7 Habits of Resilient Remote Teams

Resilient teams are adaptable and flexible. They work together to create a plan for overcoming any roadblocks they encounter. But resilient teams don’t spring into existence. They are nurtured and encouraged by supervisors who help each team member cultivate this ability.

Remote teams are no different, but building a resilient remote team is different than building a resilient in-person team. Here are some tips to get you started.

How to Build a Resilient Remote Team

1. Encourage Interaction

Even the most experienced and seasoned work-from-home pros feel isolated on occasion. But when “occasionally” turns into “frequently,” your employees may become disengaged from each other and the company.

To help combat isolation and create a resilient team, encourage interaction among coworkers. While it’s important to help teams interact and connect with each other, encourage cross-team engagement too. Whether it’s providing communication tools or offering annual company retreats, helping staff connect can strengthen their bonds.

2. Keep Employees in the Loop

Though the dissemination and sharing of information are important to a company’s success, it’s vital to the success of a remote company. When staff are scattered across the globe, it’s hard to share information through casual chitchat in the break room. And when updates are not timely, or it feels like information is being withheld, it can create a sense of distrust among the team.

To help build a resilient team, remote companies need to share newsworthy information and updates as they happen. Waiting until the “right time” can make staff feel disconnected, uninformed, and like they don’t matter to the company’s success.

3. Address Issues Immediately

It’s never a good idea to see a problem and hope that it just works itself out. And when it comes to remote companies, resolving problems as they happen is the way that teams survive—and thrive.

Whether it’s dealing with an MIA worker, miscommunication between two colleagues, or errors, resilient remote teams deal with their issues immediately and always with the best interest of those involved, as well as the company, in mind.

4. Encourage Growth

Though you hired the best talent for the team, that doesn’t mean your work is done. To build a resilient team, you need to build resilience in each team member.

Offer ongoing training and professional development so your staff can build skills to help them become more resilient. Allow them to improve skills like critical thinking and active listening. Also, offer the chance for them to grow and improve their technical abilities. Resilient team members are confident in their professional and interpersonal skills.

But also reward your employees for a job well done and offer constructive (and timely) criticism when needed so your remote team can become the best team possible.

5. Reframe Failure

Challenges, setbacks, and failures are a part of life, and your remote team will undoubtedly experience some. What matters, though, is how your team handles them and moves on.

Resilient teams talk openly about the challenges and issues they face, seeking out advice and assistance from others. They work together to find a solution.

And they are able to do this because their supervisor has built a trusting, open culture that reframes failures as learning opportunities. Resilient teams find positive in the negative. Instead of dwelling on what didn’t work, they learn from it to improve the next time around.

6. Emphasize Well-Being

Though resilient teams work through their challenges, to help foster resilience, leaders need to emphasize personal well-being. Stress and burnout happen in even the most positive and engaged workers. So, encourage staff to take vacation days, mental health days, and to prioritize their physical and mental health.

Offer benefits that encourage staff to take care of themselves, like requiring employees to take a minimum number of vacation days each year or paying for a meditation app. And most importantly, remote leaders model this behavior by taking time away from the office regularly and disconnecting from work.

7. Be Flexible

Finally, because resilience isn’t as much about grit as it is the ability to bounce back after adversity, be flexible. Resilient teams adapt to external challenges, course-correcting when necessary and working together to prepare for whatever comes next.

Overcoming Obstacles

Building a resilient remote team is a continuous process. And by working on it regularly, you’ll build a remote team that can handle any potential problems that come their way.

To learn more about leading and developing a remote team, check out our Q and A’s.