How to Improve Collaboration In Remote Teams

Changing demands and expectations of employees has brought about a transformation from traditional to modern workplaces. Companies and offices are now giving increasing importance to work-life balance and inclusion. The focus is on working smart, not just hard, and that has given rise to a variety of flexible working arrangements. Remote working is popular among many people since it offers the convenience of working from home or a co-working hub. As teams become remote, companies need to alter their way of working to accommodate these changes. When employees are physically present in the office, communication and collaboration is much easier. However, with remote teams, companies need to adopt these 3 simple habits for efficient working.

How to Improve Collaboration In Remote Teams

Creating Detailed Work Schedules

Remote team members can be working from anywhere around the world. Hence, it is very important to create detailed work schedules that have everything mapped out. Create official virtual documents with agendas, deadlines and other details and share these with all the team members. As for meetings, clarify the purpose and expectations beforehand. Give team members time to think it over. This ensures that the meetings are efficient and concise, and decisions are made quickly. Another important thing to remember is time zones. Schedule meetings and deadlines such that they are doable for all members in remote teams.

Use of Technology

With remote teams, technology is the only way to stay connected. Use professional communication software like Slack and Skype to stay connected everyday. These software have everything you might need to collaborate with remote teams. You can have video conference calls, create chat groups or channels and even share documents with other members. There are many popular communication software options out there. Choose the one best suited to the needs of your organisation and remote team members.

Feedback and Task Updates

Receiving updates and providing feedback is easier with traditional employees than remote teams. This is where technology comes into play. Although the foundation for success of a remote working arrangement is trust, knowing whether an employee has completed a task or not is important. Companies can consider using to-do lists and work update sheets. Employees from remote teams can update the status of their work on this sheet. These can be divided by month or even weeks, with separate sections for every employee. Similarly, you can set up a virtual system for feedback for your employees. It is, however, important to ensure that the feedback and updates are properly-timed. Employees must not feel micromanaged because of constant questions regarding work from managers or supervisors.

In Conclusion

Remote teams and remote working arrangements can be a success if you follow these 3 simple habits. Companies need to remember to include every single member of the remote team as well. Creating structured processes with comprehensive details about tasks, deadlines, meetings, updates and other aspects of work is important. This will prove to be immensely helpful in increasing collaboration among remote teams and enhancing efficiency of work.

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