Creating a First Class Employee Experience in Remote Teams
By: Ally Maringola
Tags: Remote Working, People, Distributed Teams, Leadership, Startup

Prior to SnapTravel, I had been a member of remote teams but never actually led one. My experiences were always meh — we got our work done, had a few laughs and then all moved on. These working relationships were fine for one-off projects, but I never wanted to work like that regularly.

There were a few common painpoints that made me hesitant about remote teams. First, I never felt like everyone was engaged, which gave me license to slack off too. For instance, while our calls were held via video conferencing, half the team would have their cameras off and the rest were looking at the screen and their email concurrently. This multitasking slowed us down, making us more of a burden than a high-performing troop.

Second, despite our in-person team kickoffs, we barely knew each other and it showed. We were less compelled to brainstorm in small groups, help in a pinch, or give the project much thought beyond our own workstream. Ultimately, it wasn’t so bad that we compromised the output, however, it wasn’t stellar.

I was required to change my ways when I joined SnapTravel. I began working with and leading a widely distributed team. Four sit in Toronto (Canada), one in Barcelona (Spain) and the final teammate in Istanbul (Turkey) — that’s six people across three countries! Suddenly, effectively managing remote teams wasn’t just a nice-to-have for a single project, it was something I’d have to learn to be good at and enjoy my job. Building trust & cohesion across time zones was a muscle I needed to develop… ASAP!

These last few months I’ve done a lot of experimenting — introducing tried & tested practices to the team and making up some of my own. I’m still learning as a team member and a leader, however, I have drawn some conclusions that I’d recommend for anyone working with a distributed team.

How to go above and beyond:

Ensure they have access to you as a person, not just a teammate.

My teammates who sit near me know me as a person first, colleague second. They know my likes (salad day), dislikes (sandwich day) and what’s going on in my life. They can read my body language and facial expressions and gauge how I’ll react to things at certain times of the day. This insider info helps us work together more efficiently.

Unfortunately, my remote teammates don’t receive the same non-verbal cues. To compensate, I create time and space for us to build rapport. For instance, I have short weeklies with one team member where we just talk and catch up about our lives. I send regular Slack messages to them sharing tidbits about what I’m online shopping for (in the middle of the day, not on lunch of course) and asking them how their families are. This helps break the ice for helpful discussions with regard to projects and overall feedback.

Tighten your SLA’s

I’ve made a habit of always answering my remote teammates’ Slack messages ASAP, whereas I pretty much ignore everyone else, including my boss, until a designated “Slack answering” period. They get first priority in email responses too. This helps counter the fact that they can’t just tap me on the shoulder when they need me.

Provide exposure to the broader team

Consider all the ways you can connect with your office that you don’t even think about — elevator conversations, sitting at the lunch table, awkward bathroom chit-chat. Remote team members are often left out of this, and can feel like they have less exposure to the broader office environment and important leaders. To help, I encourage virtual coffee chats just to catch up with colleagues. These chats work to break the ice and build cross-functional relationships. Moreover, I also support my team members having regular skip-level 1-on-1’s so that they get the exposure to my leader to help their careers. A coffee chat or meeting might feel obvious, but can go a long way in helping teammates feel visible and supported in their growth.

Table-stakes remote practices

Connect in person at least once every 6 months

I’d recommend quarterly but my teammates are a bit far and all of us have to travel which is a bit disruptive. Take turns going to visit one another so everyone gets to explore new cities!

Invest in good video conferencing technology

Don’t cheap out here — having a good video call makes a world of a difference and prevents tech frustrations from spilling into personal or project feedback.

Schedule team meetings to be at a reasonable hour for everyone

This is true even if you’re only accommodating one person; it only exasperates the distance between remote team members if you can’t even schedule a meeting for them. Alternate timings also work if you’ll never overlap normal business hours.