Integrating Virtual Team Members into Your Office
Onboarding a new employee is an important first impression. It sets the tone for how quickly a team member can start contributing, and how invested they feel in business. The same goes for assimilating remote teams. Integrating virtual employees into an otherwise office-based group is critical for creating a cohesive work environment and effective team. There are two main areas to focus on when adding a remote staff: creating a sound digital framework and cultivating a virtual work culture.
The framework includes setting up an array of tools to ease remote work. Slack, Google Docs, or Asana, among other platforms, facilitate easy communication, project management and general workflow. One challenge that comes with working remotely is making sure everyone is on the same page. Over communicating? Never heard of it. Assigning tasks and tracking progress is central to keeping things organized in a virtual environment. Make sure it’s somewhere all remote employees have access to, can edit, leave comments and ask questions.
Another way to keep the team on track and to promote team bonding is by scheduling regular meetings or videoconferences. The key word being schedule –– avoid random, spontaneous check-ins as they tend to be unproductive. Always send an agenda to all attendees ahead of time to keep the meeting focused but try to kick things off with a round robin about something fun. Think weekend plans, favorite foods eaten or how to make a sweat suit look business casual. Depending on your team, don’t forget to keep time zones in mind when planning recurring meetings. Lastly, encourage video –– it makes meetings more personal and engaging.
In tandem with team meetings, make sure to set aside time and connect one-on-one with employees. If working remotely is a new experience, make sure to schedule time to check in, get feedback and see what can be improved.
Feedback will be imperative to building a remote work culture as well. A remote company culture needs to feel as concrete as possible –– it helps team members feel motivated, inspired and ultimately, invested in the business. Ask what’s important to your team and build around and off of that.
Make sure to introduce new employees over video and literally put a face to the name. You can also rotate which employee leads the team meetings. Not only does this improve speaking skills, but it lets everyone know their voice is valued.
Part of work culture is keeping team collaboration and morale high. Pose engaging questions like, “What’s a recent movie you saw that you’d recommend to a friend?” Invite employees to share books, podcasts or playlists. Start meetings with shout outs or recognition for a job well done; celebrate birthdays or work anniversaries online; host a virtual happy hour and toast to your team’s success. Celebrate cultural heritage months or awareness days and ask your team how you can support those efforts.
When you have a strong work culture and operations are running smoothly, you, your business and your employees reap the benefits of a fully integrated remote team. Virtual cheers to that!