4 simple steps to create the feeling of a real team in a remote workplace

In a remote team, the soft skills are hard work.

Remote work provides flexibility and freedom, but also comes at a cost.

According to Linkedin the biggest challenge remote workers face is team bonding. There’s a whole host of fantastic tools and processes for meetings and communications, but how do you foster the deeper connections that would traditionally form between colleagues who catch up in the office on a day to day basis?

With remote working becoming commonplace in more and more businesses, remote teamwork is likely to be on the minds of most managers. Here’s our 4 tips to boost teamwork in remote teams.

1. Get to know your team

Employees value managers and colleagues who care about what happens in their lives outside of work. So, instead of jumping straight into an agenda, allow time at the beginning of a meeting for personal conversations — just like you would if you were face to face

2. Work around your team’s preferences

Ask your team when they prefer to have meetings and try to work around their preferences. In the office you can see when your team member has their head down and is really focused on a task, but this is much harder in remote teams, so get to know when they prefer to chat and when they prefer to get on with the job. If you use a messaging platform like Slack, try to get your team into the habit of setting their status — 🤔 🍽️ 🏃🚆

3. Say thanks for the little extras

Occasionally your team might need to put in extra hours to join a meeting or travel to a customer. Remember to acknowledge their flexibility and let them know that their effort is appreciated. A little thanks goes a long way.

4. More time upfront can save time later

How CoachBot can help remote teams

Traditional team building is difficult for remote teams, often the choice is between everyone travelling to be in the same room or not working on teamwork at all. We all know how much easier work life is when a team works well together and this is why we created CoachBot — so all teams have an equal chance to succeed.

CoachBot enables remote teams to access team development and coaching from any location at any time. As a web app it can be used to help managers facilitate 1:1s and team meetings or the whole team can work through a coaching exercise remotely. Learn more.

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