Building Teams When You Can’t Be Together: How to Foster Employee Connections in Remote Workplaces

As we slowly move into a post-COVID reality, we face a new truth: Remote work is here to stay. With more and more companies choosing to introduce permanent remote work options, employers will have to think about long-term solutions to the challenge of creating effective teams without the benefit of face-to-face interaction. After all, communication and collaboration are the foundations of a team’s success. 

As HR and organizational leaders develop their permanent virtual workplaces, they must create remote environments that actively support communication and collaboration. Building out this environment requires a skill set that many HR and management professionals already possess, though they may struggle to translate those skills into the virtual workplace. Building trust, supporting employee wellness, and improving productivity are great places to begin.

Build Trust

The past year of remote work showed us all how heavily employees depend on face-to-face interaction to build relationships. Emailing your coworker to ask a question is much different from stopping by their desk on your way out to lunch or chatting about your weekend over a morning cup of coffee. Without these dependable day-to-day interactions, people simply have fewer opportunities to build trust with coworkers.

For teams to be effective, employees must be trusting of one another. A team member who has a question must feel comfortable posing it to someone they trust to have the answer; an employee who needs assistance on a project must be able to ask a trusted colleague to jump in. Employees who trust each other tend to be more creative, innovative, and productive at work.

When employees don’t have opportunities for daily interaction, communication and collaboration suffer. So, what does daily interaction look like in a virtual workplace? To get started, try virtual team-building activities that encourage reliance and dependability among groups. Consider implementing a daily huddle where each team member shares a fun fact about themselves; incorporate ice-breaker questions into virtual meetings to encourage people to feel more comfortable with one another. Starting the conversation is half the battle, so opening channels for team members to interact “outside of the office” will go a long way.

Support Employee Wellness

As we all know by now, remote burnout is very real. Managers must remember that physical and mental health are key components of a happy and healthy employee base. Even if employees are no longer stepping foot in the office, your organization needs to show them it is invested in their health. Creating opportunities for remote team members to invest in their mental and physical health will reduce the impact of burnout and help keep productivity, engagement, and morale high.

There are tons of ways to incorporate wellness activities into virtual team-building sessions, including group meditation, yoga, or even workout sessions. Not only do these activities give employees the chance to get up out of their chairs, but they might just boost work ethic, innovation, and employee loyalty as well. Employees who know their managers care about them are more likely to put in the work when the time comes.

Plus, wellness activities also provide an excellent opportunity for team members to interact with each other, creating a simple but effective way of connecting employees and continuing to build the trust that comes through frequent relationship-building.

Increase Productivity

When it comes down to it, every company wants employees who value productivity. Performance is primarily driven by passion: passion for the work, the company, and the team. If companies are not prepared to actively encourage this passion, productivity can take a massive hit in the move from physical to remote workplaces.

Once again, connection between coworkers is key. Employees who feel connected with one another can be 20-25 percent more productive. Therefore, HR pros and team managers should be creating regular opportunities for connection and collaboration between employees. Collaboration creates beneficial working relationships that maximize profitability for the company overall, but that’s not all it does. Collaboration also helps employees uncover new talents, develop new skills, and stoke that passion for their work that drives productivity.

There are plenty of digital tools available to assist with regular connection and collaboration, with Slack and Zoom being two of the biggest names. Platforms like these make it easy for remote employees to check in with one another, almost like sliding over to a coworker’s desk for a midday chat.

—

Any HR or management team ready to build an efficient and productive remote workplace already has all the tools they need to get started. By incorporating team-building into daily life, companies can build trust among employees, promote physical and mental health, and increase productivity, all of which foster a happy and healthy workplace environment.

Brian S. Anders is director of human resources for WorkSmart Systems.