Six Tactics To Improve Collaboration For Remote Teams

The difficulties of working remotely

At Tara, half of our staff works remotely from various locations across the globe, including software engineers and growth marketers who collaborate with our San Jose, California team. The following are some of the most significant obstacles we encounter when working in a distant collaborative environment:

1. INOPERATIVE BOUNDARIES

It might be challenging to keep your house and office separate when they are. Leaving the office building or taking a car home can cause your brain to transition from work mode to rest mode. Sadly, the impact isn’t the same when you move from the workstation to the couch.

You may find yourself replying to emails at all hours of the day and feeling as though you are working nonstop if there are no established boundaries and routines during the workday. Your productivity will suffer as a result, and burnout will eventually set in.

The inability to concentrate when working during peak hours is another drawback of combining work and home life. While some people report being more focused and productive when working remotely, this isn’t always the case.

Lack of focus is a problem that many of our team members encounter when working remotely, especially those who work from home with young children. However, even someone who has a demanding dog at home or a spouse who uses the same workspace as them would have to become used to additional distractions that they wouldn’t encounter in an office setting.

2. AUTOMATION IN COMMUNICATION

Taking instantaneous communication for granted is easy when your entire team is close at hand. Are you curious about the state of something? Simply shout “Andrew” across the room to get an update. What occurs, though, if “Andrew” is not just thousands of miles distant but also in a different time zone?

It is much harder to collaborate effectively when people are dispersed geographically. Your entire team will need to adjust their expectations when working remotely regarding the speed at which talks can occur and the speed at which you should anticipate responses.

You might have to wait hours before someone logs on to their work computer or write an email instead of being able to stop by their desk for a brief conversation.

For many teams going remote for the first time, this shift from instantaneous to asynchronous communication—where you don’t expect an immediate response—is a major obstacle.

3/ TROUBLES IN MAKING DECISIONS

At Tara, we think that important decisions should be made as a team. We can achieve the finest results when we can get together to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various possibilities and come up with fresh, creative solutions.

However, it is far more difficult to brainstorm and debate ideas when you are unable to meet in person. Our team frequently uses Zoom and other video conferencing platforms to stay in touch, yet these platforms sometimes make it difficult to come up with new ideas.

People have trouble hearing each other due to technical difficulties, background noise and chatter can easily drown each other out, and there are additional distractions to divert attention. However, turning off the microphones and making individuals wait to speak saps the energy and spontaneity that fosters creative thought.

Additionally, scheduling a time when everyone is available for a call can be exceedingly difficult, particularly if there are several time zones involved.

Tara group

4. PARTNERSHIPS HURDLES

Making decisions isn’t the only occasion when a remote team needs to collaborate. Any endeavor requires a great deal of collaboration. Yes, it is possible for one individual to work alone to accomplish some jobs. However, what happens if you need individuals to collaborate more in order to work on certain features?

In collaborative work, it can be challenging to arrange meetings, exchange files, and ensure that you and your colleague are in agreement when they are not in the same room. The last thing you want is to find out that you both worked on the same assignment, but since you thought the other was doing it, you neglected to finish something else.

Our team, which is made up of developers from all over the world, is aware of the difficulties in maintaining effective remote communication when coworkers aren’t sitting next to you at your workstation. When there is no face-to-face encounter, you must communicate with them via email or another online method—possibly several times before they respond. Anticipating responses may result in notable setbacks in task advancement, annoyance, and reduced group productivity.

5. CULTURAL DISRUPTIONS

If you have ever worked in an office where the culture of the workplace is poor, you are aware of how important culture is to productive, happy teams. Even in an office setting, cultivating and sustaining a positive culture of trust and comradery requires a lot of work.

The challenge of preserving a strong culture is multiplied tenfold when you factor in the physical separation of your team members. People tend to psychologically check out or withdraw from the team and their job when they feel forgotten, disregarded, or ignored.

It’s more difficult for your team to get along and develop the trust they need to collaborate effectively if they don’t have the informal watercooler conversations, go out to lunch together, or have drinks after work. When it comes to needing to interact with people, the introverts on your team may find it rather difficult, particularly if they have grown too accustomed to working from home and not going out much.