More people started working remotely when the world’s health crisis struck. Getting back into the daily grind hasn’t exactly occurred within most industries. It seems remote working has its benefits not only for the employee but also can be advantageous for the business leaders in numerous ways.
In saying that, there are also a few downsides. Remote workers are isolated from their colleagues, disallowing that connection or association that most are able to establish when on the job site.
Typically, when an employer needs to uplift a department or invigorate their staff, they’ll incorporate team-building exercises meant to be fun and stimulating for the group.
When employees are working from home, that presents a bit of a conundrum of sorts for the business leaders attempting to reestablish the feeling of being a part of the organization for each member of the team.
Many are attempting what’s referenced as conference call team-building activities that have the same goal as they would in the office setting. These are meant to unite the team, making the remote workers feel less isolated and alone. Do these activities work, and how can you make them more effective? Let’s learn.
What Are Some Tips For Effective Remote Team Building
Remote work can be utterly satisfying and beneficial for the employee and advantageous for the business leader in numerous ways, including the fact that many times the employee is favorable to an extended work day.
There are a few downsides to the position as well. Often, the team member becomes somewhat isolated from the company, disconnected, and disassociated, particularly if there is minimal contact on a daily basis.
Many employers find it helpful to employ team-building activities in the same manner as they would if the employee were onsite, except doing so virtually via the mobile or computer.
The priority is to reinvigorate the staff, bring them back in contact with each other and the organization, and stimulate production. Do conference call team-building skills work as effectively as employers hope, or are there “kinks” in the methodology? Let’s look at a few suggestions:
- Face-to-face is almost always the preference
The virtual world doesn’t allow individuals to genuinely get to know other people to the point you can fully garner a sense of authentic trust. If you’ve never met your colleagues in a face-to-face situation, it isn’t easy to establish a proper connection or association.
The suggestion is that, if possible, the team interact in-person early on as a means to learn personalities and get to know them professionally plus to share ideas and maybe determine how they can work together each day with some regular communication in order to stay associated.
After the first interaction, perhaps it can be done each year or twice a year to keep connected. If you can’t do that, perhaps everyone is situated around the world, maybe a video conference with everyone to attempt the same result.
- Communication styles should be established and adhered to by everyone
The communication between the company and the remote team is usually less often than it would be if it were in-house. The leader needs to employ stringent regulations on the way communications will be handled and the styles that will be acceptable, and how to use them.
There should be a guideline sent to each member via email outlining the regulations, including the appropriate behavior when engaged in a video conference.
Most often, with video calls, it’s polite to mute the sound when not speaking to avoid background disturbances for others on the call and avoid carrying on a discussion with someone when the meeting is in session since it’s distracting to the team as a whole.
No one should attempt to take over the session from the person in charge or consume the conversation. Everyone needs to be attentive, speak distinctly, and not over the top of others.
Click here for tips on proper video calling techniques.
- Be inclusive
As a business leader, you might be located in one area of the world with a team that has members situated worldwide. You don’t want to always adhere to a schedule satisfactory to only you and those who are on your same timeline.
It’s essential to be courteous to everyone in the group, which means changing things up each time there’s a meeting or an activity or a session where everyone collaborates so each person can conveniently have a decent time frame.
It’s also important to recognize and encourage everyone to recognize that you’re all from varied regions, so there will be an array of languages spoken, unique cultures, and distinct values.
These need to be respected and appreciated. If you reach out to another member of the team in your language, don’t presume that individual will be able to respond to you or fully understand what you’ve said.
It’s essential to try to learn all the team members you’ll work closely with so each person can enjoy a wonderful remote experience.
Final Thought
Working remotely has many pros, but there are also some downsides not many people think so much about until someone brings it up. Business leaders recognize that there is a need to find a way to reconnect the remote workers with the company, bringing back that sense of being associated with the organization.
That’s a reason many are resorting to virtual team building using conference calling to bring the group together in activities where they get to interact, hope to establish more bonds, and become closer as colleagues.
While face-to-face meetings are almost impossible in the current business landscape with people having collaborations worldwide, it is the ideal method for developing a trusting connection among the people you work with or getting to know anyone, for that matter, personally and professionally.
Still, it is our good fortune to be able to work with people globally, so if that means team building via teleconference or video call, we’ll have to make those concessions.