In the current business landscape that we’re living in, working remotely is becoming the new norm. But while some people enjoy remote work, others hate it. As we’re in the midst of this transition as a country and have seen the remote meeting definition change for everyone, businesses all over are working on implementing and managing a remote team. While this is far easier said than done, managers are struggling to find ways to keep their teams productive, engaged, and happy while working from home. Whether you’re looking for better ways to run a remote meeting or you want to learn some of the more popular online games for remote teams, keep reading to learn some tips on how to take your remote team to the next level.
Benefits of Being Remote
Working remotely brings many advantages. While most understand what is a remote meeting, it may be a hard transition for some companies trying to learn how to thrive in a remote environment. And, of course, the success of a remote team lies with how well the company is equipped for a remote workplace. From the many virtual team-building challenges to the difficulties regarding facilitating remote meetings, working in this environment isn’t easy. But by following tips from those who have been working remotely for years, a remote workplace can become a little easier to grasp. Take a look at some of the leading benefits of working remotely:
Greater Focus
Working from home gives most people the ability to work with more focus. From the boss barging into your office to the loud chatter you hear across the hallway, there can be tons of distractions when working at the office. But if you have the ability to work at home with zero to very minimal distraction, then that can lead to a huge boost in focus and productivity.
Saves Money
If you have an in-house position, how long is your daily commute? For many people out there, their commute to work is over 45 minutes each way. Over the course of just a few months, that commute can put tons of wear and tear on your car, not to mention the hundreds of dollars you’ll spend on gas. But when you never have to leave your home to go to work, then that saves you tons of time and tons of money! And aside from just your vehicle, driving to work means you might stop to get a coffee or you might go to that burger joint for lunch. When you’re in a remote work environment, you’ll eat at home far more often, which means you’ll save even more money!
Remote Work Etiquette
If you’ve worked an in-house position for your entire life, you might have already tried looking up a virtual meeting etiquette PPT or done research on virtual meetings to help with the learning curve when making the transition to a remote environment. From balancing workflow to understanding virtual meeting etiquette, there are many things to keep in mind when working remotely. Take a look at a few tips regarding the proper etiquette in a remote environment:
Always Greet Each Other
When making the transition to a remote team, you’ll want to try to keep things the same. While it’s impossible to have conversations at the watercooler, greeting each other doesn’t have to change. Especially when it comes to online meeting etiquette for attendees, greeting each other is always a must.
Consistently Check In
Another one of the virtual meetings best practices is to always check in with your team. In fact, if you’re looking for how to improve virtual meetings, simply checking in with one another can be a huge step in the right direction.
Answer Questions ASAP
When working in an in-house position, an employee may walk into your office to ask you a question. And while you may be busy, you feel more inclined to provide them with an answer on the spot. But when working remotely, that immediate answer isn’t always there. Whether you’re looking for how to make virtual meetings more interactive or you want to improve one-on-one communication, be sure to answer all questions from your team as soon as possible.
Plan Ahead
While this rule should apply to even an in-house position, it is more critical than ever to have an agenda for each remote meeting so that you can use your time with other team members as wisely as possible. Use a meeting tool like Docket to create, share, and collaborate agendas and notes and assign tasks to keep everyone prepared and aligned on the work you are doing together remotely.
Ideas to Make It Fun
While there are many challenges that come with managing a remote team, the common areas of concern involve how to make conference calls more engaging, how to engage remote meeting participants, and what are the best remote team building games. Take a look at some of the leading remote management and remote meetings best practices:
Online Games for Virtual Teams
There are tons of team building games for remote workers and even some online team building games free of charge. Here are a few popular options:
- Pictionary
- Trivia
- Two Truths and a Lie
- Charades
Fun Conference Call Ideas
Remote conference calls can feel pretty mundane. In order to spice things up, here are some ideas:
- Rotate who is in charge of meetings
- Use a variation of icebreakers
- Run a poll
- Conduct brainstorming sessions
- Mix in different types of virtual meetings
- Change up your remote meeting software
- Play online team building games for remote employees or virtual team building games, activities for any type of team
While no two businesses are exactly the same, these remote team meeting ideas may work for one company and be the totally wrong approach for another. That being said, try to find the best virtual meeting platform and utilize the virtual meeting ideas that are ideal for your team. This will get you on the right path to having more successful remote team meetings and a happier remote workforce altogether!
