'Don’t let them sit on the fence' (working with remote teams)

Working with remote teams.

Is it just one big challenge, especially these last years, or can we consider it a great opportunity for creating more ownership and engaged commitment among our employees?

During our past Tribe Event, @Damian Cotchett, Transformation Director at First Capital Bank in Melbourne, Australia, gave us some personal experiences on how he manages teams and change remotely.

He described how he created 3 scenarios, like leadership-groups, work-streams and cross-functional teams which led to high performing and committed employees.

First question was not how to keep these remote teams working or how to manage them, but how to keep them engaged?

His answer was clear:

“Don’t let them sit on the fence.”

As a manager or company director you need to coach, encourage and engage your people all the time. This takes time, especially when we are not used to working with remote teams and there is no time for training or preparation. But we have to invest time to do so.

It is only this approach which will create strong ownership, leadership, proactivity and commitment among the remote teams you are working with.?

We can excel at managing remote teams by…

Keeping employees engaged and informed

That seems the biggest challenge when working with remote teams, but these concrete tips can already make some positive impact:

• Over-communicating is imperative when it comes to the team’s tasks, duties, responsibilities and desired outcomes!
• Have a clear agenda upfront the meeting with well described goals and share this the agenda with everyone?
• Involve everyone in the meeting, asking them to bring topics and ideas to the table and set the next agenda and focus points together
• Let people alternately take the floor during a meeting and leave openness to co-create
• Where possible try to not organise hybrid meetings. It often creates confusion and lack of involvement of the remote team.

Paying attention to the ‘emotional’ relationship

We probably all experienced during the pandemic the importance of good and close relationships and interactions with our colleagues and employees, if we wanted them not to be completely bored out, but engaged and committed.

What can help, is:

• A short creative and daily check-in: How is the moral today? This may seem like overkill, but for managers and teams new to remote working, this is key!?
• Carve out time during already scheduled meetings for non-work-related conversations
• Organise individual get-to-know sessions where professional needs but also personal assets can be discussed
• Use personal and handwritten messages sometimes instead of emails
• Encourage remote social interactions, like virtual happy hours and recognition sessions.?

Providing support to the remote teams during a period of change

Giving people while working remotely the reassurance that they are seen and heard and supported by their management is another important asset when we want to keep them all ‘on board’. How?

• Mentor and coach more than “manage.”?
• Show flexibility (every team member has a different home environment) and exhibit sympathy. Especially in the context of an abrupt shift to remote work, it is important for managers to acknowledge stress, listen to employees’ anxieties and concerns, and empathise with their struggles.
• Recruit change managers for a certain period with an eye on mentorship
• Use the ADKAR model which focus more on human behaviour?
• Explore the VUCA model with solutions of Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility

Working with practical tools and applications that can make the change process efficient

Practical (online) tools can of course be of great help when we want to keep a close and committed connection with our remote teams, provided that these tools are of high quality, easily accessible and usable by everyone.

These online tools demand in the beginning probably more time to set them up and to get to know them, but it pays off, creating a more engaging and creative context for your team:

• Involve people who are interested to work with these tools and let them create the adequate online platform you will use
• Prepare the online sessions with at least 2 people: one focusing on the technology and one focusing on the engagement of the participants
• Use creative platforms like Mural & Miro to brainstorm
• Create a clear policy on how and across which channels information will be shared. Only through e-mail or also through other tools?
• Set expectations for the frequency and the best times of day for team members to reach their manager and the manager to reach each team member.

Each of the tips above fall into the category of simple but not easy. They each require time, attention, and consistency. But trust me, your team will thank you. The organisation will benefit. And you’ll be more equipped to navigate on the murky waters of change. Good luck!

More insights and tips can be found on:

• https://www.fastcompany.com/90673561/16-effective-management-practices-for-leading-remote-teams
• Corporate Rebels - https://corporate-rebels.com/
• VIDEO: how science can fix remote work - Adam Grant
• BOOK: 'Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams' by David Burkus
• BOOK: 'Remote: Office Not Required' by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
• Upwork article - https://www.upwork.com/resources/building-trust-remote-teams
• Forbes article - https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2020/08/26/13-tips-for-leading-and-managing-remote-teams/?sh=37aa07ff577b

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