Belbin Helps Hybrid Teams

Hybrid work is here to stay. But Belbin’s latest research reveals a critical truth: performance in hybrid teams depends less on policies and platforms, and more on behavioural balance.

Our global study found that different teams and individuals experience hybrid working very differently. Some thrive on autonomy and focus, while others draw energy from real-time interaction and informal collaboration.

When these behavioural needs go unrecognised, distance is magnified. Communication becomes transactional, misunderstandings increase, collaboration fragments, trust erodes, and performance suffers, even when the technology is flawless.

Belbin provides a powerful framework for overcoming these challenges by making individual and team behaviours visible, predictable and manageable.

By understanding each person’s Team Role strengths, teams can clarify how contribution happens across locations, who drives ideas forward, who ensures follow-through, and who maintains connection and cohesion regardless of where people are physically based. This shared behavioural language reduces friction, builds empathy, and prevents remote team members from becoming either invisible or overloaded.

For leaders, Belbin offers practical, Cambridge-led insight that can be applied immediately. It supports smarter task allocation, more inclusive decision-making, clearer accountability, and better-designed meeting rhythms that suit both co-located and remote colleagues. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all hybrid model, leaders can intentionally design how work, communication and collaboration happen.

The result is higher engagement, stronger trust, and more consistent performance, even across time zones and locations.

Find out how we can help you build a truly high-performing hybrid team.

T - 1300 731 381 E - Team@Belbin.com.au