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Working from home can present challenges for both employees and employers. The good news is evidence suggests that teams can be managed just as efficiently from home if they are setup for success.
Below we’ve listed some of the top, research-based tips to help your newly remote team stay productive and engaged:
1. Use a variety of collaboration tools
Communication barriers are one of the biggest challenges for remote workers, and some staff may not feel as comfortable to communicate using technology, which can result in disengagement. Providing a variety of different collaboration tools (just having email is not enough) such as Zoom for conference calls, Jira for project collaboration, and Slack for informal, day-to-day chatting, is imperative to keep communication lines open. What’s important is that leaders regularly demonstrate communication across all of the selected platforms to make it the norm for the rest of the team.
2. Check-in regularly
Regular, structured check-ins, especially done via conference call, are a great way to keep your team connected. At Card Works, we do these check-ins in the morning and afternoon as this adds some structure to our day, helps us stay on task and makes collaboration easier. Depending on the company, some leaders may need to structure these check-ins with individual team members, or group calls might work better for highly collaborative teams. Most importantly, check-ins need to be regular and predictable to maintain a level of normalcy.
3. Reinforce company values
A lot can be said for teams who keep their values alive, and it’s often the commitment to our shared values that gets us through the tough times. Reinforcing your team’s values is a great way to make remote workers feel connected, adding purpose to your team and reminding them why their role is important. You could even take this a step further by resetting or making new values as a team (remotely). Getting everyone’s contribution and ‘buy in’ on values will naturally make them more invested in and connected to the team and company.
4. Ask them what they need
When it comes to working remotely, some team members will hit the ground running, while others may struggle to adjust. By nature, working from home can feel isolating, and some team members may feel afraid to speak up about their difficulty adjusting to the change – another reason why regular check-ins are so important. It’s also important to pay attention to how team members communicate – if an individual is not contributing much in conference calls or group chats, they may be struggling to adjust. One way to show compassion is to simply ask the team member what kind of support they need to set them up for success.
5. Keep team culture alive
It’s important to keep team culture alive, even when working remotely. There are a number of small ways to make working from home more fun, and to give your team something to look forward to. Feeling connected to a group is important for team culture, and even more so in the uncertain times we are facing. Some ways to keep culture alive is to do team gatherings virtually, for example, having Friday drinks via Zoom. Or you might make it a rule that everyone comes to the Monday morning conference call in their pajamas. These are some fun ways to keep your team engaged.
