Trust happens between the meetings – Simon Sinek
Building trust with your remote team can be challenging if you’re not used to working with people you don’t see in person daily. Butts in seats never was a good management strategy, but in the remote world, it isn’t even an option. Some managers make the mistake of monitoring workers the same way. Whether it’s checking the last activity in Teams or formal monitoring software, this creates a culture that isn’t based on trust. Often this leads to digital presenteeism. Workers sign on at a certain time, move their mouse occasionally and look like they are doing stuff online. There are even apps to make you look like you are working when you aren’t. The insanity continues.
Creating a culture of trust versus a culture of monitoring may require some new approaches. But if you do it right, you can reap all the benefits of working with people from all over the world — like getting work done faster, hiring employees you never would have found locally, and experiencing the pride of watching your team grow and succeed together. Follow these tips to help build trust with your remote team, and start enjoying the rewards today!
Build Trust with Clear Expectations
Several years ago, Best Buy implemented a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). It has some specific rules and structure, but the bottom line is it doesn’t matter when or where you do what is needed as long as the results are produced. I’m oversimplifying as whole books have been written on the subject, but you get the idea. No monitoring, no worrying about sick days or showing up on time, just getting the work done. Your organization might not move entirely in that direction, but many elements can improve remote work.
Clear expectations are the cornerstone of a productive, enjoyable remote work experience. In many remote work discussions, the focus is on the individual, but it’s also important to focus on the team. It’s great that people can work independently. But it’s more important that a team functions as a team when even one member is remote.
When your team knows what’s expected from them and what they can expect from you as their manager, it’s easier for everyone to focus on their tasks and get things done. It’s important to make sure that teammates know exactly what is expected of them and how you’ll hold them accountable for meeting those expectations.
Have Regular Check-ins
Most of us have heard the term “management by walking around”. Depending on how it was used, it was either useful or not. A lot depends on whether it was an intentional strategy or if it was someone just trying to look busy. Intentionality is the key. The same is true with your remote check-ins. Don’t just have a check-in for the sake of checking in. While it’s good to schedule, have a purpose that is understood in advance. Getting a random invite from your boss for 9 AM the next morning without a specific agenda can be unnerving. Finding out it was “just checking in” can be a waste of time or a wasted opportunity.
Check-ins with your remote teams are an important part of building trust. Whether you meet in person or over the phone, it’s a great idea to have these conversations regularly. The frequency of these check-ins will depend on the needs of your team and the specifics of your business, but it’s important not to neglect this step!
Encourage Transparency
It’s not easy working remotely. There are a lot of challenges that come with it, but one of the biggest is building trust. Trust is built through transparency and open communication. This means that if you want your remote team to trust you, they need to know what you’re doing and why. And they need to be able to tell you when something isn’t working out for them or when they have an idea of how things could be improved.
There may need to be some additional sharing of personal information to both establish expectations and be transparent. Working from home sometimes means screaming children, being photobombed by pets, or needing to answer the door for a delivery person. (Insert your additions here). There may also be specific times that you need to take a family member to the doctor, school, or activities. You may prefer to start work at 4 AM, take breaks throughout the day, and finish up at 7 PM. These are things that you should discuss in enough detail that they are comfortable with what you are doing and when you are doing it. Depending on your company, there may be policy issues around what you do and when. Discuss so everyone is on the same page.
Get to Know your Team
Years ago, I worked for one of the then Big Six consulting firms. The office had a few dedicated offices, but most people had a shared desk since they weren’t in the office very often. If you got there late, you generally got related to setting up shop in the kitchen. Which was not the worst thing in the world. The head of HR loved to bake and brought in some amazing food. I think some people planned their time in the office just based on when the goodies would be there. So if you were in the kitchen, you were in the center of the food, and most conversations. It could be a little distracting and fattening, but you got to know the people you worked with.
The best way to build trust with your team is by getting to know them. Figure out what they like and dislike, what makes them happy or sad, and what their goals are. If you’re not sure how to do this, just ask! This can be as simple as What’s your favorite color? Aside from Zoom/Teams conversations make the effort to get to know your teammates. Managers should create events, either online or in person, so team members can get to know one another in a group setting.
One-on-one interactions can be a little uncomfortable for some people. Try to create group interactions to start, and hopefully, the individual connections will grow over time. It is important to give people the space they need, as well as support the connections they need.
Offer Support and Resources
Remote teams are becoming more and more common, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy. As with any new project, communication is key to building trust. Not everyone is comfortable with technology. Many older workers are intimidated by cameras, microphones, and many of the tools they might need when working remotely. They may not know how to handle Windows updates, phishing attacks, viruses, or file systems on Teams or Google Drive. Find out who’s struggling and give them a hand. It’s the little things that build trust over time.
Speaking of struggling, remote work has brought to light mental health as a real concern. It’s always been there hiding in the shadows. Remote work doesn’t cause mental health issues, but it does tend to bring them to the surface. Most of us still aren’t great at talking about it, but it is part of the human condition. Someone you know is probably dealing with it. Be sensitive and be educated about mental health. And if you think someone is struggling, be supportive.
It All Comes Down to Trust
I’ve worked and more than a few places where trust did not exist. I think most of us have. It’s hard enough to build trust but so very easy to lose it. It is what causes people to leave. And it is what causes companies to implode. Remote work forces the issue. Either you trust or you don’t. Managers that don’t trust their people will never get the best from them. Will there be people out there who take advantage, unfortunately, yes. Creating policies to prevent it unfortunately doesn’t promote a trusting work environment. This is true in the office or remote. Give people freedom and flexibility and they will surprise you. Good things can happen when you put your faith in the people you work with. Trust me!
