How can I ensure I have the best setup for my remote teams? Oh, if only there was a one-size-fits-all answer.

The truth is that reaching optimal teamwork for remote workers relies on a whole host of different factors.

As much as you might try to analyze the best business practices of companies from a bygone era, remote collaboration is a brand-new area of work that needs modern practices and principles. 

Dealing with remote work challenges is something that companies from the past have never had to consider. With this in mind, we’re taking a deep dive into remote collaboration and highlighting the challenges faced by managers of remote teams. 

Then we’re outlining the best practices and principles for you to adopt to maximize remote collaboration. 

There’s a lot to absorb, so let’s get into it!

What exactly do we mean by “remote collaboration”?

Remote collaboration is the process of working together with teammates from different geographical locations. Companies make the most out of tools and technologies to help their remote teams perform tasks that previously could only be done in-office.

Remote collaboration is performed by “remote” or “hybrid” workers. A remote worker is permanently based off-site, often in a different country, while a hybrid worker carries out some work off-site or from home, and occasionally works on-site.

As of 2023, 13% of full-time employees work from home, while 28% work in a hybrid model. Further into this data illustrates where future trends might be heading, with 32.6 million American workers expected to be remote by the year 2025.

As managers get to grips with these skyrocketing trends, they should never lose sight of what makes team collaboration important in the first place. The traditional methods of team building and collaborative office culture remain the same, but the tools they need for remote workers are different.

Almost all companies have begun to adopt some kind of remote collaboration system, through video conferencing software like Zoom or project management tools like Trello to keep track of tasks. When everything is going well, remote collaboration feels as natural as sitting next to your work colleague in the office.

However, as these collaboration systems grow more complex, you might find some new challenges and setbacks when trying to set up a harmonious atmosphere for remote collaboration.

What are some common setbacks when remotely collaborating?

There’s no doubt that the benefits and the possibilities of remote collaboration are attractive to top managers. But managing a virtual team is no easy feat. With major changes in organizational practices come new, unique challenges. Adopting remote and hybrid models presents brand new challenges that companies before 20 years ago didn’t even have to think about.

Some of the most common challenges among these are:

• A sense of detachment: A report in 2023 showed that almost 25% of remote workers sometimes struggle with a sense of detachment, isolation or even loneliness. Millions of traditional office workers have indeed found lifelong friends and support groups through their in-office colleagues. This shows the importance of getting remote teams synced together and socialized properly.

• Miscommunications on the definition of remote work: As the term “remote collaboration” is still quite new for a lot of people, especially senior workers, sometimes there can be confusion about exactly what it means. People who have spent decades working in brick-and-mortar office jobs might have questions about how the team can run properly when some of them are off-site.

• Difficulties with scheduling between time zones: There are some challenges that remote workers face that are quite simply impossible to overcome. As workers collaborate on different sides of the planet, there is never going to be a piece of software that synchronizes the times of day and night. This leads to new difficulties in scheduling meetings and work sessions.

• Adoption of collaboration tools: As the trend of remote workers continues to rise, every year more and more tools are developed to help streamline group work and overcome the challenges that remote collaborators face. When presented with a massive collection of new software and tools, sometimes it’s overwhelming to make the right choice. 

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While some of these drawbacks might appear daunting to a company that hopes to expand into remote and hybrid models, there is a set of principles and practices they can use to ease the process. Adopt as many as you can with your remote workers to keep them in top-gear as they collaborate.

Best practices and principles for remote collaboration

Effective remote collaboration relies on getting a multitude of things right. Here’s our collection of the very best practices and principles to solidify your remote team collaboration. Let’s break them down:

Setting up the right tools

In a perfect world, every single member of your team would be working at a 100% efficiency rate, straight from their living room. They wouldn’t need to spend so much time and money commuting, they’d spend more time at home with their friends and families, and they’d work during hours that they know they are most productive. The reality is so often very different.

But with the right tools, you really can get closer to this perfect system. For instance, a team of graphic designers would get the most out of a highly visual collaboration tool like Figma. They’d be sharing design prototypes and visual imagery in the blink of an eye. 

Or maybe you’ve got your team of coders ready, but they’re struggling as they can’t execute code collaboratively and instantaneously. A tool like Replit would really help, as everything is optimized to be executed in real-time. 

The old phrase “the best craftsman can use any tools!” really does seem a little outdated when you consider the specific benefits of modern collaboration tools. 

So make sure you’ve stocked up your arsenal of tools that are tailored and specified for your teams. They might come with a need for some training and familiarization, but in the long-run, we know they’re worth it!

Modernize your communication systems and norms

As your workforce modernizes, globalizes and levels up its international presence, you might find that remote team communication faces new and unknown challenges. At this point, a revamp might be in order. Outdated communication systems are heading out of the window, and teams that thrive remotely need more modern ways to communicate.

As much as we might try, some things in life we just can’t fight (one example being the sun’s position in the sky!). With a globalized workforce, half of them could be awake while the others are tucked into their beds. So what happens if a less experienced team member has an urgent question they need to ask, for example? New language model systems are appearing to help remote team communication, like Cognizant Communication Service on Cloud.

In a traditional office setting, you can call an urgent meeting with your teams at the drop of a hat if you need to. So with remote workers, you might want to consider setting up call-out systems for urgent meetings. A flagging or color-coded calling system can help workers realize when alarm bells are ringing.

Overall, it’s best to be prepared as your teams become remote. Make sure you do everything in your power to keep communication as strong as it can be between your remote workers. Communication is king!

Bring them on a team retreat (in-person!)

So here’s an activity that’s dear to our hearts. Your remote workers are dotted around the globe, and you want nothing more than to amplify their sense of teamwork and collaboration. Each member has spent time improving their efficiency while working from home.

But sometimes a pleasant call-to-action is needed. Human beings are social creatures, and nothing quite socializes them more than a work retreat for remote teams. Remote workers certainly see the appeal of a retreat that mixes travel and team-building in a work setting. In fact, a Stratos survey shows that over 80% of employees believe that business travel and retreats are attractive job perks, with 79% also stating that the ability to travel affects their overall job satisfaction.

There’s no doubt about it, establishing a company culture that includes perks like a team retreat gives a boost to the system for remote workers. They’d love the opportunity to travel, meet their teammates in the flesh, and build bonds somewhere new and unique. You really should consider setting up a team retreat to get the most out of remote workers!

Pool all information and resources

So with the principles we’ve highlighted so far we’ve seen the new types of virtual challenges remote teams face when they’re scattered around different geographical locations. Compared to your traditional office, where everyone comes in at the same time, it’s easy to make sure everyone attends those crucial information-sharing sessions. But how is it possible to keep remote workers up to date with that make-or-break information?

Well, you need to create some kind of shared pool of centralized information that everyone can access. Centralized information is fantastic for remote teams because the information you would usually share with them on a day-to-day basis actually becomes like a self-service system!

Use a database filled with clear and precise documents to help your remote workers access any information they need. The more detailed the better. Then, set aside some time for your remote workers and walk them through it (perhaps a session that’s considerate of their time zone. It’s hard to retain information at 2 am!). 

By making the most of a shared pool of information, you won’t face those nasty spikes in employee engagement when a remote worker feels lost and out of their depths, with nowhere to turn. Make the most out of remote-friendly databases!

Get as close to real-life as possible

Here’s a more general principle to consider when trying to keep your remote teams functioning at their best. Think for a moment about those special moments at the office where you decide to create a day that’s a little out of the ordinary. Maybe a member has a birthday, and in a traditional office, you’ve arranged for a cake and a shiny disco ball to celebrate! 

Well, with today’s collaborative tools and digital platforms, there are plenty of ways to keep that spirit of celebration and socialization going. You’ve got to find ways to reduce that far-away feeling so many remote workers experience. Fun new tools are cropping up to help bridge this gap. How about a remote session of Christmas karaoke with your teams on Singa, for example?

The whole point of this principle is to keep in mind that as more and more interactions happen digitally, we might find new feelings of miscommunication or even isolation when we’re so far away. 

Keep the spirit of the fun things you do in the office flowing into your remote sessions. How you do it isn’t as important as the effort you put in to bring your unique in-office quirks to the remote setting. Here’s to having a little bit of work fun!

Optimize your virtual teambuilding sessions

So now your remote teams might be as far away as Beijing or Timbuktu, and you might find it difficult to use the same teambuilding activities and games that you’re used to using in-office. But fear not! There are enough virtual teambuilding activities out there to keep your teams strengthening their bonds as much as they would if they were on-site.

Create a weekly schedule in which all your remote workers join and get the ball rolling. Call the event “Virtual Wind-down Fridays” or “Monday Games Night” to let them know what they’re in for. Kickstart the session with some fun icebreaker games to set the mood right. Icebreaker games are great for helping new hires overcome nerves and make new bonds too.

Carry this principle into your corporate events, as well as fun game sessions. There’s a bunch of virtual corporate events at your disposal to make sure your remote workers never feel left out. No matter if your team members are a million miles away, virtual teambuilding activities are evolving alongside the rise of remote workers.

So make the most of your teambuilding sessions in a virtual environment to keep the spirit of team bonding alive! We know your remote workers will thank you for it. A little consideration goes a long way!

Maintain your healthiest organizational principles

Our last piece of advice is a personal appeal to you, as manager. If you really want to have your remote staff collaborating as efficiently as they would if they were in the office, don’t get lost in all of the changes you’re making. As you bring in new tools, software and guidelines for remote work, our advice is to keep things simple and efficient.

You still need to maintain your healthiest principles to keep the work environment strong. Yes, your remote workers are far away, but it’s still just as important to keep the company culture positively buzzing. Some of your remote workers might even benefit from some support for their well-being or mental health. You can adopt and promote strong mental health resources in your remote information database.

As your workforce diversifies into remote and hybrid models, don’t ever lose track of the human behind the internet connection. If you overlook or underestimate remote workers, your company turnover and attrition rates are sure to suffer, damaging the organization in the long run.

So, keep the vibes and atmosphere healthy for every member of the team, from your remote workers to your in-office receptionist. Make the extra effort that remote workers sometimes need, to let them really know that you’re there for them. Adopt your healthiest business principles for the best results in remote collaboration!

Nothing beats in-person teambuilding. Use us for a company retreat!

Even after adopting all of these principles, you’re still likely to find your remote workers will benefit from a physical get-together. We’ve seen it so many times before.

So why not consider strengthening their bonds on a teambuilding retreat?

We organize work team retreats that work wonders for team building. A twice-annual retreat bonds employees in new ways, and for new members of staff, it’s an amazing opportunity!

We've had the pleasure of organizing over 700+ retreat experiences, including remote teams, for many different companies. Here’s what we offer:

• Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
• Quality-assured accommodations? Check! ✅
• Engaging team-building activities? Our speciality ✅
• Restaurant reservations? That's on us! ✅
• Expert retreat planning assistance? Of course, we have this covered! ✅
• Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅

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Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.

So don’t forget that even as the stats for remote work are increasing, nothing beats the power of physically getting together in a productive and unique setting. Leave us to take care of the tricky logistics for an incredible work retreat. Spaces are limited, get in touch now!