Top 5 Tips for Remote Teams

​This is our HIHR LLC Team!  We genuinely enjoy one another and have fun together!  Though we do have in-person components of our roles, in general our team is remote.  Keeping up connection and engagement with remote teams is a top priority.  We love when we can be together as a team and always make the most out of it!  When that is not the case, we aim to find other creative ways to stay connected and keep working relationships strong.

Here are 5 ways your team can stay engaged and effectively execute in the world of remote work: 

1. Team Gatherings – It’s absolutely possible to build great relationships virtually, but meeting in person at least once can really take relationships to another level.  Plan to pull the team together in person at least once a year or preferably more, if possible, for a retreat, celebration, training and development, etc. 
   
   
2. Regular two-way communication – Ensuring there are solid communication routines in place from always communicating on video, regular team meetings, team surveys or focus groups, leadership weekly office hours and leading with approachability
   
   
3. Encourage Health & Wellness – Remote workers can miss out on the coffee chats and natural healthy personal interaction.  Encourage team members to find outlets for this in other ways whether it’s supporting some team personal catch-up within work time, community involvement and/or support in-person meetings/events whenever possible for those living in a commutable distance.  In addition, allowing schedule flexibility to promote getting outside/walking/exercise/etc. will benefit the individual and the organization. 
   
   
4. Foster culture of recognition and celebration – Starting meetings out with team recognition is one great way to do this.  There are lots of wins to regularly celebrate progress and this also provides personal connection and relationship building – key to any remote team! 
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5. High Trust & Accountability – Ensure there are core values and behaviors in place that support integrity and trust across the organization.  This is of course important whether remote or not, however, in a remote setting can be even more damaging and more difficult to catch and address if this piece is lacking.  It can be disengaging to strong performers if a team member is taking advantage of the remote arrangement and not adding the same value to the team.  As leaders, it is important that we address these cases head-on through strong policies, goals, communication, performance feedback, ensuring everyone is doing their jobs effectively and adding value to win as a team.  

Working remote has many advantages and putting these practices into place can make it an even more enjoyable and successful team experience. 

Author:
Erika Butler, CEO

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