Finding ways to keep remote workers motivated and engaged is a challenge for managers of virtual teams.Getty Images
Like many executives following the pandemic, Kira Sherman manages an all-remote team. She has three direct reports working in sales positions who she oversees as the vice-president of business development at Blade Air, a Canadian company that sells air quality products.
At first, when Ms. Sherman stepped into the role in 2022, she allowed her team to leave their cameras off during virtual meetings, but she’s since switched to a cameras-on policy. “Making that shift to mandatory cameras-on has had a huge impact on my team and the culture,” she explains. “We’re human, at the end of the day. We crave that eye contact. We want to know that people are engaged and paying attention to us.”
A cameras-on policy is just one of the ways that Ms. Sherman helps keep her remote team motivated and engaged. Establishing regular touchpoints of communication is another strategy she uses. “Having multiple communication channels and ensuring that we’re utilizing our technology keeps everybody aligned and connected,” she explains.
Maintaining an “open door policy” of communication is a strategy that Hayden Woodley, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Ivey Business School at Western University, also suggests. “You don’t have an office door that people can knock on and come to for help,” he says. “Let people know ‘I’m here for you. If you have a challenge with this, you can contact me on my phone.’ "
Team members can also specify which ways to contact them if they have questions. “We have so many tools to use but be clear about how someone can reach out to you, and in a way that they feel comfortable doing it,” explains Mr. Woodley. “Some people prefer phone calls. Some people would rather send an e-mail or a quick text message.”
Keeping people motivated can also be a hurdle for remote teams. For that challenge, Mr. Woodley reminds people managers to provide frequent positive feedback. “Telling people that they are performing well takes you a second to say, but that feedback helps people build confidence,” he says. “When work is remote, it’s more ambiguous. So, it’s more important for a leader to communicate when someone’s doing something well because they might not even know that.”
Maintaining productivity is another common challenge experienced by remote teams. Jivi Saran, an executive coach based in Vancouver, recommends leaders reassess what success looks like. “In a virtual team, leaders have to shift their mindset to be outcome-driven rather than process-driven,” Ms. Saran explains. That may look like setting clear key performance indicators instead of tracking minute details like the number of phone calls or emails being sent, which can turn into micromanagement. “When you’re outcome-driven, what people are doing day-to-day becomes irrelevant.”
Ms. Saran also promotes a cameras-on policy for remote meetings. She suggests going one step further by providing teams with additional training to sharpen their communication skills. That might look like sessions on emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and what Ms. Saran calls “radical candour.” “That’s when we’re actually saying what we want to say, but it’s in a respectful, kind and compassionate way,” she says.
While Kira Sherman’s team is all based in Ontario – she’s in downtown Toronto while her direct reports are in Niagara, Kitchener and North York – remote teams are becoming increasingly global. Ms. Saran recommends international teams have strong diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plans and policies so that team members are aware of the cultural nuances and the religious holidays their peers practice.
“I would never book a meeting with one of my team members during Ramadan,” Ms. Saran explains, as an example. “I know, during that day, that they’re not available. I’m also very respectful of Muslim people’s prayer times. When I book a meeting, I just do an extra quick check to know that person may not be available within that 15- to 20-minute segment.”
One final suggestion that Ms. Sherman offers is to pay extra attention to personal development opportunities – for both staff and leaders. “Often I think remote work instills a lack of growth opportunities,” she says. “I’ve experienced it myself. When you’re not in the office all the time, you feel like you might lose out.” So, Ms. Sherman recommends online training programs to her team, which are part of their workplace benefits (one of her employees has taken a project management certification course), and suggests networking and mentorship opportunities that might be a good fit for her staff.
It’s an ethos that Ms. Sherman herself has benefited from by participating in a conference for women in leadership, which was an opportunity brought to her by one of the owners of her company. “I got to work with women outside of my industry,” she says. “It was important for my own personal development and personal growth that’s way outside of my day-to-day.”