You’re a remote employee who wants to stay engaged with your colleagues. How can you make it happen?

Casual connection is more difficult remotely, howeve rimportant to develop meaningful connection. Here are some ideas to maintain connection with remote colleagues: 1. Icebreakers (see bestself.co for examples) before meetings 2. Start a book club around a business book 3. Share experiences such as a cooking class, or everyone ordering pizza at the same time 4. Tools like Oculus and Apple Vision enable unique meeting experiences and opportunities to play a game 5. Join or create a ERGs or special interest group (e.g. Scuba) 6. Take time to regularly express gratitude, be specific, and there are a number of digital ways to do that through eCards, Motivosity, Glint, or just old fashioned email.

To prioritize regular communication with colleagues. This can include staying in touch through emails, chat messages, and participating actively in virtual meetings. Utilizing collaboration tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams also helps to maintain connectivity and workflow. Joining virtual social events, like coffee breaks or team-building activities, fosters a sense of camaraderie. Sharing updates on work progress and achievements keeps colleagues informed and engaged. Additionally, showing interest in colleagues' work by offering help or feedback demonstrates collaboration. Lastly, staying informed about company news and announcements through All Hands or Town Hall.

I respond to this from both a personal and professional perspective. I have been fully remote for about half of my career. Yes, this includes a time frame before 2020. As a remote employee, I have always superseded the performance of my in-office counterparts. This includes both IC and leadership roles over time. This afforded me trips, promotions, bonuses, stock grants, and amazing opportunities to increase my brand in recruitment. Engagement with colleagues requires creativity and what I define as "on-purpose" communication and reputation. From a business perspective, finding a niche that you can stand out in that is memorable and engaging will give you the win when working remotely. Create a memorable "you".

1. Regular Communication: Make sure to communicate with your colleagues on a regular basis. This can be done through regular video calls or group chats. 2. Digital Tools: Utilize digital tools and platforms(MS Teams) 3. Engage in Virtual Social Activities 4. Ask for Feedback 5. Show Interest in Your Colleagues: Building relationships is key, so show an interest in your colleagues' lives, ask about their weekends, their families or hobbies. Showing a genuine interest will foster a sense of camaraderie. 6. Share Your Updates 7. Participate in Meetings 8. Set Regular Check-ins 9. Be Responsive 10. Engage in any virtual professional development or training sessions

Well said. Would add less focus on ‘bums on seats’ and more focus on the development of people and the business. ‘We need you and your team in the office on this date to: - improve your negotiation skills - review the Acme Inc opportunity - collaborate on the proposal to Xyz - develop the new graduates - etc Think of work as a performative space. Think purpose.

Utilize various communication channels, such as video calls, messaging apps, and emails, to stay connected with colleagues. Clearly articulate your ideas, provide concise updates, and actively participate in virtual meetings to ensure your presence is felt. Additionally, proactively seek feedback and ask questions to foster open dialogue. For setting clear expectations, establish a transparent communication protocol by outlining your working hours, response times, and preferred channels for different types of communication. Clearly define project timelines, deliverables, and milestones to align with team expectations. Regularly update your colleagues on progress and any potential challenges, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Effective communication is the best way to connect in remote situations. One should feel free to express their asks and concerns. Moreover all the communications need to be close looped.

To stay engaged with your colleagues as a remote employee, regularly participate in virtual meetings, use messaging and collaboration tools to keep in touch, share updates about your work and ask about theirs, join virtual team-building activities, and don't hesitate to reach out first to make personal connections.

Another essential skill for remote work is to communicate effectively with your colleagues. This means choosing the right channels, frequency, and tone for different situations and purposes. For instance, you might use email for formal updates, instant messaging for quick questions, and video calls for brainstorming or feedback sessions. You should also be mindful of your language, tone, and body language, and avoid jargon, sarcasm, or ambiguity that might cause confusion or offense. Moreover, you should practice active listening, ask for clarification, and acknowledge messages to show your engagement and respect.

Effective remote communication relies on clear channels, timely responses, regular video meetings, active listening, concise messaging, and fostering a culture of transparency and feedback.

Colleagues are your internal customers and equally as important to your work as the external ones. This new professional space has eliminated the ability to organically connect with work peers. Genuine connection in a remote environment requires conscious effort and mindfulness to achieve. I find it easier to connect by volunteering myself, offering and sharing elements of my personality, my interests and life experiences, to allow others to more easily identify our commonalities.

We must remember that behind the names we see on emails or MS Teams or Zoom, are real people with good stories to tell. Here are two suggestions: 1. Sometimes, when on a call with a colleague and if the timing is appropriate, try to squeeze in a little informal chitchat. Perhaps you may want to ask in general how your colleague is doing, or you can try to talk about something that may be of common interest. 2. Whenever there is a chance to meet up face-to-face with colleagues, make the most out of it. Go out for a coffee break or for lunch and have a small chitchat about things in and outside work. Being able to establish friendships and good rapport in the remote workplace can make your job extra worthwhile and fun.

Building rapport involves establishing a genuine connection with others. Begin by actively listening to colleagues, showing interest in their perspectives, and finding common ground. Use positive body language, maintain eye contact, and employ a friendly tone in both virtual and in-person interactions. Find opportunities for casual conversations to learn more about their interests and experiences. Express empathy and support, and be reliable in your communication and actions. By consistently demonstrating authenticity, interest, and reliability, you can build strong rapport with colleagues, fostering a positive and collaborative working relationship.

As physical presence is not feasible in remote work environment, generating a positive, mutually beneficial raport is extremely difficult. Forum creation for exchange of thoughts, ideas and understanding the ground reality are vital elements in building rapport with the remote employee. Also, sharing important progresses, achievements and accolades make the remote employee fully embraced and not deprived of remote work. At times, the functional lead/ project lead's efforts in understanding the employee beyond work requirements, family and impending commitments creates the trust in the system as a whole and the remote employee feels involved at large. Frequent informal chat, re-assurance of team's availability for any support are needed too.

it's vital to utilize this time effectively for building outstanding communication. Make the most of these 8 hours by engaging in meaningful interactions, such as sharing personal stories, celebrating achievements, and actively participating in team discussions. Prioritizing quality communication during work hours can significantly strengthen relationships, foster trust, and enhance overall team cohesion.

Involving the remote employee also in making certain choices, decisions and seeking timely help can create a sense of belongingness by the remote employee. Seeking feedback, acting on impeccable feedback points to set an example of importance cause immense satisfaction and generate a positive reinforement in the empployee. Besides feedback, a quick bite of colleagues work assignment, efforts as a team pay off rich dividents and the remote employee may feel fully aligned with the strategy.

Seeking feedback is crucial for personal and professional growth. Approach the request for feedback with humility and a genuine desire to improve. Be specific about the areas you want feedback on, whether related to a project, your communication style, or specific skills. Choose an appropriate time and method for feedback, ensuring it aligns with the preferences of the person providing it. Create a safe and open space for honest communication, and be receptive to both positive and constructive feedback. Thank the person for their input and demonstrate a commitment to implementing suggested improvements. Regularly seeking feedback fosters a continuous learning mindset and strengthens professional development.

When providing feedback to remote colleagues, choose the right communication channel, such as video calls or written messages, based on the nature of the feedback and individual preferences. Be clear and specific in your feedback, focusing on observable behaviors and their impact.

Effectively managing time involves prioritization, planning, and maintaining focus. Begin by creating a daily or weekly schedule, outlining tasks and setting realistic deadlines. Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency, tackling high-priority items first. Break larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps to enhance productivity. Minimize distractions by setting designated work periods and taking short breaks in between. Embrace time-management tools and techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique or time-blocking, to enhance efficiency. Regularly reassess and adjust your schedule to accommodate changing priorities. By adopting a proactive and organized approach, you can optimize your time and achieve greater productivity.

avoid working beyond official hours to prevent burnout, When managing my time remotely, I prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. It's essential to maintain a work life balance.

Learning and growing together is much more fun and you can reach new highs. Searching for colleguages with the same interest, doing a project together and learning. This is fun, motivates and together you can reach much more than allone. #neverSTOPlearning #betterTogeher #buildNetworks #buildTRUST

Working remotely can also offer you opportunities to learn and grow professionally and personally. You can use your time and resources to develop new skills, explore new topics, or pursue new projects that can enhance your career. You can also seek mentorship, coaching, or training from your manager, colleagues, or external sources that can help you achieve your goals. Furthermore, you can share your knowledge, insights, or experiences with your colleagues, and learn from theirs as well. By doing so, you can stay engaged, motivated, and productive in your remote work.

You will obviously want to focus on learning skills that will directly help you in your career. However, it may be better if you can also find a way to use learning activities as a means to engage with your colleagues. Consult with your manager and your team to see if you can find a common interest or a training path that leads to better collaboration, productivity and problem solving.

Communication face-to-face is irreplaceable. If you work from home more than 1 day per week, make sure you catch up with your team/colleagues using Teams/Zoom/Skype etc or even a quick phone call or is a great way to re-connect. Creating a group chat is also a way to keep everyone on the loop - whether it is used to share work-related information or share funny pictures/videos!

Something else to consider is team morale and engagement. Sure, we can stay connected via many various methods but remote work makes it harder for us to form bonds and rapport. It's important to have fun and feel connected. Enter team culture! From regular Donuts (meet and greet with ppl from your team or other teams for a 30min virtual donut/coffee call), virtual morning teas with online games, or even a Slack/Teams Wordle comp. Something to help break down the silos within and across teams. It takes effort and trial and error to work out what works for each company/teams, but it works well with an increase in inclusitivty, rapport and productivity (because you now feel comfortable contacting colleagues you've never spoken to before)

During covid I had created a virtual office for first two hours. All of us would just log in to one bridge and continue our work. It was something like sitting side by side and continuing the work and asking each other questions etc. After two months it became a normal. With hybrid teams, there is a sense of Fear of Missing Out. Small gestures like this can ease this out.

Communication: Stay in touch via email, chat, and calls. Meetings: Attend and engage in virtual meetings. Collaboration: Use tools like Slack and Google Docs. Check-Ins: Regularly touch base with team members. Socialize: Organize virtual coffee breaks. Events: Attend virtual team-building activities. Updates: Share hobbies and interests. Support: Offer help and recognition. Flexibility: Adapt to new workflows. Feedback: Seek and give constructive feedback. Implementing these strategies helps remote employees stay connected and engaged.

In my opinion, embracing hybrid work models and remote work involves several steps: 1. Assess Readiness Evaluate your organization's readiness for remote work, considering technology infrastructure, security, and employee roles. 2. Define Policies Clearly outline remote work policies, including expectations, communication protocols, and performance metrics. 3. Training and Support Provide training on remote work tools and best practices 4. Performance Metrics Establish clear performance metrics and goals, focusing on outcomes rather than time spent working. 5. Employee Well-being Address challenges related to work-life balance, mental health, and creating a supportive environment.