Collaborating in the Age of Remote Work

When 2020 rolled around, we had no idea just how much work we’d be doing in our pajamas. Remote work has become increasingly common over the years, but thanks to COVID-19, more people are working remotely than ever before. While some offices have adapted temporary WFH policies, companies like Twitter and Facebook have offered employees the ability to work remotely indefinitely. 

But what does WFH mean for collaboration?

Although individual employees may feel their productivity increases while working remotely, many experts believe that productivity is lost when not in an office. But productivity isn’t necessarily what we’re talking about here — we’re worried about collaboration.

“...what remote workers gain in productivity, they often miss in harder-to-measure benefits like creativity and innovative thinking.” - Kevin Roose

We are a creative agency, and we value collaboration so much that we made it one of our core values. So when we started working from home full time, we had to find ways to stay creative and collaborative even when we weren’t together. Here’s how we did it. 

Make time for chit chat 

Microsoft found that its meeting times jumped 10% because when its teams lost the ability to connect in impromptu ways, they naturally added in virtual meeting time as a substitute. And in our office, some of our best ideas are the result of casual chat. Carving out time in meeting for your team to socialize and connect can lead to successful collabs. 

Takeaway: Don’t stress if your Zoom meeting goes over schedule. 

Use technology to your advantage

You can’t have remote collaboration without the right systems in place. The same Microsoft study found a 72% increase in instant messages sent during its work-from-home period. Employees need to communicate in order to collaborate, so they need the tools to do so. You can’t expect everyone to jump on a phone call every time they need to talk to their teammate. Give them IM capabilities (we’re huge fans of Slack) for casual conversation and please, if at all possible, allow video calls and meetings. We were shocked to hear that many companies don’t have video capabilities, which would make collaboration difficult. Seeing people’s reactions and emotions is so much more powerful than just hearing them over the phone. 

Takeaway: Invest in tech that makes collaborating easy.

Give constant feedback 

Our team is used to collaborating all the time - we usually hop from desk to desk to give feedback, and we hold lots of impromptu meetings to discuss our creative work. To keep this going, we were vigilant about giving feedback at every point of our work processes. Whether this was through Slack, phone calls, or Google Hangouts, we were sure to share our thoughts with our team. 

Takeaway: Collaboration is a process not a to-do that can be checked off of your list. Constant feedback is a good way to keep the process going.

The truth is, collaboration isn’t as easy or natural when teams are working remotely. But with a little extra effort, it can still be effective. How has your team tackled collaboration in the WFH era? Let us know in the comments below.