5 Ways To Help Your Team Feel Appreciated When Working Remotely

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]

From:

Dale Carnegie Training Newsletter
By: Anita Zinsmeister, President
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey
Employee engagement increases in companies that have strong teams. Likewise, a competent team can singlehandedly cut operating costs and reduce the amount of workplace stress.  A team that communicates frequently develops skills that lessen the chance of mistakes that are typically the result of a disjointed team.
 
5 Tips To Help Create A More Effective Remote Team
 
1. Empower Your Team Members – Encourage your team members to be self-managed and a contributing member to the team. Doing so will boost their productivity; however, you do have to encourage and monitor your staff by assigning specific responsibilities and due dates.  Doing so will help promote and foster a culture that harnesses forward-thinking strategies and generates results.
 
2. Ask Everyone For Their Opinion – An “open-door policy” isn’t compelling enough at soliciting frequent feedback from your team.  Establish a system for generating direct and candid feedback.  Furthermore, when evaluating your employees, promote an environment of positive discussion by communicating in a clear and focused manner. To help augment the opinion process, set up a brief meeting with all team members to get their opinion on what is and isn’t working.  Additionally, it might also make sense to have individual meetings to help better solicit each member’s opinion. 
 
3. Get Your People To Buy Into A Team – Team members should understand that the success of their individual career is tied directly to the trajectory of the group and company.  Team-building exercises are great opportunities for every member to feel included and valued. Encourage team members by complimenting positive examples of teamwork as you see them happen.  A team is most effective when it acts as a united front, and every member should be supported, so they feel like they are part of the team.
 
4. Focus On Efficient Execution – Consider the structure of your organization before your team-building exercise commences.  Large teams might need to arrange a central leadership team to make planning and execution more manageable.  Each sub-team requires equal time, treatment, and resources.  Monitor each team to make sure no one person is taking on too much control, responsibility, or the feeling of being overwhelmed.
 
5. Conduct Team Building Activities – Remote team-building activities are great ways to build camaraderie between employees.  As you introduce a team-building activity, structure, or exercise to your employees, be sure to include the expectation for the activity.  Not only should you explain the rules of the exercise, but you should also provide team members with the goal they should achieve.
 
Executive Summary:  A strong team works more effectively and efficiently — all in an effort to increase productivity and results.  The key to encouraging individuals to operate as a team typically comes down to healthy communication.  Make your expectations known and promote direct and candid feedback from team members.  Empower your team by putting them in a position to succeed and encourage everyone to take part in problem-solving to encourage positive attitudes and results. 

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]