Remote team work. What are your DOs and DON'Ts to build a solid team?

Olga Kazmina
3 replies
Hey! Now I am building my second project with 100% remote marketing team. Even if I myself am fully committed to the office thus totally not enjoying coffeeshops around Europe or sunny workplace by the ocean in South-East Asia (which are major accosiations with instagram-worthy remote work, I suppose) I like the concept itself for various reasons: – More effective work and task tracking. Tasks are getting done quicker – no need sitting out office hours 8/5. – Everything is accountable. – Trust builds non-toxic relationships between team-mates and managers – Video-conferencing is fun But there is definitely the other side: – It's nice to have peers around and often great ideas are born in the little chats – "collisions" throughout the day, which is not always the case with remote team-mates – Monthly retainer, hourly rates, part-time commitment? Salary models are different for the members of one team. Difficult to manage and keep the same level of engagement for everyone. – Payments! It's a pain if the team is distributed worldwide. – Well.. simply mental health issues, loneliness and problems with unplugging. Self-discipline should be trained well to guide towards the healthy work-life balance. Daily dose of communication is required. – Career growth paths? What are your thoughts on remote teams? What make remote work super productive, inspiring and enabling growth for the team?

Replies

Shannon Maloney
Hi @olga_kaz3k00! I'm partially remote (as is my marketing team) and it's fairly new to my company. We still have an office, but more remote flexibility. I have to say the biggest challenge for me has been getting into a morning routine that sets me up to be productive. Before going remote, I had about a 45 minute walk to work where I'd clear my head and mentally prepare for the day. I realize I miss that a LOT and have since worked it into my remote day as well. Instead of diving head-first into work first thing in the morning at home, I give that time back to myself where I would have been commuting. I read, go for a walk or exercise instead of forcing myself to be productive, just because I'm at home and able to work earlier in the day. As for managing my team more remotely now, it's been surprisingly easy to adjust. We use Slack to communicate and it takes no time at all to be on a video call if we need it. We scrum everyday with what we're tackling and to remove any blockers so that holds us accountable (along with PM tools like Asana and Jira). Our one-on-ones are definitely more jam-packed than ever being more remote. Since there's no "Tap on the shoulder for a quick question" that ends up being a lot of what we tackle in our one-on-ones. Productivity has definitely increased without distractions in the office as well. There's more of a "Can do" or "Find the solution first" attitude that comes with working without the physical support of your team mates an arm's length away. I hope that's helpful! Would love to talk more on the topic :)
Olga Kazmina
@shannon_maloney Thank you for your post! I think the morning routine you mentioned is very important. The best addition in my morning routine independent from remote/ office work was meditation. I am trying to be consistent with 30 min morning meditation and each day it sets me on fire before I start :) But of course everyone has his own, so I am glad to hear that you found your morning practice in walking and exercising. "Productivity has definitely increased without distractions in the office as well" – this is so true. And yet many employers and companies have this stereotype that who is not under their sight physically is beyond their control, thus being wrong about the fruits of remote work. Btw do you meet with the team mates IRL?
Shannon Maloney
@olga_kaz3k00 I'm so glad it was helpful! And yes we still meet in person as well, and as we've transitioned to more remote work I've been pleasantly surprised and delighted by how much care we've all taken to make sure we don't lose the "human" connection. We've just found other ways to be social like virtual coffees. ☕️🙂