ASUS Business Hub

Having your entire team in one location is an optimal way to coordinate team members, and have oversight over who is working on what. Working remotely, that kind of in-person regular interaction is simply not something you can do, particularly if your team reaches beyond country borders.

In order to operate as cohesively and efficiently as an in-office team, you need to manage your staff effectively and implement some routines that keep everyone on the same page and working well.

Maintain Regular Contact: Not Just 1:1, But as A Whole Team

Firstly, it’s important to communicate. You can’t walk out of your office and down the hall to speak to your team members, so you have to keep in touch with each team member regularly. Set up 1-to-1 calls with your team if time permits every week to see how they’re progressing with work and identify any challenges they might be facing. For larger teams, weekly meetings might not be possible, so aim to get some 1-on-1 time with each of your employees at least once a month. Beyond speaking to individuals, it’s important to speak as a team. Set up weekly or monthly team check-ins where people can provide updates on what they’re working on, what’s coming down the pipeline soon, and so on. This form of communication might not provide any tangible visible benefits, but it’s vital in instilling a sense of belonging in each team member. When everyone knows what everyone else is working on, and how that work is supporting and aiding what they do, they feel like they’re a part of something bigger; a real team, and that’s a feeling you’ll want to nurture regularly. Consider providing webcam kits to each member of your team; it’s not exactly personable to stare at a blank computer screen or static profile picture. Have the team dial into team calls via video, giving weekly meetings and even your 1-to-1’s a more personal and social touch.

Trust Your Team

Trust is paramount in remote teams. There’s no chance to peek over people’s shoulders, and see if they’re scrolling Facebook, or playing games. You need to trust that your team members are getting their work done, and not slacking off. A way to reach this level of trust quickly with your team is not to focus on the hours they’re working, but what they’re producing and when. Have a deadline due at the end of this week? See who’s hitting deadlines regularly and who is struggling to meet expectations. For those team members struggling to keep up, it might be that they’re struggling to understand the project they’re working on or facing a particularly tough challenge. Set up a call, and see if there’s anything you can do to help them pick up the pace. Trust is a two-way street, and make sure your team feels that way; if you’re too keen to keep an eye on them, they may feel that you don’t trust them and have low expectations of their performance. Use an app such as People or task management software, so employees have ownership over their own schedules. Giving your team the freedom to set their own day out and work to their own deadlines on projects gives them the motivation and freedom to show you just how well they can perform.

The Right Tool for the Job

We live in a digital age where communicating with someone across the globe is as easy as pressing the Enter key. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams and more exist to help us communicate via audio, video, and text quickly, easily, and more efficiently than ever before. Give your team members access to tools that align with the way that you work. File storage systems, communication tools, task and staff management software. There are countless tools to keep a remote team on-track and working at peak performance, giving team leaders oversight and able to understand project progress at-a-glance.  

Check out our list of remote work tools and applications here for some great suggestions: The Remote Team Toolbox Part 1: The Tools and Apps That Keep a Remote Team Working Well

After-Hours Entertainment

All work and no play makes for a team that only ever sees each member as a colleague, and not a friend. While making friends at work isn’t a necessity, it’s a great way for teams to bond and generate a sense of comradery during work hours. People tend to get a lot of their social interaction from being in an office – a feeling your team might be missing. If your employees are interested, set up ways for them to bond outside of work:

• Video game nights, with co-op and team competitive games that build teamwork and inter-personal bonds.
• Intermittent local meet-ups can include company dinners, social drinks, or similar events
• Online drinks and hangouts. Set up those webcams, and hang out just like you would after a day in the office.
• Monthly team-building activities; escape rooms and other activities are great ways to bond and develop that team feeling while getting some real face-time.

There are plenty of choices when it comes to growing closer as a team, ranging from regular connections, to those more intermittent meet-ups and socials.

Develop a Strong Company Culture

What is it all for? For many, a job is just a way to make money and provide a comfortable life for their family. For others, a job is who they are. Employees can often wonder what it is they’re working for, why they put in hours at work on projects that will leave their desk and be replaced quickly by something else. As their manager, it’s your job to develop an ethos, a reason for being. What makes the work important that your team does? What are you helping the team to achieve? Why does their work matter? Your work may not change lives, but there are many reasons a business is vital, and it’s your responsibility to ensure the team knows that what they do matters, not just to their income level, but on a grander scale. Set up a company mission statement or vision to give your team something to rally behind a work towards. Another idea is helping your team feel like just that – a team. Why not have company t-shirts created and send them out to the team? Additionally, depending on what service or product your company provides, you could make each team member feel more involved in that business culture; products, event invitations, share related news, and so on. Making each team member feel like they belong takes some work, but setting up a supporting company culture goes a long way to building team bonds, both as a group and individual members of that team.