5 Culture-Building Tips for Remote Teams

December 17, 2018

Whether you’re a part of a national or global remote team, it's imperative to keep an ongoing bond with your team

Here are some tips for team building and development when working with remote teams.

1. Smarter technology for better communication

We all want communication to be as smooth and as clear as possible, so be sure to invest in the right technology to ensure effective communication.

Core to any remote team is its internal communication backbone. Slack is an example of a great alternative to internal emails. Slack allows you to set up dedicated channels for specific topics, teams can have enhanced and efficient communication. No matter where your team is located, options like Slack can help the team feel they are always kept in the loop of changes and updates. Beyond this, Slack works as a continual stream of formal and informal conversations, which everyone globally can tap into. The app ensures there is a continued touchpoint no matter your time zone or your location around the world.

Additionally, video conferencing and collaboration tools such as Google Hangouts help to connect international teams, and provide face time to facilitate discussion, brainstorming, planning and strategy development sessions. Ensuring that communication is consistent and teams are continually connected there are scheduled weekly functional team calls in place, alongside an all-hands call once a month.

2. Live and breathe your company values

The values of a company should remain consistent and inspire good work from all team members. These values should be clear from an employee’s first meeting or interview to onboarding and their day-to-day work life. The common thread of company values helps to forge the bond between teams, even those who work remotely, to act as ambassadors for a company’s values and ultimately the brand.

3. Invest in onboarding, training, and development

A standardized onboarding program is a critical component of building strong remote teams. These programs can range between two to three weeks long and should take place in person. This allows the new team member to get to know and bond with his or her broader teams (and not only their immediate day-to-day contacts) and also allow them a chance to let their individual personalities shine through. This initial investment in time and resource to build relationships with new colleagues and the business is invaluable for remote teams; in the long-term, this builds a strong foundation for stronger communication, teamwork and collaboration that is built upon familiarity with the team.

4. Understand the importance of team events and activities

Another key area of focus to enhance team building when working with remote teams is through team events and activities. Bringing together an entire company in one location for an extended period of time once or twice a year is a great way for teams to share company updates and discuss the goals for the following year, as well as celebrate the wins of past six months. These occasions enhance team collaboration and build team spirit. Moreover, it gives the chance for the entire business to get to know one another and have some fun at the same time.

Recent examples we’ve conducted at OTA Insight include running an ‘Amazing Race’-style treasure hunt through the streets of Barcelona, an Escape Room activity, or even learning the meaning behind and practicing a version of the ‘Haka.’ It is important to coordinate activities that help embody a company’s culture; plus, activities that guide a team towards a common goal demonstrate a valuable lesson about the power of collaboration.

While global events are fun to put together, there are plenty of opportunities for regional teams to develop their own localized activities to embody their own regional personalities, and to align activities whenever we have visiting team members so they can take in the true local experience, whether it's Crazy Golf in London or going to a Mavericks game in Dallas. These small activities and unique experiences bring the teams closer together and help develop and extend the bond between colleagues.

5. Strike the right balance between trusting independence and checking in on teams

It’s very important to check in and ensure remote employees are kept in the loop with their direct teams and managers across the globe, whether that’s for project status and progress or for their career progression and goal discussions. At the same, be sure to trust in your remote workers’ ability to effectively manage themselves, their productivity and ultimately succeed as leaders in their respective fields. The driving force behind this should be the company culture and values instilled in the team and the belief in everyone’s unique skills and abilities to achieve common goals.

In summary, strive to use your core values as a basis for managing and building a strong remote team. These values should not only display themselves during team gatherings, but they should run deeper than that; through a collaborative and supportive spirit that permeates through the company; open and transparent communication, whether through Slack, various project management platforms; remote and face-to-face meetings; innovation and entrepreneurship; and always putting the customer first.

Ready to learn more? Learn quick and easy tips on how to manage a distributed team in 2019.

5 Culture-Building Tips for Remote Teams Building company culture as a remote team can be challenging, but it all comes down to the systems and processes that are used for internal communication and training. https://learn.g2crowd.com/hubfs/iStock-863497498.jpg
Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Fitzpatrick is CEO of OTA Insight. OTA Insight empowers hoteliers to make smarter revenue and distribution decisions through its market-leading suite of cloud-based business intelligence solutions including Rate Insight, Parity Insight and Revenue Insight. For more information, visit www.otainsight.com and follow us on Twitter @otainsight. https://learn.g2crowd.com/hubfs/0-1.jpeg

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