If you look on LinkedIn or other job boards, every job posting shows “on-site,” “remote,” or “hybrid.” Of course, those remote jobs are being snatched up faster than you can say “I’ll send you a Zoom meeting.” So, with teams spread out all over the place – even the world – how do you stay connected? Sobon & Associates LLC is a leader in the Virtual Office space, so we know a thing or two about working remotely. Here are some tools and tips for keeping your remote workers engaged, connected, and feeling like a team.

Hold Standing Meetings

Whether it’s a Monday-morning status to gauge what’s coming in the week ahead – or a Friday-afternoon recap – standing meetings help the team plan their week and collaborate. This is an ideal time for leaders to cascade information down from Senior Leadership, and for junior members to learn.

Break in the Newbies

When someone new joins a team, there are usually team lunches, doughnuts, and office tours. But when you’re remote, well, those things can be harder. Have a kickoff meeting where the new person gets introduced to the team and shows the org chart so they know where they fit in and can put names to faces. (Even better, put photos on the org chart!) Then, play an icebreaker like “Five Fun Facts About Me” or “Two Truths and One Lie.” This is a smart way to get to know each other and have a few laughs while you’re at it.

New Team, Who’s This?

Sometimes a re-org can leave teams confused about who’s who and what their roles are. Do I send this to Tim for approval, or is it, Tom? If you’re leading a new team with unfamiliar names and faces, ask everyone to do a PechaKucha-style presentation on themselves. (Generally speaking, PechaKucha presentations are 20x20 – 20 slides with a single image, and the person speaks about each slide for 20 seconds. “Here’s my dog. He’s a silky terrier and his name is Rex. I love the Rolling Stones and I have every album on vinyl. Oops, here’s my tarragon plant – I have an herb garden on my apartment’s balcony.” It’s a fast, easy way to get people out of their shells and into the team spirit.

Collaboration is Key

Chances are, you’re already using an online collaboration tool like Microsoft Teams, Slack or Zoom. Slack is more about messaging, Zoom is more geared towards video, and Teams does both – plus offers robust channels for file storage and productivity. Be sure that whatever platform you choose for your hub, that everyone’s well-versed in all its features so nobody feels left off the team. If possible, have your IT or HR people conduct lunch ’n learns so everyone coordinates.

Get F2F Once in a While

There’s nothing like a face-to-face meeting to get the team to gel. Having quarterly reviews IRL (in real life) will keep the team in lockstep and ensure you’re staying competitive. If you no longer have an office space where you can bring the team together, renting Flexible Office space and Conference Rooms at a central location can be easy and affordable. At Sobon & Associates, we offer individual offices with desks and chairs, plus larger boardrooms for larger-group collaboration. If you need to conduct training to keep your team compliant, we also have classroom-style setups.

Ready to plan your next training, retreat, or quarterly review? Sobon & Associates LLC is Connecticut’s leading service for Virtual Offices. Select from hourly, daily, or weekly plans to bring the team together. Our plans start at just $55 per month, with flexible office space and meeting room rental available at an additional cost. Call 203-271-1100 to reserve yours. Want your first month on us? Just give us a shout!