Strategies for Building a Remote Work Revolution

Future work environments will increasingly involve remote working arrangements. Employees who embrace flexibility and adopt best practices for facilitating collaboration, productivity and culture will prosper in such environments.

Supporting a remote workforce requires companies to invest in reliable technology and establish an organized daily schedule that replicates traditional working hours – this ensures consistent productivity while still offering healthy work-life balance.

1. Build a digital water cooler

Virtual teams–those that work across multiple locations or time zones–are becoming more popular as they outshone teams with a shared office space. Not only are virtual teams flexible and cost-effective, they also help expand a company’s talent pool by giving its team members access to candidates from all around the globe.

For smooth collaboration across remote teams, it is essential that every remote team member possesses various tools that enable effective communication among themselves. These may include video conferencing tools, instant messaging software (such as Slack), project management and collaboration tools such as Trello or Asana as well as cloud storage solutions so team members can easily access, share, and collaborate on company files from anywhere quickly.

As well as using communication tools, virtual team members require clear guidelines for communicating with one another. This may involve specifying primary means of contact and availability when out of office or meetings; responding within 24 hours; using tags/cc’s in messages so team members receive appropriate responses; etc.

2. Encourage face-to-face interactions

Remote teams working in teams often face more frequent distractions. From deliveries coming to their door to sudden desires to work on non-work related projects, small disruptions like these can have a large impact – typically taking 23 minutes on average to return back onto track after any interruptions occur.

Communication can be the single greatest obstacle for remote teams, and leaders must ensure all parties involved understand expectations clearly while using collaboration tools to foster engagement and accountability in the team.

Enhancing face-to-face interactions among team members is vital in order to promote integration and help team members feel valued, which can be accomplished via virtual coffee breaks, team-building activities or social chats arranged virtually – this way you can foster morale while building trust as well as recognize achievements and celebrate successes – especially crucial when working across time zones and locations.

3. Embrace flexibility

During the pandemic, companies that were proactive and sought ways to keep employees engaged were quick to implement flexible work arrangements such as flexible schedules, telework and coworking that can lead to improved work-life balance and greater productivity.

Virtual team members need clear guidelines and expectations in order to thrive, which is why team leaders should create open channels of communication via video conferences and cloud-based platforms, while setting clear accountability structures such as meetings with one-on-one representatives or group discussions as well as daily or weekly check-ins.

Effective remote managers recognize the impact that lack of trust has on team performance and engagement, so they work to cultivate it by equipping everyone with tools such as project management software and video conference applications that foster it. Furthermore, they foster community through online spaces, social events, informal get-togethers or even just everyday chatter in Slack or other forums.

4. Make it fun

At a time of constant digital communication, creating an effective remote work environment can have profound effects on employee morale and productivity – not to mention competitive advantage for businesses. But creating a healthy remote work culture requires specific strategies designed to promote flexibility, foster teamwork and ensure employee well-being.

Remote employees need a sense that their coworkers care about them and want them to thrive; this can be accomplished via virtual icebreakers, one-on-one meetings and team building activities.

Virtual managers must also give regular feedback. Without criticism and praise for positive contributions, doubt can begin to set in and self-confidence can start waning for even self-sufficient team members. Managers could host celebratory Slack channels or “employee of the week” sections in email newsletters to increase motivation among remote teams and schedule regular meeting times so all team members know when they will be available for synchronous collaboration.

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Kenny Dickinson

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