What are the best ways to build team cohesion remotely?

2 Create a team culture and identity

Another way to build team cohesion remotely is to create a sense of team culture and identity. This means defining and reinforcing your team's vision, values, and goals, and how they align with the organization's mission and strategy. It also means celebrating your team's diversity, strengths, and accomplishments, and recognizing each member's contributions and roles. Furthermore, it means creating a team name, logo, slogan, or mascot, and using them in your communication and branding. For example, you can create a team newsletter, blog, or podcast, and feature your team's stories, insights, and achievements.

3 Encourage social and informal interactions

A third way to build team cohesion remotely is to encourage social and informal interactions among your team members. These are the interactions that go beyond work-related topics and tasks, and allow your team to bond on a personal level. They can help your team to build trust, rapport, and empathy, and to reduce stress, conflict, and loneliness. Some examples of social and informal interactions are virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, games, quizzes, book clubs, or fitness challenges. You can also use icebreakers, fun questions, or polls to spark conversations and get to know each other better.

4 Provide learning and development opportunities

A fourth way to build team cohesion remotely is to provide learning and development opportunities for your team members. These are the opportunities that enable your team to acquire new skills, knowledge, and competencies, and to grow professionally and personally. They can help your team to improve their performance, creativity, and collaboration, and to increase their engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Some examples of learning and development opportunities are online courses, webinars, podcasts, mentoring programs, or peer feedback sessions. You can also create a learning culture by encouraging your team to share their learnings, challenges, and best practices.

5 Solicit and act on feedback

A fifth way to build team cohesion remotely is to solicit and act on feedback from your team members. This means asking for their opinions, suggestions, and concerns about your team's processes, practices, and performance, and taking action to address them. It also means giving them feedback on their work, behavior, and impact, and helping them to improve and grow. Soliciting and acting on feedback can help your team to enhance their communication, alignment, and accountability, and to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. You can use surveys, polls, or one-on-one meetings to collect and deliver feedback, and use tools like SMART goals or OKRs to track and measure progress.

6 Involve your team in decision making

A sixth way to build team cohesion remotely is to involve your team in decision making. This means giving them a voice, a choice, and a stake in the matters that affect them and their work. It also means empowering them to take initiative, ownership, and responsibility for their actions and outcomes. Involving your team in decision making can help your team to increase their trust, commitment, and motivation, and to leverage their collective wisdom and diversity. You can use methods like brainstorming, voting, or consensus to involve your team in decision making, and use tools like RACI matrix or decision trees to clarify roles and responsibilities.