Introducing Your Team to Remote Work

Establishing trust with your team

The most important piece of working remotely is establishing a sense of trust with your team. Without trust, remote work is impossible. Constant communication is a requirement for any operating business, and it takes on an even more important role in remote work. Set up a strong communication system from the beginning to emphasize the importance of your employees staying in contact with each other. Schedule meetings for the beginning of the day and early afternoon to check up on the progress of the projects each team member is responsible for. These meetings should be mandatory, just like any other meeting in an office space.

In addition to communication, it’s important for business leaders and managers to set clear parameters for your team while they work from home. Set boundaries for your team so that they can understand what is expected of them. There’s a fine line between setting the standard for remote work and acting like an overbearing manager that doesn’t trust their workforce. With the right boundaries and communication processes in place, any employee can excel in a remote work environment. 

Strengthening your team culture

Maintaining a sense of team culture amongst your employees can be very difficult for remote workers. There are ways to ensure that your remote employees still feel like a part of the team, but it’s going to take effort and time to put these practices into place. Here are some tactics:

• Employee social media culture – While your team is working remotely, give them a chance to engage through social media. Use them as brand ambassadors to create a unique social media experience for your customers.
• Group video calls – Group video calls are incredibly vital to the success of your remote team. Not only does it allow for your team to collaborate on the projects your company is working on, but it also gives your employees to catch up with each other face-to-face.
• Celebrate successes – Celebrate the success of your team members! Give them a shout out on your social media channels, gift them with a Starbucks gift card, or even an extended lunch break to celebrate the quality of your team’s work. 

Implementing productivity tools

At the end of the day, a remote team is only as good as the tools that are available to them. Research and invest in tools that encourage productivity within your team but take the time to make sure that they are accessible to everyone who is working remotely. At Marketing Eye, our team uses Skype to stay in contact with each other, as well as Asana and Harvest to keep track of our client work. There are plenty of other great options available! Take the time to find the tools that fit your business and your employees to boost productivity and creativity.