As the modern job market gets ever-more dynamic and as Internet usages goes on rising, teamwork in a remote environment is getting more and more popular. It oftens turns out to be really hard to form a remote team that is efficient and solid, but every cloud has a silver lining – you can do it if you apply the right procedures and resources. In the present article we’ll discuss the key elements of the remote team making and success you need.
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Establish Clear Communication Channels
Establishing an appropriate manner of communication within distributed teams is looked upon as the most crucial management problem, the reason being the strong communication layer makes entire team a success. If the people are not at the same (real) place, it is crucial that the corporation has developed working systems or platforms for the team to communicate between each other.
Consider using a combination of communication tools, such as:
- Video conferencing platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams)
- Instant messaging apps (e.g., Slack or Microsoft Teams)
- Project management software (e.g., Asana, Trello, or Monday.com)
- Email for more formal communications
Improve your team to be more efficient and interactive through those channels. Establish responsive times and communicative etiquette rules among the group members to avoid misunderstanding.
Foster a Sense of Community
A good remote team means more than the telecommuting cooperations. Creating an atmosphere of community and active collaboration among team members, even when they cannot be physically in the same space, is vital.
Some ways to promote a sense of community include:
- Virtual team-building activities can be done through the creation of online games, happy hours and others.
- Suggesting a “water cooler” channel where employees can share their ideas from non-work related subjects (Slack) through conversations.
- Celebrating, say, birthdays, work anniversaries, and other milestone occasions.
- A positive environment where members can update through personal development and progress also by sharing it during team meetings.
Through providing the chance for the remote team members to be in touch on an individual basis, you’ll increase the level of trust, empathy, and the affiliation of your team.
Set Clear Expectations and Goals
The efficient and effective performance of your remote team requires you to establish clear expectations and goals for them. Each team member can be aware of his particular role, duty, and deadline.
Consider implementing the following practices:
- Design the job descriptions clearly and put together the onboarding process.
- To build well-structured objectives, set SMART goals: each member of the team and the team as a whole – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
- Set a pre-determined check-in schedule to determine if there are any advancements, setbacks or adjustments required.
- Give regular information and appraisal to staff members.
Through establishing clear objectives and goals for your remote team they will have a focus, drama and accountability.
Embrace Flexibility and Trust
One of the advantages of telecommuting is that it is characterised by flexibility. Be comfortable using this flexibility and have faith that your team members will do their work with the time they need.
Some ways to promote flexibility and trust include:
- Finding out if it is possible to set their own work schedule as long as they come to the required meetings and are done on time with their tasks.
- Time tracking has become a thing of the past while the concentration has moved to results.
- Equipping team members to work semi-autonomously by making available the appropriate tools and resources.
- Facilitating the exchange of free expression regarding any difficulties or cons will aid a lot in the team.
When you build trust in your team and, instead, let them work on their own terms, the environment will be more comfortable, and employee productivity will be much higher.
Invest in the Right Tools and Technology
To achieve that the team can work at their highest potential and collaborate perfectly, you should invest in proper tools and technology. Some key tools to consider include:
- Video conferencing platforms
- Instant messaging apps
- Project management software
- Cloud storage and file-sharing solutions (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive)
- Time-tracking and productivity tools (e.g., Toggl or RescueTime)
When choosing tools, always remember the factors such as simple to use, scalable, secure and consistent with your team’s workflow. Training and support should be given to members of the team to make them builds their confidence with selected tools.
Prioritise Mental Health and Well-being
Isolation can be the implication of remote working, along with the other factors of burnout or stress. Being a leader, it is critical that you put the mental health and well-being of your team, who are working from home, on top of your priorities.
Some ways to support your team’s mental health include:
- Encouraging frequent machine downtime and shift rotations.
- Encouraging healthy work-life demarcation.
- Providing the possibility of the usage of mental health resources like employee assistance programs or web counselling services.
- Regularly interacting with the team where they pour out their heart and explain their emotional turmoil and any other difficulties they are experiencing.
- Serving as an example and necessarily practising self-care is utterly crucial.
The main way to graduate a team that is not only supportive but also resilient is to appraise your team’s mental health and psychological well-being first.
Celebrate Successes and Learn from Failures
Ultimately, the most effective remote teams are the ones that stress the importance of acknowledgement for accomplishments as well as making sure everyone owns their mistakes. Recognise and acknowledge team achievements, even if they are so tiny. Every time you are confronted with something hard or you find yourself at a crossroads, please do not give up and try to use them as the reason behind your self-improvement.
Some ways to celebrate successes and learn from failures include:
- It is always necessary to appreciate and recognise the contributions of both the individuals and the team.
- We will be able to regularly visit the community and also roll out the success stories and the best practices.
- Making pre-project reviews to define performance improvement areas.
- The interactional form that could be found between team members will be positive and two-way.
- And though the other part of the discussion is regarding those mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve the process.
Crew members will be motivated through receiving varying amounts of rewards for the goals achieved, and the knowledge of how they accomplish a task, thus their ability of working together will strengthen and grow with time.
Developing a successful remote team cannot be ad-hoc and needs active engagement, clear interactions, and dedication to generating a sense of togetherness and trust. With the strategic functions mentioned in this blog, you will get to run a cohesive, effective, and successful remote team.
How to Build a Strong Remote Team: FAQs
1. How can I improve communication in a remote team?
It starts with applying the right tools towards communication development. The next thing to do is to find some software such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, through which members of the team can chat and share documents. Once chat every day help in being connected and build relationships. And yet, don’t skip on entertaining virtual coffee breaks or workmates’ game sessions for these help you to interact in a more natural way.
2. How can I ensure everyone is productive?
Establish specific goals and objectives for the successful attainment of the set targets of each team member. Continuously ask if they’re doing well and supply them with aid. Advise them on the creation of to-do lists and monitoring their activities. A mutual calendar, in addition, is meant to ensure that all the members are on schedule and have the relevant information concerning the duties of their colleagues.
3. What’s the best way to maintain a good team culture?
Maintaining a team culture is an effort even though work is done remotely. Encourage people to talk freely, frankly and to the point. Encourage members of the team with hard work and accomplishments. Organise virtual team-building sessions and gather people to slide in their interests and hobbies through group chats. A successful team should be characterised by a supportive culture that develops trust and teamwork.