8 Tips To Make Your Remote Team Happier

BOSTON - June 1, 2016 - PRLog -- Today, the term has progressed beyond buzzword and is something for which teams strive to optimize as they get more and more dispersed.

WHAT IS VIRTUAL COLLABORATION?
On its most basic level, virtual collaboration is the act of working together with someone in another location.  However, this definition does a disservice to one of the most important aspects of collaboration - personal interaction.

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR VIRTUAL COLLABORATION?
Use Surveys to Identify Pain Points

"We send out staff surveys periodically to understand pain points for people inside and outside the office. It's a work in progress and there's always room for improvement, but structural support is one of the most important factors in pulling off reliable virtual collaboration." TED Talk

Emphasize the Remote Office
Even if your team only works remotely part time, it's important for them to have a dedicated work space at home.  While emphasizing this during onboarding the reinforcing it through company culture are good practices.

In the words of founder Matt Mullenweg, this is just one of things that helps them "attract and retain the best talent without them having to be in New York or San Francisco or one of the traditional tech centers."

Another option is to offer employees a coworking stipend to help them offset the costs of renting a desk wherever they are located.

Get Rid of the Traditional Schedule
Unless there are some really good reasons to maintain a consistent schedule, employees will almost certainly be happier and more productive if they can work when it's best for them.

Zapier asked various remote workers how they prevent burnout.  Many of them said that making their own schedule helped them better manage their time and accomplish more:

"...schedule some time for relaxing/socializing and/or close, supportive relationships. Remote work offers flexibility, and I appreciate the work-life balance that comes with that."

Hire the Right People
While remote work can bring out the best in some, there will inevitably be people that take advantage of it or fail to adapt.  This can result in poor work, missed deadlines, or frustration among a team or coworkers.

It's impossible for companies to prevent this entirely, but putting more effort into hiring the right people is an easy way to mitigate the risk.

Visiple CEO Evan J. Andriopoulos looks for the following characteristics when hiring remote workers:

"...those that have worked remotely or at the least traveled a lot e.g. Road-warriors. They understand the value of working remotely. Those that have vision and can work independently."

Hubstaff co-founder David Nevogt breaks it down even further in this blog post (http://blog.hubstaff.com/characteristics-great-remote-emp...), stating that he looks to hire people that are accountable, technical, proactive, and communicate well.

Have Regular Meetings
Even if everyone is working on their own schedule, it's important to have at least semi-regular meetings.

The Trello blog (http://blog.trello.com/tips-for-managing-a-remote-team/) does a great job of explaining why and how often their marketing team meets:

"Meetings can be a timesuck, but they are critical for maintaining a team that feels connected. Meetings serve dual purposes on remote teams: talking about work, and also reminding everyone that they are on a team. Think of it as making sure we're on the same ship, rather than stranded on our own desert isles, trying to yell to each other for help."

Don't Forget to Meet in Person!
Though it will likely happen far less frequently, it's important to try and make sure your entire team (and preferably your company) meets in person once or twice a year.  This can be in the form of a work retreat or just a weekend getaway, but bringing remote workers together is incredibly beneficial for chemistry and long term virtual collaboration.

Limit Emails
Similar to meetings, excessive emails can waste a lot of your time.  If you find yourself sending repeated messages back and forth to a teammate, try picking up the phone or having a remote meeting (http://visiplevc.com/pricing/).

Liquid Planner (https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/5-rules-for-virtual-collaboration-among-project-teams/) tries to limit their employees to 3 emails per subject, otherwise they prefer they pick up the phone:

"Email is not meant to be a discussion board. If a team member exchanges email more than three times on a specific subject, pick up the phone and have a discussion. The same rule applies to instant messaging. If there is any misunderstanding, pick up the phone and have a discussion."

Use Tools that Meet Your Needs
It's an amazing time to work remotely - there is a constant stream of new tools designed to help you be more productive and to make it easier to stay in contact with your team.   HipChat and Slack are great tools while looking for documents in Drive and Dropbox.

Save yourself the headache and establish the tools you'll use early.  Find a set of tools that meets your immediate needs, document them in the company wiki, and stick to them no matter what (making an exception establishes a bad precedent).

"There are dozens of great [tools] out there, the most important thing is picking one that works for you and sticking with it." - Len Markidan @ Groove

Wrapping Up
Having the ability to work remote is amazing and I know I'm not alone when I say I have a hard time picturing myself going back to an office environment full time.  With that being said, it is not without it's challenges and mastering virtual collaboration.  Teams operate differently, use different tools, and have different expectations of their members.

As long as you keep in mind that the goal is productivity mixed with improved team chemistry, you're on the right track.

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