Remote Work Technology

CHAPTER 6Group Tasks: Keeping the Teamwork in Your Team

One of the challenges company leaders found when their company was suddenly forced to work remotely was to keep up the level of teamwork. It's not that the team could not work well enough to meet deadlines. They still were able to accomplish group tasks, yet something was missing. There are intangible elements of working as a team: the camaraderie, the nonverbal communication that close team members can pick up on, and the predictability of each other's actions that colleagues develop when everyone is accustomed to working in person.

It's similar to the way an orchestra performs complex symphonies after weeks of practice together. In that scenario, the conductor is in charge of making sure everyone plays well in concert with each other. If the maestro were conducting the orchestra remotely, they would need to change the methods employed to gain the same effect. In a business setting, team leaders need to change the way they manage their teams if they are to keep up the teamwork and empower team members to work cohesively even though there are miles between them all.

Having a good remote work continuity plan will help a company survive should they be forced out of their place of work. However, in order to thrive, you must look at what hurdles your team will face when they are on their own but still expected to function as a cohesive team. A remote leadership survey by engineer recruitment company Terminal surveyed 400 HR ...