Mastering Remote Work: Proven Strategies for Success

As the 2020 pandemic swept across the globe, it introduced us to a new norm — remote work. The traditional office setting was swiftly replaced, with many companies adapting well to this change. However many struggled to stay productive and successful in this shift and shortly after started asking people return to the offices or switched to a hybrid model.

Over the last decade, I’ve worked exclusively with fully-remote teams, learning to navigate and thrive in a remote-first environment. Based on these experiences, I’ve developed a plan to help you be successful and healthy in this new world of work.

Communication is key

The first hurdle to clear when moving from a physical office to remote work is communication. It’s essential to utilize a chat platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep everyone connected and conversations flowing.

Transparency and clarity

It is very important to embrace the following:

✅ Use public channels for discussions to avoid repetition and ensure everyone who needs to be is in the loop. It also makes it easy to transition these conversations into a wiki or bookmark them for later reference.

✅ Foster discussions within threads, @mention the relevant team members who can contribute meaningfully.

🚫 Private chats should be limited to personal, sensitive, or select group discussions.

Embrace small talk

Without a water cooler or office kitchen, we lose those everyday informal chats with colleagues. It is very helpful to spend some extra minutes each time you contact a colleague and ask them something irrelevant with your question. Try things like:

• “How are you today?”
• “Hi, what are you working on?”
• “What’s the weather like where you are today?”
• “Did you do anything interesting over the weekend?”
• “How are your family/pets doing?”
• “What did you have for lunch today?”
• “Are you listening to any good podcasts right now?”
• “What’s been your biggest win this week, work or non-work related?”

You will be impressed how many things you will learn from them and how much a short question like this helps everyone connect.

Time overlaps for meetings

With remote teams often distributed globally, synchronous communication becomes a challenge. To ensure everyone can participate in meetings, establish a common time that works for all time zones.

For example if half of the team is in the east coast of U.S. and the rest is in Europe, a generous overlap is between 9:00 am until 1:00pm ET. An easy way to schedule that is by asking all the team members to be available for meetings during that time and by setting up a secondary timezone on your calendar for easy scheduling. Here is Google Calendar with two timezones:

Work-life balance

It’s critical to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life when working remotely. Being always online doesn’t mean always being available for work.

Set a schedule

Working from your own space does offer flexibility and avoid commute, but it’s crucial to establish a routine. Here’s a simple schedule template:

6:45 am: Wake up 7:00 am: Workout (home gym or a run outside) 8:00 am: Shower / breakfast / read time 9:00 am: Check emails, start working 1:00 pm: A lunch-break, you also cook at home, go for a walk, listen a podcast, meet someone outside — That is a benefit of working from home 3:00 - 7:00pm: Continue work, meetings, depending on your team’s overlap 7:30 pm — 10:00pm: Me time or family time, enjoy something away from Slack and emails 10:30 pm: Bedtime

It’s okay to say no

Remote work can often blur the boundaries between professional and personal life. It might be tempting to respond to every ping or email notification, but remember, it’s perfectly acceptable to hit ‘pause’ and respond the next day, especially if it’s outside your designated working hours.

Health is wealth

Staying active and eating healthily can often take a backseat when working from home. The convenience of snacking and the absence of a commute might discourage regular exercise. However, it’s essential to prioritize your health and wellness to maintain high energy levels and productivity.

Maintain team productivity in a remote setup

As a manager or team leader, your goal is to maintain, and enhance, the team’s productivity compared to a traditional office setup. This involves preserving the team’s spirit, fostering growth, and ensuring goals are met.

Daily video calls (aka. Standup)

Daily video calls are a valuable tool for staying in sync with your team. Encouraging video use during these meetings promotes a more personal connection, fostering team bonding. They don’t have to be long but they should include work updates and personal or team thoughts/concerns.

Frequent 1:1 calls

Additionally, schedule regular 1-on-1 meetings to provide personalized feedback and address individual concerns. Personalized coaching and mentoring of your team members can benefit their career goals and subsequently boost overall team productivity.

The World is Your Talent Pool

Embracing a remote-first approach enables you to tap into a global pool of talent. Geographic limitations become irrelevant, allowing you to bring diverse skills and perspectives to your team.

Tip: It’s essential, however, to ensure new hires are comfortable with the remote work setup to ensure smooth integration into the team.

Virtual events (every 1 or 2 months)

In lieu of being able to meet up for a drink after work, or have casual conversations around the water cooler, virtual events provide the opportunity for remote teams to interact on a more personal level. These events can also allow team members who don’t frequently interact during regular work to connect with each other. Try to hold these events at least every one or two months.

Tip: Activities such as virtual escape rooms or trivia challenges can be especially engaging, as they are both entertaining and easier to manage in a remote setup compared to options like online cooking classes or tutorials.

Offsites (twice a year)

Offsites represent the pinnacle of team building for remote teams. This is the time where you meet all your colleagues in person, from the behind-the-scenes heroes to the executives you rarely get a chance to interact with. Although offsites can be expensive and time-consuming, planning for them twice a year is manageable for most teams.

These offsites should be well-planned, balancing work discussions with social activities. While some hands-on meetings may need to take place, the primary focus should be on team-building and fun events. Remember, offsites are a rare chance for remote team members to build deeper relationships outside the virtual world, so make sure they are worth the effort and investment.

Tip: Try to ensure that not a lot of work is happening during these days. Offsites should be a time for relaxation, team-building, and fun. Keeping work to a minimum during this time will help everyone to focus on the event and engage fully.

Hybrid vs Remote

The ongoing debate in the world of work is about whether the hybrid or fully remote model is the superior choice. As the dust settles from the rapid shift to remote work caused by the pandemic, many companies are exploring a hybrid approach that blends remote and in-office work. But the truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The choice between a hybrid and fully remote model largely depends on a company’s unique needs, culture, and nature of work.

In a hybrid model, employees split their time between working from home and working from an office. This approach offers flexibility and can serve as a middle ground between traditional in-office work and fully remote work. It can be beneficial for those who miss the social aspects of office life but also appreciate the flexibility of working from home.

However, the hybrid model can also present its own set of challenges. For instance, it can unintentionally create a two-tier system where in-office workers might have more access to resources and leadership, creating feelings of inequality. Plus, scheduling and collaboration can be more complex when part of the team is in the office and the other part is remote.

On the other hand, fully remote work removes geographic limitations, giving companies access to a wider talent pool. It also provides employees with maximum flexibility and the ability to balance work with personal responsibilities more effectively. However, this model requires the right infrastructure, tools, and a culture of trust and transparency to work well.

Regardless of the chosen model, it’s essential to establish protocols that level the playing field for all team members. If opting for a hybrid model, strive to build your culture and routines with a remote-first mindset. This ensures that remote employees don’t feel left out and allows smoother transitions when employees need to work remotely.

Remember, both models have their advantages and require deliberate strategies to overcome their unique challenges. It is up to each organization to find the balance that works best for them and their employees.

What is your take on remote work, let me know your thoughts.

Twitter: @ckor