Having an established personal brand boosts your workplace visibility, allows you to build relationships in the workplace more easily and opens doors in your career that might not have otherwise been possible.
Building a brand can be time-consuming and may require a lot of planning and implementation. Remote and hybrid work have made it infinitely more challenging. Yes, adjusting and reshaping your personal brand to fit a hybrid work model is tough but necessary in the new world of work.
With recent research from Accenture finding that 83% of employees surveyed prefer a hybrid working model and more companies planning to extend hybrid working options indefinitely, it’s clear that hybrid work is here to stay. That means you’re going to need to build a hybrid strategy for your personal brand – one that exists both online and in the physical world.
But, there are benefits too to building a personal brand that can exist within both an office and remote work environment – the most obvious being that your brand is more agile and adaptable. Being able to easily adapt and integrate into different working environments will serve you well in your career, especially as you navigate your career.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Building Your Personal Brand in a Hybrid Workplace
An integral part of building a successful personal brand requires you to build meaningful connections and relationships in your workplace. Of course, you can already see the challenges here – how do you build relationships and seek out sponsors/mentors/brand ambassadors who can guide you and help you network to advance your career when you work in a remote environment? But it goes one step further than that, namely, how do you build and nurture the trust necessary to sustain these relationships in a remote or hybrid environment?
This is where building a personal brand in a hybrid environment is infinitely more challenging compared to re-positioning or re-engaging your personal brand. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both challenging! But in the case of the former, you need to build that trust and nurture it to earn it, whereas, for the latter, it’s already been established.
Some of the most important connections you can make happen in between or after meetings, during lunches or even coffee breaks where you have the opportunity to exchange ideas and build rapport with your colleagues, all of which build the trust you want them to associate with you and your personal brand. In a remote or hybrid situation, this is more difficult, if not impossible to do especially as at the end of a Teams call where meetings are over as soon as the “End Meeting” button is hit by the host.
This doesn’t mean, though, that there are no opportunities to network and build rapport in a hybrid environment. They simply exist on virtual channels but the opportunity to network is there. By becoming a tech-savvy networker, you can build a clear, definitive personal brand that will hold its own in both a remote and ‘physical’ work environment.
We’re living in an increasingly digital-first world where our interactions, information and relationships exist largely online. Bridging technology and digital communication with authenticity and trust is vital for thriving in a hybrid workplace.
Tips For Building A Personal Brand in a Hybrid Environment
I have talked before about how to build your personal brand, so here I’ll focus more on the nuances of building a brand within a hybrid environment. The important thing to remember here is that the starting point doesn’t change. You need to know what you stand for; what you want to be known for and how you want to be positioned relative to your peers and competitors; your career ambitions and your personal brand goals.
From here, you can begin to engage with your existing networks and re-ignite relationships. Remember, nothing beats physical connection. If you can, try to arrange for in-person lunches or coffee chats to really build trust and rapport. You’ll probably need to take the initiative here, but don’t be afraid to ask. More often than not, people will be willing, and even happy, to take a bit of time to sit down with you in person.
In this case of a hybrid environment, you’ll need to rely more heavily on digital tools and technology to facilitate engagement. It requires creativity, but it’s 100% achievable.
I would suggest that before you begin to build relationships and network, that you spend a bit of time deciding where your biggest networking prospects are online (relative to your objectives). Take a look at your existing contacts as well as the connections you’ve formed on platforms such as LinkedIn. You can also research people in positions relevant to your unique career aspirations and reach out to them. These can help you identify high-value networking opportunities for when you first begin to build your personal brand.
Once you’ve formed a connection and built the necessary trust that underlies it, you’ll be in a much more favourable position to discuss networking and other opportunities over calls and video chats in a less formal context.
Remember, tact is key here – don’t go from zero to one hundred instantly. Take the time and the resources you have to nurture your relationships and networks across different channels. Building trust is a more gradual process in a hybrid environment compared to being in an office.
Remember, networking is not just about what others can do for you. Focus on how you can add value to your network. Contribute to groups and forums, share thought leadership, comment on other peoples’ status updates, set up virtual meetings and get-togethers as well as online coffee chats with different groups of people.
At the same time, make sure you work at building your presence on Teams or Zoom and video calls. Consistency is key for building an agile brand and ideally the impact that it has should be the same online as in person. As comfortable as it’s been working from home in slippers and slacks for the past two years, you wouldn’t come to an office dressed like that – don’t come to work meetings like this either.
Your appearance can suggest a lot about your dedication, your ambitions and motivations – all of which you want to keep to the highest standards within a work context. Regardless of where you’re working, always aim to leave the best possible impression. No matter where you’re working from, treat it as your work office.
You may put hours of time and preparation into crafting your personal brand but it won’t go far if you don’t leave enough of an impression online to be remembered. Try to keep your camera on at all times. Brand and visibility go hand in hand, after all. If you’re naturally camera-shy that’s completely alright, but try to switch it on when you speak so people can see who you are when you share your input.
While you don’t have to dress too formally, don’t underestimate the good impression that looking smart and put together can have on your brand, whether it’s a Teams meeting on Zoom or a one-on-one video call with a manager. Don’t forget, the image you’re projecting is the image people will receive and associate with your personal brand.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you work in an office, remotely or in a hybrid combination – your personal brand is your key identifier that will help you form the connections you need to advance and progress in your career. Begin working at it from day one with a clear idea of what you want your brand to be and what you want to achieve from it – all things we’re well-equipped to help you with at BMYOU.