5 Steps in Building a Good Remote Team Culture

Managers prioritize efficient and effective tools and processes, given multiple remote teams at this time of the pandemic. They dedicate the necessary resources to ensure that they work perfectly, and keep the team connected and engaged . However, the prolonged Work-From-Home period also means that they run the risk of abandoning other aspects behind which may be just as significant. One of the main elements exemplifying this is the aspect of a remote team culture.

The aspect of making sure that employees are connected is important, but managers cannot afford failing to maintain and adapt team culture either. Failing to set firm policies on how remote team culture should develop can be disastrous for a company already occupied with myriad business processes. Switching to the remote work lifestyle means  a prolonged degree of social distancing. That’s exactly why companies need to realign their interest and focus on creating a strong team culture.

Among many benefits, doing so would provide opportunities to ensure high employee productivity and wellness, while retaining top talent and reduce hiring and training costs that would result from losing your existing employees. On that note, here’s to building a remote team culture in just 5 steps.

Re-align the company mission statement toward remote work.

What do you stand for? What makes you different from the others? These are precisely the questions that a mission statement would clarify. The statement has a focus on highlighting how you stand in your sector’s market, how you help your customers, but most importantly, how the company treats its employees.

Regardless of whether your team is distributed, or simply working remotely for the year, aspects of  remote work will need to be melded into the mission statement. Doing so helps guide the workflow your team faces, and branding efforts amid this crisis as well. As we saw from what learnings COVID-19 had to offer, rethinking social interactions along with internal environment management was of the essence. It also helps in the selection of the right team members from the very beginning, ensuring lower attrition rates long-term.

Set appropriate communication tools and policies.

The very operation of a business, the start of any relationship, the ability to lead and the building of trust, all are dependent on effective communication. Communication is also quintessential in team building and acquiring each team member’s optimal value. This can only be done by ensuring synergy in one another’s roles, and minimizing conflicts.

So it becomes a rather appropriate stem for remote team culture building to make improvements toward communication, both external and internal.  Doing so within a remote culture warrants conducting feedback sessions on a regular basis. You could discuss with your team to share how they’d wish the collaboration process to change.

To ensure that everyone is participating with no room for misunderstandings, it would be appropriate to utilize a single team collaboration tool where all task-related discussions can be executed. With its ease of communication, MultiCall comes in handy here as a tool for business teams.  Not only does it allow carrying out group calling in one go, there is no hassle that is typical of conferencing either.  Free of PINs and moderators, it is an instant solution for calling many.

In addition, the participants of the call do not need to relate to data or even have the app installed. MultiCall requires data only to initiate the call, and carries out a call with the quality rivalling that of a landline. Are there team members who are having  difficulties keeping up with what’s being said?

No problem! With features including and not limited to Call Monitoring and Call Scheduling, MultiCall helps ensure a secure and disturbance free environment to collaborate and work as a team towards the necessary situations and goals.

“Do you have that in writing?”

To ensure no doubts are involved about how procedures are to be carried out, it’d be appropriate to have  all communication policies placed in a document made available to all. In this manner everyone can access it if they’re uncertain, specially about what channels they can utilize to collaborate. In the process, employees are more engaged and can avert frequent errors on tasks, which otherwise could lead to conflict for lack of communication.

Prioritize one-on-one meetings

As a result of working remotely, we get to know our team in a different light. One-on-one meetings in particular allow managers to talk to each employee and receive their honest feedback, and to discuss growth and self-development. But above all else, they’re a perfect opportunity to regularly check in with your employees. Minimizing communication barriers has always been key to effective group communication.

Speaking one-to-one averts interruptions or time constraints, if need be. This lets managers act upon their feedback and ensure their needs are met. For dedicating your team meetings, MultiCall can assist you with its Call Scheduling feature. You can schedule calls, with the option to set on a repeat-basis. While doing so, it would be efficient to autonomize certain decision-making capabilities for team members in each project.

Offer merit-based recognition and rewards to remote employees.

It’s one thing that managers need to commit to progressing in their work goals toward a plan. But simply this is not enough;  progress must also be also apprised to everyone who is involved. Performance updates are critical in allowing everyone to understand whether or not you are on track to hit the goals you have outlined. Providing feedback and recognizing employees for their hard work is one way to provide such updates.  Positive feedback boosts confidence, and shows people you value them. It helps people to understand and develop their skills. Most of all, it helps motivate them on call, which makes it integral to a remote team culture.

Provide opportunities to bring your teams together.

Being socially distanced is not the same as being socially disconnected.  To bond employees,  managers can develop events on a regular basis. Along with the regular internal meetings, you can have your team share regular fun facts about them, daily pics, or updates on hobbies and interests they’ve picked up along the course of the pandemic while staying at home. Groups for extra-professional activities can be set as well, so that employees having common interests can call and share experiences.

Culture building doesn’t have a “one size fits all” set of instructions. Every company and team is different. In the process, so are their values respectively. In a time of crisis, this leaves managers with a single path: Experiment. Improvise. Adapt, and Overcome. Staying intentional and genuine in approach is critical. Faking a remote culture won’t yield any fruitful results. By following the five steps above, one can build a strong remote team culture that self-sustains.