1. Get a cue – When people are physically in front of us, we consciously or subconsciously tune into their body language. But when we interact with employees by videoconference, it’s much harder to see those physical cues.
For instance, when you talk to someone face-to-face, it’s normal to use a lot of hand gestures, which could indicate how engaged you are in the conversation. But in a video or virtual setting, most people don’t use those gestures. That doesn’t mean they’re not paying attention. Actually, it’s often the opposite. People who look impassive are in fact intently focused on the screen. By the same token, some employees may not be comfortable speaking with the camera switched on, instead preferring to communicate via audio only. Don’t take it personally and don’t think less of these people.
Leaders should lift their empathy level in this environment and that means learning a new set of cues for remote working.
2. Establish unwavering two-way trust with employees – A big part of building trust is not only letting employees work where they want, but how they want. The truth is that employees all function differently and it’s important to give all of them the autonomy to operate the way they work best.
I have one employee on my engineering team who loves to work at night because that’s when he writes his best code. If I demanded that he work a 9-to-5 schedule, I wouldn’t get the best out of him.
I place unwavering trust in all my team members to get their jobs done by the method of their choice and they in turn reward our company by building a positive work culture that is highly creative and productive.
3. Go the extra mile – As I mentioned, our company has always been virtual. But for onboarding, we’re always there in person to welcome our new team member to the company.
How does this work? Well, I travel to wherever the new hire is based and then spend the day with them, explaining various company procedures or just getting to know them better over lunch or dinner. It’s a special day and it shows new employees right away that they’re valued members of the organization.
Another way we show our value for positive workplace relationships is by getting together for an annual offsite. We meet for about three days at a neutral city, so we can all get to know each other better, while we plan our future goals together. We work hard and of course play hard too!
Of course, this kind of in-person greeting isn’t possible during the pandemic but we plan to return to this practice as soon as it is safe to do so.
4. Ease the sense of separation – One of the side effects of working in an all-virtual, all-the-time environment is an occasional sense of isolation. I experience it and I know other team members do too. You feel cut off. But the sensation usually has nothing to do with physical distance. It comes when people feel “out of the loop” and unaware of some important information or decision.
I address this issue — for both myself and my employees — by thinking of it as a structural disconnect. I look for cues that demonstrate a sense of isolation and then try to facilitate for what exactly is missing and how I can help that employee feel more engaged and part of the process.
This approach helps immensely in breaking down barriers, which oftentimes exist in our own heads. I’ve also strived to eliminate red tape and provide a virtual open-door policy to employees, which has helped to improve overall engagement.
5. Enable an on-demand communications culture – One way to ensure a sustained productive environment with distributed teams across various time zones is to facilitate an asynchronous communications style. It’s a departure from the norm and defies standard corporate notions that equate frequent emails or being present for meetings with productivity.
When executing this on-demand communications style, in which team members interact as needed, managers can’t fall into the trap of mistaking the lack of communication for incompetency or unproductiveness. Actually, it can be quite the contrary, provided that you allow the work to proceed without causing systemic dependencies.
