In this era of working remotely, getting your team to stay constantly connected and building a stronger relationship and dynamics among them are important to keep everyone going and motivated. The big question, however, is how? What are the things you need to do to enable you and your team to work together to achieve your business goals despite the challenges and limitations of distance and time?
Learning from the best practices of other businesses can help you look into what would be suitable for your team set-up. Entrepreneurs Clayton Cross (Head of Strategy, Expia), Ben Beattie (Managing Director, True Blue Plumbing Australia), and Rob Roy Rankin (Principal and Founder, Rankin Business Lawyers) share some tips on what they do to keep their team stronger together.
Communication system and technology
Technology plays a major role in keeping everyone connected and allowing things to continue to operate despite the limitations of physical and face-to-face interactions. Many transactions are done online, including getting teams to perform their duties and deliver their outputs.
Ben Beattie highlights the importance of “having an internal phone system that is capable of being used from home.” While it’s easy to set up communication systems in an office setting, it is quite a challenge when your team members have varying tools and resources at home. Your business must be able to support their communication needs so that you can contact each other when needed.
Similarly, Rob Roy Rankin makes sure that his team has “Mobility through the deployment of technology and by using tools like Office 365, including Teams, which supports collaboration and social interaction, ActionSteps and NetDocs. Everything is available to everyone at all times,” he stressed.
Regular online meet-ups
How often do you and your team meet online? Meetings are necessary to update each other and to check on every team member. It is also to ensure that every person receives the support and assistance needed from the team, giving them that sense of belonging to a group.
Having regular connections is one of the best practices that Clayton Cross keeps with his team, something that most businesses recognise as an important thing especially when team members are not physically together in the same space.
This was echoed by Ben, “We up the level of communication (among our team) and ensure all meetings are still held weekly. Everyone in the team needs to still feel part of a team.”
“Connection and belongingness” are important factors for Rob. “Rankin operates with a flat structure and creates opportunities for lots of interaction, such as weekly kick-off meetings, one-to-one catch-ups, quarterly company updates and social events,” Rob said.
Flexibility and innovation in meeting styles
Flexibility at work and being considerate to the needs of every team member is also something that Ben implements in his business. That is why one of their best practices is “Being flexible. It can be nearly impossible to work from home with young kids there sometimes. Working with your staff to come up with a schedule that will allow them to achieve what they need to in a week while juggling home life is key,” he said.
Clayton, on the other hand, shared, “we change up meeting styles.” There’s something that people nowadays call virtual fatigue, so it’s good to make your meetings sometimes fun and more relaxed.
As Rob has mentioned, social events create a sense of belonging among team members, and this also applies to the virtual space. Put a bit of play into your work, to get your team hyped and motivated whenever they come online for a virtual meet-up.
Positive reinforcement
Finally, “be positive,” Clayton remarked. Positivity can go a long way in cheering someone up, giving hope to others, and encouraging your team to do their best.
Rob also recognises that the mental well-being of team members is important. “From mindfulness training to acknowledging employees and showing appreciation for their contribution, Rankin is all about celebrating wins, big and small. We also support and champion employees’ passions and causes outside of work,” he shared.
