstly, be transparent. This encompasses everything from sharing feedback on performance to sharing resources to sharing team and company-wide updates.
Secondly, create a space where your team feels psychologically safe – safe to share ideas, be themselves, learn, and challenge the status quo.
Lastly, find out what matters to each person on your team. What do they value? What are their goals? How do they like to be celebrated? How do they learn best?
Trust also extends to their work. Even though 80% of employees say they are just as productive since going hybrid or remote, most leaders (54%) fear productivity has or will negatively impact their teams, according to the Microsoft report.
Avoid the temptation to micromanage your team. Instead, set the parameters for their tasks, check in with their progress, provide resources when needed, and offer feedback. This will empower your team to do their best work knowing that they have the full support and trust of their manager.
5. Prioritize team culture.
According to the 2022 Microsoft report, the top aspect of work employees views as important – other than money – is a positive culture.
Even though your team is hybrid, you still have to work hard to build its culture. If anything, it’s even more important since you don’t have the physical environment to rely on.
When you have a hybrid team, you have to be intentional about everything – particularly connecting on a non-work level.
43% of leaders surveyed in the Microsoft report say relationship-building is the number one challenge in remote and hybrid work.
After all, you can’t just invite your team to a happy hour at a local restaurant or have an impromptu group lunch.
What you want to avoid is an imbalance where some members feel disconnected from the team because of their distance, which is pretty common. In fact, 44% of hybrid employees surveyed said they do not feel included in meetings.
Here are a few ways to make sure your team feels connected:

Host virtual events, such as escape rooms, magic shows, and cooking classes, that your team can enjoy as a group.
Have regular “watercooler” meetings that allow your team to gather and talk about anything non-work related.
Create non-work-related messaging channels based on your team’s interests, like cooking, TV shows, home renovation projects, pets, etc.
Plan annual or quarterly meetups with your team, if your budget allows.

This is your opportunity to shape it into one that fosters inclusion, collaboration, and trust.
6. Invest in your team’s equipment.
When your team works in an office, there are certain things you don’t need to account for, such as Wi-Fi, computer, headset, desk, etc.
However, if you have some people from your team working from home, they will need to have access to the same equipment to succeed in their role.
There are also nice-to-have items that aren’t needed to complete the job but can make your team happier and more productive. Think headphones and ergonomic equipment.
Instead of seeing it as an additional expense, consider it an investment into your team that will pay off tenfold.
There you have it – whether your team is newly hybrid or has always been, there’s always room for improvement. With these tips, your team will work as seamlessly as you would in person.

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