Collaborating from Afar: Tips for Maximizing Productivity When Your Team is Remote

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Abstract: As more teams conduct their work remotely, effective collaboration across distances has become increasingly important. However, remote work also introduces unique challenges to teamwork and productivity that require strategic solutions. This practitioner-oriented brief provides research-backed guidance and examples for overcoming barriers to remote collaboration. Drawing from literature on virtual teams, knowledge management, and distributed work, it establishes the communication, coordination, and community-building practices necessary for maximum effectiveness when working apart rather than together. Specific strategies are offered for areas like establishing communication norms, leveraging collaboration technology, delegating coordination responsibilities, and facilitating community beyond simple task execution. Case studies illustrate real-world applications. The brief concludes that with forethought applied to seamless collaboration processes and relationship development, remote teams can achieve outcomes on par with co-located counterparts when supported appropriately. Managers are equipped to enable engaged, productive virtual work.

As the world of work evolves and technology enables greater flexibility, many teams are finding themselves collaborating from a distance rather than under one roof. While remote work arrangements can offer benefits like increased autonomy and work-life balance, they also introduce challenges when it comes to teamwork and productivity that must be properly addressed. Having worked with organizations of varying sizes and industries on topics related to knowledge management, collaboration, and talent development, I've seen firsthand both the opportunities and pitfalls that can arise when teams work apart rather than together. Through research and experience, I've learned that remote collaboration requires a proactive, strategic mindset focused on communication, coordination, and community building in order to maximize results.

Today I will share research-backed guidance and case examples for overcoming distance-related barriers to team effectiveness. With the right tools and techniques in place, remote teams can be just as, if not more, engaged and productive than their office-based counterparts. Let's begin our exploration of how to collaborate effectively from afar.

Research Foundation

Before diving into practical recommendations, it's important to first establish a research foundation for why remote collaboration poses unique challenges and what factors influence its success or failure. Various studies have found that working remotely can negatively impact aspects of team functioning like knowledge sharing (Golden & Raghuram, 2010), cohesion and trust (Gilson et al., 2015), and perceived social support from colleagues (Waizenegger et al., 2020). Without deliberate planning and effort, the lack of in-person interaction that often facilitates informal communication and relationship-building can breed feelings of disconnect and reduce productivity over time (Mortensen & Haas, 2018).

However, the research also suggests that many of these obstacles can be overcome through the adoption of appropriate collaboration tools, culture, and process. For example, Leonardi et al. (2016) found technology features that supported awareness of others' availability and activities helped remote employees feel more embedded in organizational processes. Other studies point to the importance of clear expectations, accountability structures, and leadership commitment to prioritizing relationship development for a remote team's success (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007; Toprak et al., 2014). With proactive strategies to foster ongoing engagement and community, even fully virtual teams can achieve strong cohesion, effectiveness and satisfaction comparable to co-located teams (Gibson & Cohen, 2003).

Communication and Coordination: Foundational to Success

Based on this research background, it's clear that communication practices must be a top consideration for any remote team looking to maximize collaboration and productivity. Regular, purposeful communication is key to overcoming the inherent obstacles that distance places between team members (Gilson et al., 2015). While in-person teams may communicate through informal hallway chats or impromptu meetings, remote teams require a more structured, meticulous approach in order to have the same fluid knowledge sharing and relationship-building experiences.

Establish Communication Norms and Expectations

Take the time upfront to establish clear communication norms, protocols, and expectations for your remote team. Provide guidelines around response times for emails and messages so everyone understands what constitutes timely feedback. Set regular check-in frequencies, whether daily standups, weekly syncs, or monthly full-team meetings, so that team members feel assured they won't fall through the cracks (Leonardi et al., 2016). Also map out which modes of communication are most appropriate for different purposes- using messaging for quick questions but video calls for collaborative work (Gilson et al., 2015). Having predictable structures in place will facilitate more seamless coordination.

Leverage Collaboration Technology Effectively

It's also important to select tools that actually support - rather than hinder - cross-functional collaboration. Popular options like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Drive can support real-time conversations as well as file sharing when integrated thoughtfully into work processes. Consider features that enable presence awareness, document co-editing, and asynchronous collaboration so remote team members feel plugged in at all times (Leonardi & Meyer, 2015). Video conferencing also plays a key role in building the personal connections missing from off-site work; schedule video calls regularly for whole-team sync-ups as well as smaller cross-functional discussions.

Delegate Coordination Responsibilities Strategically

Having a point person who monitors progress, resolves blockers, and facilitates handoffs will help remote work stay on track. Consider appointing team leads or drivers who are responsible for shepherding key initiatives, maintaining project timelines, and removing roadblocks - all while keeping communication flowing smoothly (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007). Cross-functional coordination may also require distributing some accountability across members; for example, assigning owners for specific workstreams who check in regularly with contributors. Delegating portions of the coordination effort can prevent miscommunications and delays that often plague remote teams.

Community Building beyond Tasks

While seamless communication and coordination are table stakes for remote collaboration, simply executing tasks is not enough to sustain high productivity, motivation and retention over the long run. Building an engaged sense of community among distributed team members requires proactive relationship-focused efforts as well.

• Schedule Social Virtual Gatherings - Plan monthly virtual coffee or happy hours just for social catch-ups. Having a standing session helps remote teammates really get to know each other on a personal level (Gilson et al., 2015).

• Facilitate Informal Discussions - Designate topic threads in messaging channels like "What I Did This Weekend" or "Books We're Reading" to spark casual conversations that foster connections (Mortensen & Haas, 2018).

• Coordinate Recognition and Appreciation - Highlight individual and team wins regularly through recognition channels. Celebrate work anniversaries, support remote employee resource groups, or use payroll software to deliver digital thank you notes/gifts (Choudhary et al., 2013).

• Plan In-Person Off-Sites - If budgets allow, organize annual or semi-annual multi-day gatherings bringing the whole team together face-to-face. Off-sites are impactful for strengthening remote bonds (Toprak et al., 2014).

By weaving community-centered efforts into the workflow just as deliberately as task coordination, managers can help distributed employees feel more engaged, motivated and supported in their work - a vital factor for retaining top performers long-term (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007).

Case Examples

To bring this discussion of remote collaboration strategies to life, here are two brief case examples highlighting how different organizations have overcome obstacles to team effectiveness through proactive, research-informed approaches:

Nonprofit Organization - A mid-sized nonprofit with satellite offices across several states centralizes certain functions like finance, HR and IT into fully distributed teams. To facilitate strong working relationships and information flow between these teams and division leaders located in other offices, they instituted weekly 30-minute video stand-ups for status sharing and problem-solving. A central collaboration platform with chat, doc sharing and project management features supports off-meeting coordination. Semi-annual multi-day off-sites are planned to allow remote teammates to network in-person. These efforts have resulted in high productivity, low turnover and strong buy-in among remote employees.

Software Company - A software development startup that is 100% virtual from the beginning divides large projects into agile squads of 6-8 engineers, product managers and designers. Each squad has a dedicated Slack channel, holds daily 15-minute check-ins on video, and uses screensharing for collective code reviews to catch issues early. A squad lead is responsible for monitoring progress against milestones. Monthly virtual socials are scheduled after-hours. Quarterly hackathons are announced in advance for spontaneous idea generation and cross-pollination. This approach translates to nimble execution cycle despite the remote work model.

Conclusion

While remote collaboration poses challenges to addressing naturally through in-person interaction, the research clearly shows that with forethought and application of best practices, distributed teams can be just as engaged and productive as their co-located counterparts. The keys are proactively planning for seamless communication, coordination and relationship-building through technological tools, process structures and community-focused efforts. Viewing remote work as the new normal rather than a hurdle to be overcome also fosters more strategic mindsets. When supported effectively, remote team members can feel just as valued, connected to organizational purpose and able to contribute at a high level wherever they are based. For organizations willing to rethink collaboration through a virtual lens, the flexibility afforded by remote work arrangements far outweighs any downsides if the right culture and practices are in place.

References

1. Golden, T. D., & Raghuram, S. (2010). Teleworker knowledge sharing and the role of altered relational and technological interactions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(8), 1061–1085.

2. Gilson, L. L., Maynard, M. T., Young, N. C. J., Vartiainen, M., & Hakonen, M. (2015). Virtual teams research: 10 years, 10 themes, and 10 opportunities. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1313–1337.

3. Waizenegger, L., McKenna, B., Cai, W., & Bendz, T. (2020). An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19. European Journal of Information Systems, 29(4), 429–442.

4. Mortensen, M., & Haas, M. R. (2018). Perspective—Being together virtually: How information systems can mitigate the negative effects of working apart in teams. Information Systems Research, 29(2), 268–287.

5. Leonardi, P. M., Huysman, M., & Steinfield, C. (2016). Enterprise social media: Definition, history, and prospects for the study of social technologies in organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(1), 1–19.

6. Leonardi, P. M., & Meyer, S. R. (2015). Social media as social lubricant: How ambient awareness eases knowledge transfer. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(1), 10–34.

7. Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524–1541.

8. Toprak, M., Colakoglu, S. N., & Gokus, O. (2014). The impact of distance on virtual team performance. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 802–806.

9. Gibson, C. B., & Cohen, S. G. (2003). Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness. Wiley.

10. Choudhary, A. I., Akella, R., & Vusirikala, V. R. K. (2013). Recognition of talent in the organization - a research agenda. Business Process Management Journal, 19(3), 462–490.

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Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Associate Dean and Director of HR Programs (WGU); Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD/HR/Leadership Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.

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Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2025). Collaborating from Afar: Tips for Maximizing Productivity When Your Team is Remote. Human Capital Leadership Review, 30(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.30.3.3