How to build relationships with your team via remote working

Many businesses around the world have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, not least because of the urgent need for their teams to work from home in a new environment, when they previously had come to their office each day. Now, this may have been something you were already implementing as a company, but if you haven't, you may be wondering how you can continue the strong relationships your team had made whilst seeing each other every day, via online or remote working.At our practice, we had to have the transfer from office working to remote working in a rather fast method, as I am sure many of you had to do, luckily our business can continue to run from anywhere, so we were not as effected as the retail or "bricks and mortar" businesses. This is how we have implemented the remote-working changes required for our business, and how we have worked around a new style of working, to help continue to have the productivity and conversations we had at the office.

1. Have a conversation with your staff, one-to-one. It is important to let your team know you understand their needs and feelings, especially during this time, so take the time to stop and have a conversation with your employees, one-to-one so they can openly share their thoughts with you.
2. Consider technology requirements. Some staff may not have access to the technology they require to enable them to continue working effectively. This may mean you have had to furlough some staff if you are not able to get them work laptops or computers, or you may have to send their work PCs to their home office, which will help them to continue working for you. This was what we had to do within our practice for some of our staff, and we organised safe pick-up or delivery to help them continue their daily tasks.
3. What processes need to be implemented? Whether it's organising a daily team call so your staff can communicate together as a team via Zoom or other online platform, or you may have to invest in team conversation tools that will help them stay in touch without running up their phone bills. There are many team management systems out there that you can freely use, which help encourage conversation and project planning.

Whatever you have decided to do when it comes to the future of your business and your team, you may also be feeling overwhelmed with what the pandemic has caused for you, but can there be positives from this situation?Positives for your business thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic:

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‍Office space costs have reduced:

‍For our practice, we have seen that our team work incredibly efficiently from their home, which means less commuting time for them, and we have been able to stop paying a large sum for office space - this has helped our profitability and the happiness of our staff. However, we have noted that some employees love the feeling of "going to work" in the normal terms, so investigating other space that we can have either in a co-working environment which is cost-effective for the amount of time our staff will come to the office, is something that we have started to look into.

‍Staff productivity has increased:

‍There have been many studies that have looked into the effects on productivity of teams who work remotely or with flexible working. We have seen the same for some of our employees, too. Without the interruptions of conversation that can happen in an office environment, our employees can get their heads down and complete tasks without interruption or distraction. There are plenty of distractions that can happen in an office, some are great for overall wellness of staff, but others can be detrimental to their productivity. Without these distractions of chit-chat, our staff has more time to complete their work, and still have the opportunities to communicate within our daily team calls, through our team management software, and through traditional phone calls.

‍More time, after the lockdown, for personal growth:

‍Another benefit of remote working looks to be the huge time saved from commuting to and from work, which, in turn, will enable them to have more time for recuperation, relaxation, and personal growth. This is great benefit for the team member and also for the business, as team member who is relaxed and rejuvenated, will be even better at their role!I urge you to take a step back as a business owner, to help you to see the benefits that can be taken from this situation. Whether it's profitability, productivity, or just a new understanding of how your business can continue to excel even during such trying times. I wish you the best of luck.