Collaboration in a Distributed Workplace: Techniques for Top Performing Teams

Team collaboration has a direct relationship to team performance, project success, and engagement of team members. 

86% of employees cite lack of collaboration as the top reason for workplace failures.

This statistic also shows that effective collaboration does not happen by accident. You have to make conscious efforts to make collaboration happen in a team.

Especially, in the distributed workplace, where all employees are not physically present at the office, it becomes more important to invest in collaboration tools, processes, and initiatives to form a high-performing team.

Otherwise, it will not be surprising to see team performance dropping, members losing engagement, and employees being at risk of loneliness.

Let’s have a look at the traits of high-performing teams and techniques for facilitating high-performing remote teams.

What are the traits of a high-performing remote team?

Certain traits are common among all high-performing teams. Have a look at them.

1. Trust among team members and with the manager

Team members of a high-performing team trust each other. Also, the manager trusts team members. This mutual trust is because each team member feels accountable for the tasks they are doing.

2. Know their role

Team members of a high-performing team know what their roles are and what they are accountable for. This happens when a manager effectively communicates what is expected of everyone.

3. Effective collaboration

A high-performing team is good in communication and collaboration. Strong communication and clear collaboration strategies result in effective information sharing that is required to work together and achieve objectives.

4. Focused on results

A high-performing remote team talks about the results. They do not think in terms of micro-managing or invasive time tracking. They track results.

5. High levels of engagement

Team members of a high-performing remote team know each other very well. They are good at interacting; not just related to work, but also informally. This impacts the employee experience in remote environments.

9 techniques for high-performing teams for collaboration in distributed environments

Creating a high-performing remote team requires more than just buying remote communication and collaboration tools. Here are the 9 techniques that help you nail the remote collaboration:

1. Establish guidelines for communication

Define guidelines for communication in a clear and accessible way. Make sure this is also part of the onboarding training when a new team member joins.

This process can include things like:

• establishing clear communication channels such as video conferencing platforms, project management software, and instant messaging apps

• defining when to use the given channel of communication

• respecting the time zone if you have a global workforce

2. Tracking results not time

It is a natural tendency for those who have been working in office environments for a very long time to be invasive in monitoring remote employees. Challenge this tendency, trust your team members, and focus on tracking the results, not the time.

3. Align your remote team with company goals

Express your goals to your team at the very start. Establish common goals and shared values for everyone to work toward, and communicate your expectations clearly. Make sure that your team knows how their efforts will promote the company vision. This will help avoid confusion and keep everyone aligned.

4. Communicate regularly

While working with a remote team, you must provide your team with the same level of engagement as it would get in the office. Hold regular team meetings using automated notetaking programs to record and transcribe meetings, share updates, and keep everyone informed about progress and decisions.

5. Use a transparent work management platform

Creating a single source of truth and a centralized source of information is vital for remote collaboration. It helps bring transparency, avoid conflicts, and make it efficient to work together.

6. Follow up consistently

Check-in with your team more regularly. A manager or an HR representative can take this role. It can include having a phone call or video call individually with a team member. Asking how they are doing, the challenges they are facing, and any feedback. The purpose is to make sure everyone feels they are connected with and supported by the company.

7. Have a decent amount of facetime

Water cooler discussions, coffee time, and lunch chit-chat, all of these are missing in a remote working environment. Have a dedicated collective coffee break or tea time for remote employees just to have informal light-hearted discussions.

8. Create a culture of engagement

Working in an office provides you with plenty of opportunities to connect with a team such as celebrating birthdays, acknowledging individual achievements, company outings, monthly events, and celebrating successes. This has a huge impact on employee experience and performance. Organize virtual events to maintain the culture of engagement.

9. Twice-yearly or quarterly company retreats

Many top-performing companies are following this strategy to keep the team engaged. If you can, make sure that from time to time your entire team comes together. This will allow them to interact with colleagues they don’t see often and build a strong foundation for collaboration.

Wrapping-up

High-performing remote teams are not built in a day. It takes effort, time, and investment to make a remote team work together effectively.

With the right understanding, processes, tools, and systems in place, you can create a collaborative environment for a distributed workplace that facilitates the high-performance functioning of all team members, whether in the office or working remotely.