What do you do if your remote team is struggling to stay connected and productive?

Working remotely can offer many benefits, such as flexibility, autonomy, and cost savings. However, it can also pose some challenges, such as communication gaps, isolation, and lack of motivation. If your remote team is struggling to stay connected and productive, you need to take some proactive steps to address these issues and foster a positive and collaborative work culture. Here are some tips to help you do that.

1 Establish clear expectations

One of the first things you need to do is to set clear and realistic expectations for your remote team. This includes defining the scope, goals, and deadlines of each project, as well as the roles and responsibilities of each team member. You also need to communicate how you will measure and monitor the team's progress and performance, and what tools and platforms you will use to collaborate and communicate. By establishing clear expectations, you can avoid confusion, frustration, and misunderstanding, and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

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Cecilia Bohrer

Head of Digital Distribution and Marketing | Specialist in Monetization and International Brand Expansion
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Dentro das minhas equipes, adaptei a metodologia Scrum para a realidade virtual e facilitar o acompanhamento. Todo liderado tem uma planilha de tarefas, onde ele encontra a descrição, a periodicidade, quem são as pessoas envolvidas e uma gravação com o treinamento que mostra como efetuar aquela tarefa. Fazemos uma reunião de planejamento semanal na segunda, onde alinhamos as prioridades da equipe e os prazos de cada demanda. De terça a quinta fazemos reuniões para acompanhamento do status de demandas que envolvem mais de uma pessoa da equipe. Sexta focamos em finalizar nossas demandas da semana e se necessário chamamos pessoais especificas. Tudo isso ajuda a garantir que todos saibam o que precisam fazer e consigam ser colaborativos.

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Amy Petricek (She/Her), EMBA Candidate ⚡️

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗿 📡 - 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 🚀
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If your remote team is struggling to stay connected then sometimes it's worth taking a beat. Step away from the work and create a space for connection with the stress of the workload. Maybe it's a virtual team lunch or maybe it's something larger like scheduling an in-person offsite. Regardless of the size, intentionally create connection for the team. When teammates feel connected they're more likely to work collaboratively and deliver results!

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2 Communicate frequently and effectively

Communication is key to any successful team, but especially so for remote teams. You need to communicate frequently and effectively with your remote team, using a variety of methods and channels. For example, you can use video calls, phone calls, instant messages, emails, and online forums to share updates, feedback, questions, and ideas. You also need to communicate with empathy and respect, and avoid jargon, slang, and sarcasm that might cause confusion or offense. Moreover, you need to communicate with purpose and clarity, and avoid unnecessary or irrelevant messages that might overwhelm or distract your team.

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Mubarraz Zadran

Data analysis and project management professional with ~ six years of experience analyzing data to support decision-making, leading healthcare and education projects, and conducting trade policy analysis
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In order to start communicating effectively, below can be considered; 1: Establish regular routines/meetings.( Date and time fixed every week) 2: Send a reminder a day before the meeting with clear agenda points and expected outcomes 3: Give everybody a chance to contribute to the discussion points but only within the confines of the subject. 4: Brainstorm ideas on how to improve performance during the meetings 5: Have clear action points at the end of every meeting and provide clarification during or after the meeting if required. 6: Start every meeting with a discussion of action points from the previous one.

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Cecilia Bohrer

Head of Digital Distribution and Marketing | Specialist in Monetization and International Brand Expansion
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Além das nossas reuniões já detalhadas no tópico acima, que seguem a adaptação da metodologia scrum ao nosso dia a dia. Temos o hábito de termos reuniões especificas de alinhamentos entre os membros da equipe. Todos tem a liberdade e autonomia de se reunirem. Ajuda a criar lanços de relacionamento também. Nós também usamos o chat para troca de mensagens rápidas e usamos o Discord onde simulamos salas de reuniões e de trabalho. Além de trazer a sensação que a pessoa está logo ali, ajuda a facilitar as conversas, sem a formalidade de uma reunião.

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3 Build trust and rapport

Another important aspect of managing a remote team is to build trust and rapport among your team members. Trust is essential for collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving, and rapport is essential for engagement, motivation, and morale. To build trust and rapport, you need to show genuine interest and care for your team members, and encourage them to do the same for each other. You can do this by creating opportunities for social interaction, such as virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, or games. You can also do this by recognizing and appreciating your team's achievements, contributions, and strengths, and by providing constructive and supportive feedback.

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Cecilia Bohrer

Head of Digital Distribution and Marketing | Specialist in Monetization and International Brand Expansion
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Seja o líder que você gostaria de ter. Seja honesto e tenha uma comunicação cuidadosa com a equipe. Tem uma pessoa ali, não uma máquina. Meu foco como líder é ter uma equipe saudável, onde todos gostem de trabalhar. Então, sempre acompanho se meu liderado está ansioso com alguma coisa, se ele tem dormido bem e coisas assim. Além da cumplicidade de criar nas nossas reuniões um espaço seguro para compartilhar sem medo de ser julgado ou de perder o emprego. E busco cuidar de mim, uma equipe saudável precisa de um líder saudável.

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4 Encourage autonomy and accountability

One of the advantages of working remotely is that it gives your team members more autonomy and flexibility over their work. However, this also means that they need to be more accountable and responsible for their own results. To encourage autonomy and accountability, you need to empower your team members to make decisions, solve problems, and manage their own time and resources. You also need to provide them with the necessary support, guidance, and feedback, but avoid micromanaging or controlling their work. Additionally, you need to create a culture of transparency and honesty, where your team members can share their challenges, successes, and learnings.

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Mubarraz Zadran

Data analysis and project management professional with ~ six years of experience analyzing data to support decision-making, leading healthcare and education projects, and conducting trade policy analysis
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Some things that I found useful were 1: Provide high level strategic advice on priorities 2: Identify weaknesses and strengths and provide targeted feedback aimed at improving performance. 3: Encourage innovation and initiative by giving credit and praising your team in meetings where senior level executives are present. 4: Take full responsibility for the failure of the team and don’t jump to blaming individuals 5: Understand that everybody makes mistakes but make sure that individuals learn from them and don’t repeat them.

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5 Promote learning and development

Working remotely can also affect your team's learning and development opportunities, as they might miss out on formal training, mentoring, or coaching sessions. However, learning and development are crucial for your team's growth, performance, and satisfaction. Therefore, you need to promote learning and development among your remote team members, by providing them with access to relevant and useful resources, such as online courses, webinars, podcasts, or books. You also need to encourage them to seek and offer feedback, to learn from their mistakes, and to share their best practices and insights. Furthermore, you need to celebrate and reward your team's learning and development achievements, and help them set and pursue their personal and professional goals.

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6 Review and improve

Finally, you need to review and improve your remote team management practices on a regular basis, by soliciting and analyzing feedback from your team members, as well as from your clients, stakeholders, and peers. You need to identify what is working well and what needs improvement, and implement changes accordingly. You also need to track and measure the impact of your actions on your team's connectivity and productivity, and adjust your strategies as needed. By reviewing and improving your remote team management practices, you can ensure that you are meeting your team's needs and expectations, and that you are leading them to success.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What do you do if your remote team is struggling to stay connected and productive?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Establish clear expectations

2 Communicate frequently and effectively

3 Build trust and rapport

4 Encourage autonomy and accountability

5 Promote learning and development

6 Review and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Team Management

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What do you do if your remote team is struggling to stay connected and productive?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Establish clear expectations

2 Communicate frequently and effectively

3 Build trust and rapport

4 Encourage autonomy and accountability

5 Promote learning and development

6 Review and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Team Management

Rate this article

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