Business Productivity
6 Rules for Successfully Collaborating With a Remote Team
AUTHOR: Kayla Matthews
Working remotely can be an empowering experience. Whether you’re starting a remote job or your workplace is now transitioning to working from home, there are steps you can take for successfully collaborating with a remote team.
The adjustment period takes some guidance. After you get the hang of it, you’ll find that working from home offers ways to excel like never before.
1. Work on Collaborative Tasks
Sometimes, you need to work on responsibilities by yourself. Other times, though, you can work with your coworkers to facilitate more collaboration. If something is simple, like sending out a blast email, you can probably get it done by yourself quickly. However, a time-consuming project, like data analyses, should have a collaborative approach.
You keep the collaborative nature of the workplace alive when you work in this dynamic. With more hands-on-deck, employee bonding grows. Additionally, the more you work with others, the more eyes you have on a project. That way, employee productivity is improved and fewer errors are likely to slide by you and your colleagues.
2. Use Collaboration Tools
Inherently, working from home requires technology. One of the best ways to stay in touch while working efficiently is through collaboration tech. With everything in a central location, you’ll find content easier without wasting energy and time.
For instance, team members will be more communicative on projects when they have an integrated workflow. Employees can easily navigate tools such as Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive. Using these collaborative platforms, teams can send files back and forth with coworkers while keeping sensitive data secure.
These tools allow you to have your resources in one place. Start with file-sharing softwares and resources to build a digital workplace.
3. Encourage Video Chats
When in-person meetings aren’t an option, many employees turn to audio calls. However, you can take that a step further and use video chats. A lot of the ways humans communicate is non-verbal. Body language comes across in many forms — eye contact, hand gestures and head nods to name a few.
Encouraging yourself and your coworkers to video chat instead of call creates a more engaging interaction. With platforms like Skype and Zoom, you can easily switch from video to screen sharing when you need to show a coworker something. It makes remote work more efficient, dynamic and collaborative with face-to-face conversations.
4. Utilize Time Management Systems
If the day feels like its slipping away from you, there are tools you can use to keep track of time. Time management systems and software are helpful resources that help you stay on top of your time, energy and responsibilities. These systems show up in different ways.
You can use something like Asana, which manages your projects and time. Remote teams need a central hub that keeps their tasks and progress in one place. Other examples include Timecamp, Trello and Todoist. These platforms are some of the best ways to stay organized. When you manage your time properly, you get more done and everyone feels more energized to produce their best quality work.
Employers can also use these resources to keep track of employee progress. It centralizes the workplace, which is necessary for collaborative remote work.
5. Focus on Company Culture
Company culture is often a brag-worthy aspect of the workplace. When employees come together and support one another, it creates a healthy environment for everyone. This dynamic can exist remotely, too. You can bring in video chats again — this time, use them in a more casual, friendly way.
Face-to-face, supportive conversations through video chats, group chats or calls keep company culture as a priority. Birthdays, promotions or any exciting event should warrant a digital celebration.
Sometimes, just checking in on one another during the workday is a priceless, quick way to show your colleagues that you care and want to know how they’re doing. Collaboration isn’t just task-centric!
6. Communicate
Last, communication is critical for any workplace. For remote work, it’s especially important to maintain the best communication. You should have multiple different channels for connecting with your coworkers, too.
For instance, video chats are the remote version of office meetings and conferences. Slack or Whatsapp serve as quick channels for messaging brief inquiries. Email can be the more professional route where you discuss topics you need to save for later.
As you adjust to communication, the way you work with your coworkers improves. That efficiency, in turn, creates an optimal remote environment.
The Best Workplace
With each step you take, you bring yourself, and your coworkers, closer to collaboration perfection. Through tech, your remote work can excel above and beyond, bringing you to your full efficiency potential for collaborating with a remote team.
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