Strategies for Building and Managing a Remote Team

Establishing processes and expectations with remote team members is crucial, yet you should remember that each person is unique in terms of how they work best.

Employees may prefer one-on-one meetings through video conference over written channels for discussing smaller, non-urgent matters and being heard.

1. Create a Culture of Collaboration

Fostering a culture of collaboration requires companywide dedication. Leaders should establish their desired collaborative culture through clear communication and ongoing reinforcement.

Maintain regular check-ins, including one-on-one meetings with each team member. Remote employees tend to feel more at ease discussing sensitive matters in one-on-one meetings than group video conferences, which can often prove more productive than lengthy dialogue.

Additionally, it’s crucial to find replacements for casual hallway conversations and lunch meetings that typically occur in an office setting, such as online gatherings or even creating a dedicated Slack channel for small talk. This will help employees feel included and part of the company culture–especially if they work remotely – and may encourage more activity in these channels outside of scheduled meetings.

2. Establish a Culture of Accountability

Remote employees face unique obstacles when working remotely. One such barrier is maintaining a culture of accountability – when employees feel responsible for their own work and take ownership over performance – this can be challenging without adequate tools and communication strategies in place.

To ensure remote employees remain accountable, it’s essential that clear standards and expectations be established from the outset. A project management software enables team members to easily track their tasks and responsibilities.

Finally, providing regular feedback and acknowledging remote employees’ achievements is vital in order to boost morale and motivate teams. Doing this will encourage hard work while improving morale overall.

3. Create a Culture of Trust

One of the primary challenges of remote work is creating a sense of community among its teams. Without regularly meeting in person, teams must rely on tools like Slack or Zoom for communication between members.

Managers must take great care not to make employees feel guilty when asking for assistance or needing additional instructions. Employees might perceive asking for guidance as bothering their managers, especially in virtual settings.

Managers should also make sure employees feel valued and respected. One way managers can do this is by encouraging a culture of recognition within team meetings or one-to-ones and giving high performers recognition awards. Furthermore, managers can encourage employees to discuss freely how they experience working remotely as well as any improvements that need to be made in this regard.

4. Create a Culture of Recognition

Culture within a remote team is not solely determined by language, communication, and company values; managers also play a pivotal role in supporting employees through recognition programs when employees perform above and beyond expectations. A key to creating an ideal work culture among remote team employees lies in rewarding those who go the extra mile with praise when their efforts pay off.

Communication may come in the form of informal dialogue, an email blast or online shout-outs from colleagues and managers. It’s essential to recognize that remote employees have unique lives and challenges of their own – some may work from home while others juggle childcare duties or come back after illness or injury; thus regular dialogue should not become micromanaged by overchecking remote employees too frequently.

5. Create a Culture of Accountability

Effective managers incorporate accountability into their management styles. Clarity in goals, tasks and expectations are paramount in creating accountability; so is making sure individual goals align with team and company objectives.

Supporting staff who are experiencing difficulty is equally essential. Instead of resorting to criticism and reprimands, focus on providing emotional support and helping them find ways to enhance their performance. Regular one-on-one meetings may also help remote employees who may prefer communicating their emotions directly as opposed to doing it via email.

Last but not least, it is crucial that employees receive proper recognition and appreciation of their accomplishments – both big and small. This can be accomplished via individual emails, Slack notifications or larger meetings; just remember that remote workers are people first; they need to know you respect and value their contributions.