A recent Gallup report using data collected from more than 195,600 U.S.

employees, more than 31 million

respondents, and insight from advising leading Fortune 1000 companies indicates that engagement climbs when
employees spend some time working remotely. The perfect ratio for this engagement boost is spending 60% to
less than 80% of their workweek -- or 3-4 out of 5 days -- working off-site.

It’s safe to say the work-from-anywhere lifestyle is here to stay. And there’s a lot of reasons why: the ability to cast
your net wider and find the best people for your team, the cost effectiveness of not operating an office, the
flexibility to travel and not be confined to location boundaries, the ability for your crew to work when and where
they are the most productive, the fact that every single person in the world hates cubicles and fluorescent
lighting...the list goes on.

Here are a couple of ways to thrive as a remote team.

1. Hire based on mission and values

A bright shiny resume does not a good employee make. Hiring a great employee goes beyond finding
someone that’s smart, talented, and hard-working. You need to find people that align with your core
values. What is your company’s mission? Take some time during the interview process to articulate this
and get a feel for how much a candidate supports that. What are your core values? Tenacity?
Collaboration? Resourcefulness? Belief? Loyalty? Ask them for instances where they have displayed those
values.

The best way to encourage retention and inspire your remote team to give it their all every single day is
engaging a sense of purpose within them. At the core of all they do, they need to share your values, and
they need to be sold into the mission of the company. If they don't, they probably will not thrive in the
role.

2. Set Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations from the very beginning is key. When your team knows what is expected of
them they are empowered to deliver. A unique challenge to remote workspaces is the inability to read
subtext, facial expressions, body language....you don’t get that. Your communication has to be clear and
direct, in order to avoid misunderstandings in the long run.

What’s your expectation on how you’ll communicate and how often? How soon do you expect a
response? When do you expect a project to get completed? What hours do you want your team to be
available during the day?

3. Build Trust by Balancing Accessibility and Communication

Key Word: Balance. Remote communication in most cases goes one of two ways: the constant ding of
notifications, emails, Facebook messages, texts, phone calls. Or, it’s radio silence, you wondering if they
are just sipping cocktails by the beach, and them wondering if they are even still employed. None of these
options are sustainable.

Agree on a timeframe for responses. This helps bring balance and peace of mind. For example utilizing the
“Virtual Nod”, where contractors are expected to send a response affirming they received the message
and giving an ETA on project completion within 2 hours. This gives a decent window of opportunity
 allowing them to not just shoot off an inaccurate answer, but reply when it’s most convenient and when
they have all the information they need in hand.

If your team is working on a project that’s highly collaborative, have set office hours: maybe 3-4pm is
“Slack Attack” everyone is in real time on Slack answering questions that have come up during the day.

The more you can rely on each other’s accessibility, the more trust you can create within your team.

4. Utilize Available Tools

There are so many great tools and apps that make managing a remote workforce easier. Check out this
article for an in-depth look at some of our favorites.

5. Create opportunities for team connection, publicly celebrate wins e.g weekly team appreciation
shoutouts
Despite the stereotype, the 21st generation remote employee is not a recluse who just want to be
secluded on an island by themselves. Humans crave connection, and an easy way to encourage
engagement within your company is to provide ways to connect.

Publicly celebrate wins, and create opportunities for your team members to acknowledge each other. This
not only shows appreciation for a job well done, but also inspires everyone to go after greatness, because,
let’s face it, we all like shiny medals.

6. Set and measure goals

If you're hiring by your values, you should also make sure you’re living by them. Like we said before,
alignment with your core values is critical to the long-term success of each team member and the
company at large. It also gives your team a framework through which they can measure their own success
and ask for feedback.

It’s important to have conversations and regular reviews; monthly, quarterly, annually...whatever cadence
works best for your industry. Key questions to ask: what are 3 things you can accomplish each quarter to
drive the company forward? How have you exemplified out core values?

These conversations help you course correct and catch problems before they avalanche.