How to Build Trust and Community While Working Remotely

While there is no business as usual this week, and as we all settle in to a new normal, transitioning into yet-to-be-discovered best practices can be a quite difficult. And for many of us working remotely for the first time, perhaps with kids and significant others, working from home can be awkward, clunky, and a new experience that everyone needs to get used to.

What must remain constant (whether we’re at the home or in the office) is a sense of community, trust, belonging, and psychological safety amongst our teams. If we feel isolated, overwhelmed, and not supported, not only will we not be able to contribute, but our ability to remain healthy and positive in these trying times may be compromised as well. As a result, I’m suggesting that we try a new meeting practice at the start of each day. Try this out:

At the start of each workday, consider a virtual meeting with everyone on the team. Having everyone on the call face-to-face via video conferencing enables us to connect, check in, and assess the day ahead together. During this 5-10 minute call, consider asking these three key questions:

1. What should we start doing?

A few days into working remotely, someone from the team may have observed or experienced something that really works for them and might work for the rest of the team, too. If there is an opportunity to share something that the team could start doing, perhaps day-to-day operations could be a little more efficient and effective.

2. What should we stop doing?

In a situation like dealing with COVID-19, we were thrown into this new practice of working remotely from home literally overnight. What happened the next morning is that we dove into what we thought would work best without understanding what was best for the team. If we give our people an opportunity to suggest something we should stop doing, again friction could be reduced and the day could flow that much better.

3. What should we continue doing?

Finally, ask what is going well that we should keep doing while working remotely. We’re all professionals and inevitably some of the practices we implemented are working well for everyone. Ending the meeting with something that is going well finishes the conversation on a positive note and allows us to transition smoothly into the workday ahead.

Strengthen team connection while working remotely 

Now, does everyone need to answer the questions? No. And for those that do, a short suggestion and explanation should be fine, followed by a quick vote to see if others agree. Regardless, empowering everyone on their team to have their voice heard first thing in the morning when we can all come together to connect before a busy day ahead allows us to briefly hear and see each other which, in times like these, is more important than ever before.

To learn more about how to build trust with your team while working remotely, access Achievers’ white paper, “Empowerment and Trust: The Keys to Employee Engagement.”

Good luck, and happy remote working!

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