Team Building: Can it be Done Remotely? by Megan Murphy
It’s now been two years since the world decided we should stay home.
Two years ago, we learned how to live while remaining socially distant, how to work virtually, ration food instead of running to the store for a quick fix, and some of us even baked our first-ever banana bread! We made the best of a scary, tragic situation brewing outside our windows, with what we had.
Working virtually might have been the only one of those things that stuck — hey, banana bread can only last so long! — and although it’s been a while, we know there are some of you who are still concerned with making your business more efficient, more effortless, more capable of supporting your team’s unique needs.
I was reading through some of my thoughts on the pandemic and touched on this topic briefly before we talked about KPI solutions. I think the biggest takeaway from it was effective team building.
That can be difficult when all you have are Zoom meetings and phone calls.
Hiring
If you’re bringing in new team members, the best way to test their communication skills may be in the questions you ask during their interview. Consider asking about their work-life balance. Ask deeper questions about their remote work experiences.
- How did they handle previous miscommunications at work?
- What has been their biggest challenge while working remotely?
- What apps are they familiar with?
- How do they stay focused during working hours?
Questions like these can offer insight into the candidate’s background and, based on their answers, tell you about their communication skills. How they talk to you is how they’ll talk to their teammates.
In-House Communications
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this problem.
One of the tools EVA uses is having weekly 1-on-1 meetings to go over department or role-based issues, along with a once-a-month team meeting to discuss strategy. Everyone is heard, seen, and resolved this way. No one feels left behind or confused about what they should be doing.
The other helpful tool that we’ve implemented is Asana. We saved ourselves a lot of headaches with the ability to create a project and tag teammates on their individual parts; set due dates for each subtask and leave comments with more instructions, every step of the way. We wouldn’t be able to work as smoothly as we do without Asana’s help.
The other ingredient to how we keep our team productive and happy is having the right mixture of people who are both passionate and proficient at what they do. Each person in our team has their own individual skillset that allows them to take on the specific tasks they are responsible for.
Everyone fits in somewhere, and it’s up to you to see your team’s strengths. When you have proper communication and organization, you can help them shine.
Looking for a remote worker? Let’s see how we can help!
