Remote Team Building Tips

Working from home doesn’t mean saying goodbye to the members of your team, it just means working well together in a different way.

Working from home? You certainly aren’t alone! The COVID-19 crisis has led to huge surge in home working – but how do you retain a strong team in these trying times? Here are six handy tips:

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Try team building

Just like you would if you were back in the office, make time for team building. Taking part in team building with remote employees is so effective, and all you need to join in is an internet connection and plenty of enthusiasm! 

Establish a routine

To make sure that everyone is on the same page every day, establish a routine. You could have a morning meeting at 10am, and another check in at 4pm before people sign off for the day. If everyone joins these virtual meetings, they will feel as if they are part of the conversation and will be driven to carry on working well together, even when they aren’t in the same room.

Communication is key

If you want your day to go off without a hitch, then don’t rely on just one form of communication for you and your team. Internet connections can fail, mobile phone batteries can run out, and emails can hide in the spam folder. Establish a number of different contact channels, so that if your team members can’t reach you right away, they can try you using another form of communication.

Encourage collaboration

Just because the members of your team are working from home, that doesn’t mean that they should feel alone. Make it clear to everyone that their colleagues are still there for them, and that it’s important to keep communicating and working together throughout the day. Working from home can feel lonely for some, so try to create a culture of collaboration that everyone will benefit from.

Take some time out to chat

When you are in the office, people aren’t talking shop for every second of the day. It should be the same when the members of your team are working from home. Have a group chat that is dedicated to what is known universally as ‘water cooler talk’. Discuss your current Netflix obsessions, share pictures of your home baking efforts, and just take a breather from work for a moment or two.

Celebrate special occasions

While you are all working from home, occasions that you may have marked together will come around – and you should all still celebrate them. Having a bunch of flowers or a hamper delivered to someone’s home will make someone feel really special and like they are still part of a warm, welcoming team. It’s never been easier to organise an office whip-round digitally, either.

Working from home can, and will, work for you

Starting with some high quality team building, there’s no reason why you and your team can’t make the best of working from home. Yes, it may be challenging at first, but providing that you all look out for each other, you can still go on to work well together and deliver great results.