Is remote work the way of the future? According to guest speakers at the recent Inbound 2018 conference in Boston, building a remote team is a recipe for company growth and success.

While working remotely is not a suitable avenue for all businesses, it can offer many benefits to small and large companies when executed correctly.

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However, senior leadership often struggles with the real-world implications of building a remote team. How do you know your employees are working? Are there ways you can help them feel connected, even though they are miles apart?

These are the questions managers face when developing a remotely distributed team.

For the project management company Trello, a work-from-home strategy has proven immensely successful. 70 percent of Trello’s 150-member team is remotely distributed, Head of Marketing Stella Garber told attendees at Inbound 2018.

Benefits of Building a Remote Team

Working remotely allows the Trello team to “eat our dog food,” said Garber, referring to the fact that all team members utilize the company’s project management tool. “We are using [Trello] for the same reasons as our customers. We are experiencing the same pain points, so we understand their requests.”

However, using the Trello tool isn’t the only reason the team opted to go remote. Various other benefits for the company, leadership, and employees helped grow the Trello brand to where it is today.

For example, remote teams allow companies to hire new members without geographic limitations. This enables them to hire the very best candidates globally without worrying about location restrictions.

Additionally, Trello has experienced higher retention for remote employees. Several studies have revealed that remote workers are happier and more productive than those working in an office. With so many distractions in today’s office world, employees ultimately work longer hours to compensate for lost time.

“Someone from my team just went remote a couple of weeks ago,” said Garber. “I asked her, ‘What are your impressions?’ She said, ‘The biggest thing is that I’m getting so much more work done.’ If you can control your work environment, then you are more productive. It’s not rocket science.”

Rules for Engagement

Remote work is not for everyone; it requires a lot of effort and resources, in addition to organizational buy-in. When building a remote team, leadership should have standards, rather than exceptions, according to Garber. In other words, all team members should abide by a common set of rules.

For Trello, the team is held accountable to the following rules:

1. Assume Remote

Regardless of whether an employee is in the office or not, all team members must “assume remote.” For example, if five employees have a meeting scheduled but one of them is working outside the office, then all team members will dial in via a video conference from their desks. This way, there is consistency on the call. The key is to avoid situations where remote workers will feel ostracized, and to create an environment where everyone is part of the team.

2. Create a Dedicated Working Space

For Trello’s team, employees must each have a dedicated space for working. This space includes a desk, chair, quiet room, and a door that closes. Employees cannot work from their kitchen, couch, coffee shop, etc. From a noisy atmosphere that is not suitable for video meetings or calls to a sketchy internet connection, public spaces are often unreliable locations. In addition, all team members must have dedicated childcare to ensure they give their work undivided attention.

3. Default to Over-Communicating

In a typical office environment, many strategy sessions or shared ideas occur when team members bump into each other in the hallway or kitchen. This is an interaction that remote workers do not share, so it’s essential for all team members to over-communicate across various channels.

At Trello, the team has a rule: “if you have something important to say, say it three times in different venues to make sure you are heard,” said Garber. Never assume that your Slack message or email was received.

4. Make Time for Facetime

Slack and email can only go so far; face-to-face conversations drive your business. However, video conference calls are not just for meetings and strategy sessions. Just as you would in a typical office environment, getting to know your team as people is crucial; employees across various departments should schedule time with each other to connect, interact, and build relationships.

5. Make it Fun

While building a remote team has many benefits, perhaps the most impactful is the cost savings of not leasing office space. But to maintain morale and a happy workforce, leaders need to funnel some of those saved expenses into off-site trips, team-building events, and other fun activities.

For example, many of Trello’s remote workers will get together for “biweekly jam sessions,” where they will play icebreaker games to get to know each other or grab a beer for happy hour. Garber said the Trello team also utilizes Slack to create fun channels for non-work banter to recreate those “water-cooler conversations” that occur in a typical office environment. For example, Trello has a channel for cat people, dog people, an outfit of the day channel, and others that draw employees together over shared interests.

The Trust Factor

When building a remote team, successful implementation all boils down to trust.

“How do you know when a person is working? Well, how do you know they are working when they are in the office? Trust,” said Garber.

Ultimately, it’s all about trusting your remote workers but checking in regularly. Whether through periodic check-ins to see what projects are on their plate or a weekly one-on-one video call, leaders need to articulate their goals clearly then follow up to track the employee’s work product.

Ready to hit the “GO” button on your campaign? Before you dive in, make sure you’ve dotted all your I’s and crossed all your T’s. This free checklist will help you cover all your bases.