diff --git a/novajoin_tempest_plugin/tests/scenario/novajoin_manager.py b/novajoin_tempest_plugin/tests/scenario/novajoin_manager.py
index 020a5e2..191a8d0 100644
--- a/novajoin_tempest_plugin/tests/scenario/novajoin_manager.py
+++ b/novajoin_tempest_plugin/tests/scenario/novajoin_manager.py
@@ -337,4 +337,5 @@ class NovajoinScenarioTest(manager.ScenarioTest):
         cmd = ['ssh', '-i', keypair,
                '{user}@{hostip}'.format(user=user, hostip=hostip),
                '-C', target_cmd]
-        return subprocess.check_output(cmd)
+        stdout = subprocess.check_output(cmd)
+        return stdout.decode('UTF-8')