Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: This week we've been talking about how to make remote
Speaker 1: work efficient and effective. Today's tip is about how remote
Speaker 1: teams can stay connected. With the rise of a global
Speaker 1: economy and communications technology, an increasing number of people working
Speaker 1: teams that aren't all located in the same place, there
Speaker 1: are some great reasons to consider making teams out of
Speaker 1: remote workers. You can get some great talent, such as
Speaker 1: military spouses who might not be able to commit to
Speaker 1: a single location. You might be able to save on
Speaker 1: real estate costs. Different time zones can be a pain,
Speaker 1: but they might allow you to serve global clients more
Speaker 1: effectively too. At the same time as people are building
Speaker 1: more remote teams, there's also been some interesting research done
Speaker 1: on human interaction. It turns out that all sorts of
Speaker 1: things happen when we interact in person that just don't
Speaker 1: happen through email or even the phone. So this sounds
Speaker 1: like a dilemma, but I don't think it has to be.
Speaker 1: There are all kinds of ways that remote teams can
Speaker 1: stay connected. You don't need to work face to face
Speaker 1: five days a week to still work very closely with
Speaker 1: other people. If you're managing a remote team, one of
Speaker 1: the best things you can do is invest in a
Speaker 1: travel budget to get your team to gather in person
Speaker 1: a few times a year. Some of these meetings can
Speaker 1: be business focused, but i'd suggests having at least one
Speaker 1: involves significant others or even full families too. Getting to
Speaker 1: know your colleagues as whole people deepens relationships very quickly
Speaker 1: and gives you great fodder for chatting in between in
Speaker 1: person meetings. Second, I'd suggest using video conferencing software at
Speaker 1: least semi regularly. Yes, phone calls work for many things,
Speaker 1: and you your team members not to feel too self
Speaker 1: conscious about hair and makeup if they are working from home.
Speaker 1: But there's just so many things we pick up on
Speaker 1: when we can see the other person that we can't
Speaker 1: when listening to their voices. I know I've personally had
Speaker 1: the experience of hearing complete silence on the other end
Speaker 1: of the phone when I've suggested something and started wondering
Speaker 1: if the other person hated my idea. No, she was
Speaker 1: just on mute because she was washing the dishes. Our
Speaker 1: brains interpret video conferences as pretty close to in person meetings,
Speaker 1: because really, how would we have evolved quickly enough to
Speaker 1: know the difference. If we see a person, they're there.
Speaker 1: This is why actors will tell you about the strange
Speaker 1: experience of having people coming up to them acting like
Speaker 1: they know them. Our brains don't realize that just because
Speaker 1: we see them doesn't mean they see us. It's funny
Speaker 1: but worth using this knowledge to our advantage. Since there's
Speaker 1: so much good video conferencing software out there, I use
Speaker 1: my Zoom Pro account for some meetings. Skype can work too.
Speaker 1: For my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds, my co
Speaker 1: host Sarah and I meet for video chats via squadcast.
Speaker 1: It keeps us from interrupting each other and makes the
Speaker 1: conversation flow. Finally, you can institute regular, casual social get togethers,
Speaker 1: even if they're virtual. Create, say a thirty minute virtual
Speaker 1: happy hour where your team hangs out via video chat
Speaker 1: with the goal of socializing. This can be a great
Speaker 1: way to wind down the week and recreate the team
Speaker 1: vibe you've had in person, even if you're located far away.
Speaker 1: How do your remote teams stay connected? Please let me know.
Speaker 1: You can email me at before Breakfast podcast at iHeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your quest, gens, or anything else. Just connect
Speaker 1: with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.