Top tips for the successful management of a remote team – from those who do it!

There’s a lot to be said for working from home. No more lengthy and expensive commutes and a better work-life balance for employees, and reduced office costs for companies, to name a few. But team relationships can be harder to form, and then there’s sometimes the awkward formalities of video meetings to contend with. Here, those who manage remote teams successfully share their best insider tips.

Amy Mussellwhite, Lead Adviser, The Wow Company thewowcompany.com

Our number one tip for remote working is to keep the team engaged and connected. A few things we did to help here:

1. We created a ‘social committee’ to ensure there are always events in the diary for people to look forward to, both online and face-to-face.
2. We created a Slack channel called #wow-stories that allowed people to share client feedback, and thank and praise each other publicly.
3. We introduced buddy groups for people to have the ‘water cooler chat’ that you would otherwise miss out on when you’re not in the office.

Renna Markson MPRCA, Deputy Director General, Engagement Director, PRCA prca.org.uk

Don’t forget the chit chat. While working remotely it is easy to only communicate with team members for a work-related reason. The personal, friendly chats that would have happened while making a cup of tea are as important as business discussions. They help to strengthen relationships and build trust amongst teams.

Julian Boulding, Owner, The Network One thenetworkone.com

There will be some people you know very well and trust implicitly, who will simply continue to work as diligently as they used to do, before they started working remotely.

For everyone else, and especially for new staff, you should seriously consider moving to payment for specific deliverables, rather than payment by the hour, day, week or month. It’s often how your clients prefer to work, so it may simplify your management accounting. 

Aron Pierre, Chief Marketing Officer, Hodl Finance, hodl.finance

Make sure that all communication happens in a group chat so that everyone knows what’s going on even if they are not assigned to a certain task.

To not lose the information, you can create multiple group chats about certain things that the team is working on. For example, design chat, marketing chat, strategy chat, etc.

For us, weekly meetings are hugely important to discuss strategy and changes in strategy. At our office, we have stand-ups twice a week with the whole team including anyone working remotely.

Michael Bociurkiw, Global Affairs Analyst, michaelbociurkiw.com

When managing remote teams, consideration is required to avoid overwhelming colleagues with ‘noise.’ Online chat rooms can quickly deteriorate into virtual echo chambers which are annoying and distracting. Try to opt instead for weekly zoom meetings but keep them short and organised. In-person meetups at least on an annual basis foster bonds and creative collaboration. It goes without saying that a manager should provide regular feedback and encouragement.

Michelle Jeuken, Director Communications and Marketing, British Asian Trust

Think about how you use different forms of communication to replace the face-to-face interaction at the office. Set up coffee mornings just for a chat amongst the team. Set aside drop in time for you team to talk to you. Schedule time to just give them a call – not everything has to be by email or meeting.  

Have fun! It can be hard to build a team when you’re working remotely, so finding the things which connect us becomes more important than ever. Be conscious about creating time for collaboration and supporting people to work in virtual teams. Find creative ways to help your team get to know each other. One of my favourite ways to do this is to ask people what inspires them – you’ll be amazed how much this can connect people.

Gina Hollands, Operations Director, Curzon PR curzonpr.com

‘Remote’ doesn’t have to mean ‘always remote’. Even if it’s just once a month or even once a year, consider a physical meeting with your team. If this is an annual event, it offers a great opportunity to share your company’s future objectives and to take a look over the highlights of the previous year. Getting everyone engaged and excited about the part they play in making this future happen can really help employee happiness and productivity. Organising such an event can be challenging with large or international teams, but the relationships that are formed and trust that is built as a result is often worth it.

For most companies, operating with remote and even hybrid team members is still relatively new, and something everyone is getting used to. Best practices are being developed and will be for several years to come. By sharing tips and advice on what works well — as well as what doesn’t — we can together create a model of remote working which harnesses collaboration and brings happiness and success to all parties.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]