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Originally Posted On: https://hansschumann.com/2024/09/remote-teams/

How to Successfully Manage a Remote Team: Practical Tips for Team Leaders

Managing a remote team has become the new normal for many of us. Even if your staff are based in the same office, they may only turn up in person for a few days a week. Some businesses don’t even have offices any more. This would have been unthinkable pre Covid.

Remote working offers many advantages, such as the ability to attract talent from a broader geographic area, better work-life balance for employees and potentially increased productivity due to fewer office distractions. But it can also create a sense of isolation among team members, make communication harder and complicate performance monitoring.

In fact, managing a remote team can feel like steering a ship through fog. You cannot see what your staff are doing and how they are feeling. You might find yourself questioning whether they are truly engaged and productive, and how to evoke a spirit of teamwork and collaboration.

As an executive coach, I’ve had the privilege of guiding many leaders through building effective teams, and I’d like to share some practical tips that can help you navigate the challenges of managing a remote team.

Promoting a Great Team Spirit in a Remote Team

One of the most significant hurdles in remote work is fostering a sense of team spirit. Without the casual coffee chats and spontaneous interactions of an office, it’s easy for team members to feel disconnected.

Here are a few tips for helping your team members bond:

• Create a virtual home: First, your team will need a virtual space to meet and chat formally and informally. Whether it’s Slack, Microsoft Teams or any other platform, choose a tool that everyone is comfortable with and stick to it. This will be your team’s go-to for daily check-ins, updates and even the occasional virtual coffee chat. Don’t just offer email. Instead, encourage informal communication channels where team members can share non-work-related content—this helps replicate the ‘water cooler’ moments of a physical office.

• Establish routines: The next step is to decide on a routine of regular 1-2-1s, team meetings and reporting processes.  Consistent, regular touch points with you and other colleagues will help your team feel grounded.

• Organise team-building activities: Once you have established the infrastructure of your remote team, it’s crucial to create regular opportunities for team bonding. Consider organising virtual team-building activities. These don’t have to be elaborate. Why not start with something simple like virtual coffee breaks or game nights? These can be informal 30-minute sessions where team members can talk about anything but work. It’s a great way for everyone to get to know each other better.

• Celebrate success: Another tip is to celebrate successes, both big and small. Whether it’s acknowledging a project milestone, work anniversary or simply sending a shoutout for someone’s hard work, make a point of celebratingthese moments. This not only boosts morale but also creates a sense of belonging and appreciation.

• Create a joint vision: If you want to go further, I recommend getting the team together to jointly develop team values and service standards, maybe even a mission statement that provides the team with an identity.  Team leaders often design these on their own, but you will gain greater engagement if everybody has been involved.

Managing Performance: Setting Clear Expectations

How well teams function depends on how clear everybody is on what needs to be done, and how consistent you are in working with them. In a remote team, you don’t have the same opportunities to casually check-in, so you’ll need to be more intentional about setting expectations. Start by clearly defining goals and deliverables for each team member, including how often you want to be updated and in what manner. Ensure that everyone understands what success looks like for their role.

Regular 1-2-1 meetings are essential. Don’t just use them to run through your list of tasks. Ask how your staff are feeling and invite them to voice concerns or seek guidance. If these meetings are well managed, they can help your staff gain a sense of belonging and connection with you and their role in the wider organisation. Remember, remote workers might hesitate to ask for help unless prompted, so create a space where they feel comfortable doing so.

Additionally, make use of performance management tools that allow you to track progress. Whether it’s a shared task board or project management software, these tools help keep everyone on the same page and provide transparency around deadlines and responsibilities.

Ensuring Productivity: Trust, Don’t Micromanage

One of the biggest fears for managers of remote teams is the uncertainty around productivity. It’s important to trust your team and avoid the trap of micromanagement. Productivity in a remote setting is often higher when employees feel trusted and empowered.

To keep things on track, focus on outcomes rather than hours worked. Set clear objectives and trust your team to find the best way to achieve them. It’s quite a change from the pre-Covid culture of presenteeism.  You will need to decide what productivity means for each role in your team and how you want to measure it. Regular check-ins can help you stay informed without being overbearing.

Facilitating Collaboration: Make Communication Easy

Working together remotely requires a shift in how we approach collaboration. Without the ability to drop by a colleague’s desk or gather in a conference room, it’s essential to create an environment where teamwork can thrive, even from a distance. I already mentioned the need to establish clear communication channels that everyone is comfortable using. Whether it’s Slack for quick updates, Zoom for meetings or collaborative platforms like Trello or Asana, the tools you choose should make it easy for team members to connect, share ideas and work together on projects seamlessly.

Encourage a culture of openness where team members feel comfortable reaching out to each other for support and brainstorming. Regular touchpoints, such as weekly team meetings, ensure everyone stays aligned and feels connected to the group’s progress.

You can also facilitate cooperation by creating opportunities for team members to collaborate on projects. This will help break down silos and encourage cooperation. And where you see examples of good teamworking, mention them at the next team meeting as positive reinforcement.

Creating In-Person Opportunities: The Power of Face-to-Face Interaction

While remote working has its perks, there’s no substitute for the value of face-to-face interactions. Bringing your team together in person, even if just occasionally, can significantly strengthen relationships and foster a deeper sense of trust and camaraderie.

These in-person meetings don’t have to be frequent, but they should be meaningful. In-person team events should be more than just a break from the screen. They are opportunities to build the kind of personal connections that are harder to achieve in a virtual setting. When well executed, they can act as a catalyst for deeper collaboration and long-term success.

I help teams bond through Enneagram Team Events. The Enneagram is a powerful tool for personal and collective growth, and it’s particularly effective in a team setting. At an Enneagram event, team members gain insights into their own personalities as well as those of their colleagues. This understanding helps to break down barriers, enhance communication and build empathy within the team. Team members then use the Enneagram to discuss their team working styles and how they can collaborate even better.

Working from home: When we offer too much choice 

Quite often these days, team members are based in the same office but still don’t see each other frequently because everybody works from home. If that’s your team, it’s almost like managing a remote team. I recommend considering mandatory office days even if this is not a popular choice with your staff.

Working from home has become extremely popular, but it comes at a price.  There is less communication, spontaneous collaboration and sense of community. Junior staff are most affected if everybody works from home, because it is so much easier and faster for them to grow in their profession when they can watch senior staff in the office, and engage them in informal conversations.

Even people who love working from home often admit that it has made them more solitary and that they are losing social skills. It’s great to give your team members options, but at the end of the day there is also a business need. I recommend striking a fair balance between the needs and wants of the individual and those of the team and the wider organisation.

Having a few mandatory office days each week creates a good compromise between flexibility and team needs. Companies that adopt this approach tend to go for two or three mandatory days per week.

By coming together regularly in person, teams can align more closely on goals, spark creativity through casual conversations and reinforce the sense of belonging that is essential for long-term engagement and productivity.

Ensuring Work-Life Balance in a Remote Team: 

Remote working offers flexibility which can contribute to a healthy work-life balance, but it can also adversely affect it. When you work from home, you no longer have a clear separation of your work and home space. Sometimes, you even lose your demarcation of personal and office time; for example, if you log on first thing in the morning when you are still in your pyjamas, or if you keep the laptop on in the evening to monitor messages.

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is crucial. Advocate for regular breaks and respect time off. As a manager, you will need to lead by example. Set boundaries for your own work hours and stick to them, showing your team that it’s okay to disconnect.

Help your team members create a conducive work environment at home. This might mean supporting them in setting up a dedicated and healthy workspace, providing equipment and sharing tips on how to minimise distractions and maintain boundaries.

Conclusion: Leading Your Remote Team with Empathy

Managing a remote team effectively requires a blend of clear communication, trust and empathy. By focusing on building a strong team spirit, managing performance through clear expectations and ensuring seamless communication, you can overcome the challenges of remote work and lead your team to success.

Don’t forget to consult your team before you implement the measures suggested in this article.  What’s working for them or not? Be adaptable, open to feedback and continuously seek ways to improve your team’s remote work experience. It’s about providing the support and structure they need to thrive in a remote environment. With these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to leading a motivated, productive and cohesive remote team.