Expert Panelists are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within the areas of Business, Mindset, Leadership, Lifestyle, and Sustainability. Members of The Brainz Magazine community of experts will share their best tips, advice, ideas, and hacks on different topics.
Expert Panelists
1. Build remote team connections and interaction
For remote employees, the common water cooler communications or dropping by the cubicle takes a lot little more effort to recreate team connections. Within the hybrid work environment, managers should be intentional in building and creating team connections and interactions that foster team synergy and team spirit with all members regardless of their physical location. Create specific dates and times for team-building opportunities that include everyone (e.g., virtual luncheon or happy hour, meeting ice breakers, scavenger hunts, etc.). Utilize email, instant message, Zoom, or MS Teams video calls for regular communications and interactions with team members.
2. Trust your employees to work efficiently
Talk frequently with your remote employees. Regularly check your employees’ progress and deal with any technical issues encountered. Understand and analyse any setbacks or challenges. Set clear boundaries and attainable expectations. Trust your employees to work efficiently and to do what is best for your company. Your remote employees will remain loyal to your company if you TRUST them and give them the freedom to succeed.
Nathalie Cooper, Recruiter, Career & LinkedIn Coach
3. Embrace the human touch and get to know your team
In a remote setup, it’s challenging to get to know each other on a personal level. To make it happen, invite your team to a weekly virtual coffee. What should be on the agenda? Everything BUT business! And if you truly want to spoil your team, surprise them with coffee deliveries!
4. Let them know you care
Too many managers and leaders forget about their remote employees. Out of sight, out of mind is their leadership style unless they don't trust the remote worker(s) in which case it is catching them doing something wrong and acting like a police officer monitoring every detail of the employee's behavior. Catch them doing the right thing, too. Let them know you care. Involve them in everything and ask their opinion and why they have it. Be authentic and eliminate institutional friction that keeps them from being recognized, rewarded and promoted. Fight for them, serve them, love them and be effective for them.
5. Be an active listener
Be curious to learn more about how other people think and what they care about in their life. Invite them to describe how they feel and how they think they might resolve the issue. Asking powerful questions is one simple and direct way to understand other people’s emotions and show sincere interest in their needs, dreams, and hopes. Listen with your full senses, paying attention to what is said and the feelings, behavior, and values shared. By listening with your ears, heart, mind, and with your gut, people around you will feel respected, and you will build trust in your team. Team members who feel appreciated are more engaged, willing to put more effort and go the extra mile.
6. Empower your employees to create
An important aspect of working with employees remotely is to empower them to create with you and the business. You can ask them questions such as:
What tasks do you enjoy?
What work would you like to do?
What do you know about this?
So many of us have been taught that we have to micro-manage or tell employees what to do. Happy, empowered employees who contribute to your business are those who are given the space and freedom to know what they know and create in their own way.
7. Transforming the work environment
Pandemics boosted the popularity of remote work as employees were pushed to work from home for a while and reflect over life values in the meantime. Today, a few years later, it’s a cornerstone question for many employees – how to keep some freedom and comfort and continue working remotely or use a hybrid work model. Clear communication is the key. Lack of face-to-face contact with peers, managers, and stakeholders can be neutralized by using video meetings and interactive formats, e.g., workshops, as much as possible, as well as including short virtual coffee breaks. Mutual trust, respect, authenticity and engagement are the powerful factors helping to keep the levels of belonging to the team, projects and organization far from the red zone. A growth mindset, soft skills, shared business vision and clarity around the needed steps are enabling leaders to create and develop the needed environment of great business results, innovative thinking, satisfaction, engagement and trust.
