Remote working can be a huge benefit to your career. There are many people out there that have to move to a new job every few months, and who need to work on projects with people they don’t really know. They need someone who can work with them from halfway across the world and who will be able to provide a lot of support.
One of the most important things a remote worker does is build and maintain trust with their team. There is no better way to do this than through frequent communication and effective collaboration.
Trust is one of the most crucial elements of the work experience — it’s what can make the difference between a great hire and a problem child. But it’s not easy to build, especially when you work remotely. Here are some tips to help you build trust with your team and make the most of remote work.
Stay connected with your coworkers
If you’re looking to build a strong bond with your remote team, you must take the time to actively engage and listen. The best way to build trust with your team is to talk to them regularly and have a real, face-to-face connection.
Get to know people
People like to work remotely because it’s less stressful and accountable. It’s less expensive and gives them more time to focus on the things that they want to do. But they also like to know and trust their co-workers.
For example, some people feel more comfortable working with someone they’ve known for a while. Knowing this, they can ask and confront their co-workers when they don’t want to be bothered. And if they know their co-worker is always open and honest, they can ask them to do things at work.
Stay in the loop with weekly status updates
As an employer, you have a lot to keep track of. You need to know what your employees are doing, who they are meeting with and who they are talking to. You need to make sure they are getting enough sleep and eating well. In other words, you need to know what they are doing on a day-to-day basis. If you are too busy to do so, it’s important to ask your employees to give you a weekly status update.
Communicate often
The workplace is more than a combination of people and machines, it is a social structure. When you work from a different location, you have to establish a level of trust with your remote workers. The best way to do this is to communicate often, so that everyone involved can work together smoothly.
Use a Team Chat System
There are many ways you can use Skype, HipChat, Slack, and other real-time chat services to communicate with colleagues and team members. Some use them to chat through meetings, while others use them to chat with customers.
Set up Video Conferencing
Sometimes work is done remotely, and you need to establish trust to do your job. For example, a team leader might want to discuss certain aspects of a project with the remote member of the team, but he or she might not be able to discuss sensitive subjects. In such cases, a good solution is to setup video conferencing.
Use a Collaborative Software
Why use collaborative software? It’s a nice fit with the modern working environment, because it provides a great deal of flexibility, making it easier to collaborate and communicate. Collaborative software allows you to communicate and share information with a team easily. If you are employed as a freelancer or work remotely, it’s a great way to collaborate with colleagues.