How to Build a Remote Team (Part 2) - Work-Related Activities

With so many people working from home during this Covid-19 pandemic, employees can feel isolated, overwhelmed, overworked and, for some, it can have a profound impact on their mental health. As someone commented recently on a LinkedIn article “Let’s be clear: this is not remote work—this is a Covid-19 induced child and spouse, work and home-schooling, timeshare experiment gone bad! ”

People have a sense of “waiting” at the moment. There is a feeling that eventually, things will go back to normal. Nothing goes back to exactly the same as previously. Successful companies will be those who recognise this and, instead of waiting for things to go backward, find the best way forward. Managing remote employees requires a big change in how we motivate, manage and evaluate employees. It is a different mindset. You can´t micromanage remotely but you can become a service leader. Going forward, this needs to be addressed as it could become the norm for many workplaces for some time to come.

What we have found are the main concerns about remote working

Wundamail’s Annual State of Remote Work report investigated the behavioural science and economic data behind the recent shift toward a culture of remote working ever before the lockdown occurred. They gathered information from 2,500 remote employees. The workers surveyed were representative by ethnic background, socio-economic status, gender and inclusion of both high-income and low-income bracket workers. The survey was carried out and data collected between 16/08/19 and 18/08/19. We have chosen to highlight this summary as it was compiled by remote workers who were not FORCED into their position due to COVID-19 and they had a clearer overall picture that was not led by stress and fear. Here is a short summary of some of the results:

Following on from these results, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:

• How can you facilitate teamwork and collaboration in this new environment?
• How can you ensure team members don´t feel isolated?
• How can you encourage motivation and achieve work deadlines without direct supervision?
• How can you ensure your team members maintain a healthy work balance?

And, more importantly, “What do we need to get done and how where and when do we do it best in this new remote world?”

A study by Remote.co found that 87% of remote workers feel more connected through the use of video conferencing.

In reality, most employers have just “winged it” instead of trying to understand how fully remote companies operate. Personally, I would seriously encourage you to give it time, give it a real try...really put in the work and I think you'll find that it isn't just better, it's more profitable! There are so many benefits for both the employee and the employer, such as:

• Money saved on office rental can be reallocated towards other things like better employee benefits, employee development, education, growth, research and development.
• Telecommuting can boost opportunities to build diversity, equity and inclusion. Opportunities can be offered to workers further afield rather than solely depending on local talent.
• Often, flexibility in how, when and where work was done was previously not part of the cultural DNA. Work was where you “went” not what you needed to get done. Companies didn’t have the infrastructure or the planning, coordination and execution skills and tools in place that would have made the transition to remote working more seamless. The good news is that now, working hours can be set to suit individual needs and to suit their home requirements.

Obviously, companies are facing difficult times and they want their team members to be as productive as possible. However, as an effective team leader, your priority should be to encourage your team to engage in regular team socializing. This can be an effort initially to get it started however, in a short period of time this will reap huge dividends.

To clarify, when I refer to “socializing” I am not referring to idle “chit-chat”. You need a designated person who facilitates exercises and sets clear-cut time limits. That way, everyone knows what to expect in advance and tend to be more focused and involved. Team building is essential but you don’t want to take too much time away from ACTUAL work!

WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES

1. Questionnaires

It is important that you start with “light” topics. You don´t want the employees to feel spied upon or judged. Questionnaires are an excellent way to gauge happiness. They may also uncover issues that employees may not feel immediately comfortable opening up about via video call. Tackle issues such as remote working and personal development. The results can help identify problems and give you, or other team members, the opportunity to offer practical solutions. Try to keep it straightforward – don´t ask any leading questions. Read through the results and follow through with actions and responses. For examples of the types of questions to include in the questionnaire, check ours out by clicking here.

Be receptive to and encourage employee feedback. They are the most important source of insight. Perhaps they've worked remotely before and can share some best practices.

2. Help staff find their Ultradian Cycle

People have different times when they are at their most productive. Begin by getting everyone on the team to set up a spreadsheet to note energy levels at different times, mood swings, hunger, creativity and productivity during the day.

Check out a simple and straightforward template from Lifehacker – from their article “Find your most productive hours with this spreadsheet.” Click here.

Have all the team fill out the sheet over several weeks then analyse the results to identify everyone´s most productive times of the day/week/month. Have everyone use the results to create a personal schedule that works for them.

3. Non-Screen Time – Disconnect to Reconnect

Remind everyone to schedule time away from their screen.

If you want to talk to someone about something, CALL THEM. Don´t IM or email! Move away from the computer, find a comfortable spot and enjoy the chat. Get your team to use paper for something – perhaps a ToDo list, bullet list, creativity list. Our best ideas come to us when our brain is relaxed and has the time to think – just before you fall asleep, as you wake up, in the shower, when you are taking a walk. It is important for the team to have times that allow their creative juices to flow.

4. Group Training Webinars

Schedule/Attend regular online training sessions. Not only will it increase the value of your employees and their knowledge, it also offers everyone a common topic to converse about both before and after the event.

5. What I Do

In a team, each person brings their own unique skill set that could benefit other team members. Once a week/month have a staff member take a turn in introducing themselves in a formal way. They can share their skills and knowledge with everyone else. They could also talk a little about their background before they joined the company. This not only allows team members to share their specialities with others, but it also helps them to focus on what their own strengths are and use them to their advantage.

Following on from this, employees could use this information for "Instant Consultations". The staff know whom to turn to to get practical help from colleagues immediately. They can get help in gaining insights on issues faced and find local knowledge to address them. A simple statement regarding this is “Ask 3 to Help Me.” Staff members working remotely can often feel as if they are invisible and the work they are doing goes unnoticed – this is a great way for everyone to feel involved and engaged.

6. What, So What, Now What - Rolfe Reflective Framework (2001)

This reflective model can help the team understand problems and discover new solutions. As a team, look back and discuss progress to date and decide what adjustments are required. This can be a useful shared experience that builds understanding and avoids unproductive conflict.

·        What? – Collect facts. What happened? What stood out? What did you notice?

·        So What? - Make sense of the facts you have gathered. Why is it important? What patterns are emerging? What conclusions can you reach?

·        Now What? – What actions should logically follow from the information gathered and the breakdown of that information? What actions make sense?

7. Simulated Problems – Critical Uncertainties

This is an excellent team-building activity which could be quite useful for highlighting team members’ individual strengths. Use this to develop strategies for operating in a range of plausible yet unpredictable futures – as Donald Rumsfeld termed it “The Unknown Known”. Create a tricky and challenging scenario related to your team´s role.

An example would be as follows: Discuss what would happen if your company suffered from bad publicity and needs to find a way to recover. Ask the team to strategize a press release and a series of meetings, step by step.

Ask the team to answer different questions, such as:

·        How can we recover our credibility?

·        Should we release and apologise? Why or why not?

·        What should we change about our Public Relations or marketing after this problem?

Activities like this are great to help team members build their decision-making skills and creativity. It is also very useful for them to find their voice within the team.

8. Revisit an Idea

Analyse the full portfolio of previous activities and relationships to identify obstacles and opportunities for progress. Often, projects are sidestepped simply because there isn´t enough manpower available to tackle them or other projects came along that were more interesting at the time. Perhaps now is a good time to revisit and rethink the previous projects and collaborations. Have team members analyse and discuss these projects together.

9. 1% Progress

Discover and focus on what first step each person has the freedom and resources to do without approval or resources from others and is entirely within their discretion to act on. Each step forward is opening and introducing new possibilities. Encourage employees to be innovative and creative. Have employees try to find their “1% Progress” step and schedule a meeting once a week for staff to discuss their individual progress and how other staff may possibly become involved.

10. Best Workplace

This is an interesting activity. Ask the team, if they could have extra benefits (NOT pay rise – this is often the instant, initial answer) with their current job, what would they include to make this the best place to work in the whole world? This is an interesting activity on several fronts – you can understand team members’ priorities, goals, expectations and commitment to the company. There is also the added benefit that, if possible, you could consider including/changing what they have suggested! This would make the team feel valued and heard.

This is Part 2 of a 3 part series. To read Part 1 – Welcoming and integrating new team members, click here. For Part 3 - Gamification - Let´s Play, click here.

If you have any further suggestions, we would love to hear them! Feel free to contact us by clicking here.