Digital future: Building internal and Hybrid teams, This article is part three of a five part series looking into transformation in the education sector.

As universities across the UK accelerate their digital strategies, many are rethinking how they structure their teams to meet the demands of an evolving education landscape. While partnerships with Online Programme Management (OPM) providers remain valuable for scaling digital education, a growing number of institutions are focusing on developing internal or hybrid teams to achieve their long-term goals. 

As a result, institutions are increasingly looking to develop internal or hybrid teams that allow them to retain control over key aspects of digital education while strategically outsourcing specialised services where necessary. 

The Case for Internal Teams 

Internal teams offer universities the advantage of direct alignment with institutional priorities and goals. Staffed by professionals who deeply understand the university’s mission, culture, and audience, these teams can ensure that digital education initiatives reflect the institution’s identity and values. 

For example, universities with strong internal teams are better positioned to integrate online education with on-campus offerings, create seamless student experiences, and respond quickly to emerging trends, such as the rise of blended apprenticeships. Additionally, internal teams often foster closer collaboration across departments, breaking down silos and enabling more cohesive strategies. 

Crucially, internal teams also enable greater agility, allowing universities to respond to new opportunities more quickly than if they were reliant on a sole external provider. However, building and maintaining internal expertise can be resource-intensive, requiring significant investment in recruitment, training, and infrastructure. OPMs have the resources to loss-lead and to invest heavily in marketing activity, student recruitment and student support services; institutions have to consider carefully whether they can scale these quickly or take a more tentative approach to joining the online programme market and build their teams more gradually.   

The Rise of Hybrid Teams 

To balance these challenges, many universities are adopting a hybrid approach, combining in-house expertise with support from external partners. Hybrid teams provide the flexibility to scale resources and access specialised skills when needed, without committing to the full operational scope of an OPM partnership. 

This model allows universities to retain control over key elements of their digital strategy, such as pedagogy and student engagement, while outsourcing areas like marketing, technology, or learner support to external providers. Hybrid teams also enable institutions to adapt quickly to changing demands, leveraging external expertise to complement and enhance internal capabilities. 

A critical consideration when implementing a hybrid model is deciding which workstreams should remain in-house and which can be effectively outsourced.  This takes reflection on existing internal resource and planning for the effective size of new teams. Another consideration is what impact does outsourcing have on the institutional identity. For instance, will retaining control over areas such as curriculum development, learning design, and student engagement ensures that the university’s digital offerings remain aligned with institutional values? 

Navigating the Skills Mix 

Building internal or hybrid teams to support digital education requires universities to carefully consider the blend of expertise needed to achieve their strategic goals.

Key areas of expertise include: 

• Digital Education Development: Specialists with in-depth knowledge of online education platforms, pedagogical approaches, and the ability to design high-quality, scalable programmes. Universities need to ensure that internal learning design teams have the capacity to support multiple programme launches simultaneously.
• Technology and Innovation Management: Professionals adept at leveraging EdTech solutions to enhance learning experiences and operational efficiency. They also need a deep understanding of the university’s existing systems and process capabilities—and crucially, their limitations—to ensure that new technologies integrate effectively and add genuine value.
• Student Experience and Support: Individuals with a strong focus on creating seamless and engaging online learning journeys that prioritise student satisfaction and success. Institutions should consider whether they can put together a big enough team to maintain high touch support with increasing student numbers.
• Marketing and Commercial Strategy: Experts who can drive student recruitment, build brand recognition, and identify growth opportunities in competitive digital markets. It is important to recognise that online programmes will need a separate and different effort to recruitment for on-ground courses. 
• Leadership and Project Management: Leaders with the ability to manage complex projects, foster collaboration across departments, and ensure the alignment of goals and processes.
• Partnership and Stakeholder Management: Professionals skilled in managing relationships both internally—working across faculties, professional services, and senior leadership—and externally, engaging with partner organisations, industry bodies, and technology providers to drive collaboration and innovation.

Fostering a collaborative culture is essential, ensuring that internal teams and external partners work cohesively to deliver innovative and impactful digital education initiatives.

By assembling a team with the right mix of skills, universities can position themselves to meet the evolving needs of learners and achieve long-term success. 

Overcoming Challenges 

A real challenge for universities is getting sufficient staff with the right skills to build an effective student recruitment pipeline. 

A further risk to consider is student retention. While attracting students to online programmes is critical, ensuring they remain engaged and persist through to graduation is just as important. Traditionally, distance learning has faced higher attrition rates than in-person programmes. Universities must be proactive in designing support structures that help students stay motivated and successfully complete their studies, and this, along with other key roles, means that the university must compete to recruit experienced and talented staff. 

This suggests a further challenge universities must face, attracting and retaining talent in a competitive market. Digital education roles often require a unique blend of skills that can be difficult to source through traditional recruitment methods. Additionally, balancing internal and external contributions in hybrid teams can create complexities in communication, accountability, and decision-making. 

Strategic Support for Team Building 

At GatenbySanderson, we work with universities to navigate these challenges by helping them recruit the right talent to build effective internal or hybrid teams. From identifying strategic leaders to finding specialists with niche expertise, we ensure institutions have the resources and skills needed to thrive in a digital-first future. 

A Collaborative Future 

As universities develop their digital strategies, the decision to build internal, external, or hybrid teams is a critical one. By investing in the right structures and talent, institutions can create flexible, scalable models that support innovation and growth. 

How is your institution approaching team development for digital education?

What challenges have you encountered in building or managing internal and hybrid teams?

contact:

Alison Elton,
Principal Consultant, Education practice
GatenbySanderson

Authors:

• Alison Elton, Principal Consultant at GatenbySanderson, the search firm that combines the expertise of their Higher Education Practice and Digital, Data and Technology Practice to bring cross-sector expertise in senior digital and transformation appointments.  
• Andrew Doig, Education Consultant at Learning Design Solutions, which provides strategy, learning design, content production, and training to help institutions deliver world-class online learning.