Four Simple Ideas on How to Build a Remote Team That Thrives
Building a remote team can be challenging. But if you do it right, the benefits are well worth the effort.
Small differences in the way you manage your team can make huge impacts in the long run. So, here are a few ideas you can use for crafting a team that will make the most of your distributed workforce.
Define the culture
A well-defined culture is one of the most valuable tools in your workplace, even if it’s virtual. It helps team members feel like they are part of a collective goal.
Keep in mind that culture is always in a state of progress. It can and will change, so make culture as important as your business strategy. It’s too significant to ignore, and shaping it is one of your most important responsibilities as leaders.
Go the extra mile on communication
In a remote team, we can lose a ton of the interaction we usually get from a physical environment. That’s why we need to put extra focus on the way we communicate with the team.
This is crucial. We need to be mindful of the quality of the interaction we’re giving and receiving. We may get a lot of misinterpretations for stuff we said but did not get a confirmation from the other person.
Luckily, there are many collaboration tools to help you with this. From Slack to Kanban boards such as the ones offered by GitHub, Jira, or Trello — to name a few.
But of course, writing and managing tasks is only a part of the process. Video calls are also key to communicate and have a feel for what a real in-person meeting could be like.
Tighten social connections
We are all humans, after all. And we need to feel the connection with other people.
To do that and to help your team feel connected, it is useful to be curious about each other beyond the day-to-day tasks related to the project.
Some ideas could be just asking about random stuff before the actual meetings start – tell stories about the place you live. You know, casual talk.
Outsource when appropriate
In many projects, there’s a time when there are tasks to be done that are not part of the field of expertise of the team. And solving them would need someone from the team to take some time away to learn how to do it and do the tasks.
Still, since these could be tasks that may not be required on an ongoing basis, it is usually much better to outsource them for once. This would leave the team able to focus on their main tasks to not lose momentum at any point.
Conclusion
Culture and communication are key areas to focus on in a remote team. Keep in mind that people need to be treated as humans and not only as mechanical task performers. Thus, as remote leaders, it’s important to consider all these factors.
Finally, we need to know when to ask for help with tasks that can be better done elsewhere. This would help avoid taking our team out of their main focus.
As the next steps, think about how you are currently working with your remote teams. Analyze everything and check whether there's any room for improvement. There always is.
