Viewing multiple assets at once helps participants see the bigger picture and spot opportunities or inconsistencies. Your team will also have their best and brightest ideas when they have all the information they need in front of them. When working remotely, you never know what can happen—a dog barks, a child runs into your room, the doorbell rings. By holding https://remotemode.net/blog/10-best-remote-team-collaboration-practices/ your meeting in a quiet workspace (not a cafe) and using noise-canceling technology, you can limit distractions and how much they affect your coworkers. Without someone in charge, a meeting can easily become unfocused and unproductive. It’s important to pick a moderator who will keep everyone on task and make sure they have time to speak, if they want to.

Research from McKinsey shows that underrepresented groups are more likely to prefer and stay at jobs that offer the chance for remote or hybrid work schedules. And since remote working brings together people from different backgrounds and cultures, it’s important to emphasize empathy and understanding when teams interact. Psychological safety is important because it lets people take risks without fear. Leaders need to create a safe space for their employees to provide feedback and voice their opinions and concerns, and where they can set boundaries to protect their work-life balance. It’s easy to collaborate, go back-and-forth, or drop by a colleague’s desk for a quick chat at the office.

The backstory on remote team collaboration

When it’s possible to be set off by a phone’s mute button, it’s safe to say that we’re living in challenging times. The digital era has ushered in a revolution in communication that’s equivalent to the one surrounding the invention of the printing press. And it’s affecting what we hear, as the jumble of information coming at us can lead to frequent misunderstandings and confusion. The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done.

• Remote collaboration tools like Wrike help teams stay together and be productive, even…
• Whether that’s committing changes to GitHub or uploading blog posts to WordPress, build step-by-step guides that anyone can follow.
• You might send a monthly (or quarterly) newsletter to your department or the company highlighting your team’s success (and spotlighting individual teammates).

It can be the starting day when you begin work with attendance on time. Working away from the office means staying away from colleagues who are your friends, and it gets hard to trust the team when you work remotely. For instance, one of the team members in remote work is not present in meetings and has not completed their task for the day. In this situation, the team should contact the member and ask for work outputs. Employees tend to lose focus and get distracted, which leads to less productivity during remote team discussions. Remote working is beneficial, but at the same time, it comes with a lot of challenges.

best practices for virtual meetings

Collaboration is essential if you want to see concrete results from remote work. That’s why it’s so important to be able to easily share files and apps in your online meetings. One way to make your meetings more visual and interactive is with an online whiteboard like FigJam. Use it to brainstorm ideas and get teammates’ ideas for features and improvements. Have a fixed time every day to discuss what the team has finished working, currently doing, and if there are any blockers affecting their tasks.

Recognize that behavior (publicly and in private) to show them you appreciate their support and the difference they’re making to the team. As the CEO or team leader, it’s your duty to keep employees motivated. Motivation looks different to everyone, so you’ll need to take a personalized approach rather than a batch-and-blast strategy.

Encourage Active Brainstorming

Video meetings let you build upon verbal and text communication with non-verbal queues. This can help eliminate confusion and build stronger relationships with your employees. You don’t need to wait for in-person meetings to do team-building activities. There are plenty of ways you can build teamwork and collaboration in a remote working environment.

Take time during your weekly virtual meetings to catch up and get everyone on the same page. You might have regular round robins where every team member shares what they’re currently working on or things they’ve recently shipped. According to recent estimates from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22% of Americans work from home, while nearly 50% are involved with remote or virtual team work. The purpose behind team collaboration isn’t for you to always be available.

Best practices for communication and collaboration in a remote team

Encourage team members to engage in non-work-related conversations and organize virtual team-building activities. A favorite Slack channel of Zight’s team is our #watercooler channel, as it helps facilitate team bonding and create a sense of belonging for everyone. And, by choosing the right tools, you can rewrite the rules of remote collaboration. With Switchboard’s “always available” rooms as your team collaboration platform, remote work becomes inclusive, spontaneous, and fun—and even better than in person. Now that you know which values lead to effective team collaboration, let’s take a look at the best practices you can use to get your people working closely together.

• Don’t bombard your team with messages – it’s ineffective, and annoying.
• Your team will also have their best and brightest ideas when they have all the information they need in front of them.
• As you navigate the new normal, consider these valuable, remote collaboration tips from business leaders who’ve been there before you.
• On the more fun side, apps like Gather look like video games, where you can move your character around to meet colleagues virtually.

Misinterpretations and misunderstandings are common in remote interaction. For instance, you are attending virtual meetings, and someone else is talking about their work. Remote team collaboration leads to isolation of ideas if one of the team members is not open about the work conditions. You can also record your meeting and store the recording in your permanent room.

Managing Remote Teams: 14 Best Practices for Good Leadership

Some people thrive with their newfound freedom, while others experience challenges that may affect their mental health. This may not be suitable for all teams, but technology has given us some amazing solutions for team building from afar. On the more fun side, apps like Gather look like video games, where you can move your character around to meet colleagues virtually.