Just because teams aren’t in the same location, that doesn’t mean they can’t work effectively together.
Let’s take a look at how to improve teamwork among employees that are working remotely:
Establish set times for meetings
Depending on the scope of your remote team, there’s a chance you’ll have to manage different time zones. With this in mind, set aside core hours where people need to be available for team meetings.
Establish clear team goals—and reward success
Remote teams need to have clear goals, linked to the overall business objectives, and rewarded based on results. How you reward and recognize success for remote teams won’t be exactly the same as for office-based teams. While local employees can enjoy team nights out or on-site team building activities, Alternatively, you could hold remote team building activities, such as online quizzes or games. These can be used for recognition, but it’s also important that you don’t neglect regular team building—it’s even more important for remote workers.
Prioritize face-to-face interactions
One of the best ways in which managers can encourage teamwork is to prioritize face-to-face interactions over emails or instant messages. Around 20% of employees struggle with loneliness when working from home, so it’s important that managers try to make sure this irreplaceable element of company culture isn’t neglected. Make sure team meetings are conducted as video calls as often as possible, and check-in with employees every day if feasible.
What tools can businesses use to ensure remote and hybrid teams work together?
There are a number of tools that are designed to support teamwork remotely. These include:
Trello
Gone are the days when projects come to a grinding halt over a missed email. Inspired by the Kanban approach, Trello helps businesses manage their remote collaboration through handy customizable boards. Employees can use Trello’s templates to outline a project's tasks, assign responsibilities to other colleagues, and keep fellow teammates updated on their progress through one streamlined interface. Staff can combine Trello with other common office tools like Slack, Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive to supercharge their department's collaborative efforts.
Microsoft Teams
Is a group communication software to help improve team collaboration across an organization. You can use it to chat, video call, or share files. It can also help you explain your ideas with its screen sharing feature and virtual whiteboard. Moreover, Teams integrates well with the Microsoft Office suite. So, your team can collaborate easily, and you'll be able to check the progress anytime.
Google Drive
In a hybrid working world, organizations need to be able to store even more documents digitally. With colleagues spread out across countries and continents, it's crucial that teams can share key assets with coworkers quickly. Finding a secure solution that is easy for employees to use is essential. Google Drive offers business-friendly cloud storage with a straightforward dashboard and various features to simplify administration.
Calendly
If you don’t already have your own Calendly account, you’ve likely received a Calendly link before. And you know the relief that comes with not having to go back and forth trying to find availabilities. When your distributed team works in different time zones, finding a time that works for everyone can be a hassle. Calendly makes scheduling more efficient. Employees can simply add their availability preferences in the app and share their calendly links with teammates.
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