How do you build trust and camaraderie among your remote workers?

Question: How do you build trust and camaraderie among your remote workers? Read answers from remote workers to learn.

Company Interview with Fraser, Global Head of Marketing at AnswerConnect

I can’t speak for everyone, but I have to say our Friday newsletter is my favourite. We choose a new theme each week, often focused on one of the various cultures that make up our team!

We ask for contributions to competitions so everyone can participate, and every newsletter comes with a quiz around a particular theme.

It’s great for showing the more human side of the team. We spend so much time in work-mode, only interacting around projects, that we can forget we’re talking to real people.

That’s one of the biggest challenges for remote teams—developing a real community that isn’t entirely formed around work.

We also create custom collabs in our internal comms platform for discussing non-work stuff, like food, music, and sport. These collabs are crucial to group cohesion, bringing people together across departments who might not otherwise interact.

Friday newsletters, instant access to HR, & the use of GIFs in comms, Fraser and the AnswerConnect team could write a book on remote work best practices. Check out the process of how they make it all work.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Fraser, Global Head of Marketing at AnswerConnect.


Company Interview with Maxime, Co-founder and CTO of Digicoop

We make sure everybody knows each other in real life.

While I think it's possible to create a team where nobody ever meets in real life, I don't think that's something we want.

I do feel it would be harder to create camaraderie and bonding.

We have regular meetups with everybody, and as we welcome somebody new, we make an effort to come to the office to work physically together for a little while.

From making employees shareholders to letting workers take control of their roles, Maxime describes Digicoop's path to remote success.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Maxime, Co-founder and CTO of Digicoop.


Company Interview with Corine, co-founder of Sike Insights

This question is what all our interviews and our startup are trying to answer! It’s different while remote; you can’t just ask someone to get drinks or spark up a conversation in the cafeteria. You have to be intentional about building psychological safety and close relationships.

A lot of startups address this with a top-down approach, putting the responsibility on People Ops to drive programs that spark bonding and company culture.

These happy hours are fantastic, but one team can only do so much at scale.

That’s why we believe trust and culture-building falls to remote managers.

Managers have closer relationships with teammates and more opportunities to create trust in a smaller team environment. Building the same levels of in-person trust requires vulnerability and an open attitude towards mistakes.

The manager has to lead by example, showing that it’s okay to take days off and ask for help. We know managers have a lot on their plates, so we built Kona to help facilitate relationship building.

Class is in session! Corine and her team have been studying how to incorporate remote work in their startup for months. Learn about the effective remote work practices she and the team are implementing in their new company.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Corine, co-founder of Sike Insights.


Company Interview with Tricia, CEO of BELAY

Our culture and employee engagement are vital to establishing trust within our organization.

We believe in putting people first, and this starts with recognizing that happy and engaged employees aid in organizational growth.

We’re also committed to our mission and vision and believe when our employees have clarity and a solid understanding of their role and our company, we can all grow and excel together.

For 10 years, BELAY has been a 100% remote work company. CEO, Tricia, shares the tools that keep them thriving and how boundaries & expectations contribute to their success.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Tricia, CEO of BELAY.


Company Interview with Jan, founder and CEO of Rainmaker Solutions

It is so important to keep a team spirit and a sense of fun, especially in the current circumstances.

We do this by holding regular virtual team drinks (sometimes in fancy dress!) and encouraging social interaction on Slack.

Furthermore, we have a partnership with virtual cycling club HotChillee and aim to support our teams to maintain both their mental as well as physical health.

But from the beginning, we implemented a truly transparent environment. That, a clear vision, defined and lived values, our approach to ‘working out loud’, and the Guiding Principles I mentioned mean that our workforce is both inspired, engaged, and clear on trust.

Remote work is built into Rainmaker Solutions' DNA. See the beliefs that push this company forward & check out their virtual activities that are building organizational trust.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Jan, founder and CEO of Rainmaker Solutions.


Company Interview with Sharon Koifman, CEO of DistantJob

Love that question, but is somewhat similar to one of the previous ones. Trust is the first thing to build from the management down. I empower people to contribute and penalize people that do not.

When you are somewhat forced to contribute, you are hoping that the person at the top will take it well, and of course, making sure that myself and my managers take people's input well is how I build trust.

If I penalize people for taking the risk of giving their opinion even once, maybe because I am in a bad mood that day, that's probably three months of trust-building efforts to bring trust back to the previous level.

We also focus heavily on culture. We try to create hangout drinks on Zoom, we play board games and card games virtually, and we use an app called Donut that schedules random 1-on-1s. We also share recipes and jokes on Slack, which seems to keep everyone happy.

With DistantJob, Sharon has created a mistake-friendly environment where managers lead by example. See his tips for building trust and security among his remote teams.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Sharon Koifman, CEO of DistantJob.


Company Interview with Tammy, CEO of Workplaceless, and a remote work leader

Trust in remote teams is essential. It's the foundation for distributed teams to function optimally. We've established rituals to start and end the week to keep remote team members engaged.

Examples include:

  • Using Donut to match team members for informal virtual coffee dates.
  • Checking in regularly in synchronous meetings and with a feedback tool called Wulu.
  • Sharing a weekly internal blog that includes revenues and results while highlighting team member's contributions to reach those results. This helps all our team members see how their work fits into the bigger picture.

With Workplaceless, Tammy helps companies start off on the "right remote foot." Hear how her 100% remote team stays in sync, and how she keeps her employees engaged

Read full interview from Company Interview with Tammy, CEO of Workplaceless, and a remote work leader.


Company Interview with Brad, co-founder and CEO of WebDevStudios

Building close connections with your co-workers while working remotely can be a challenge. Our engineering team has a recurring all-hands call where they share interesting features they are building, new technologies they are experimenting with, and just generally get to know each other better.

We also have an end-of-week, all-hands video call, so everyone has the opportunity to see each other at least weekly.

It’s a fun time to wrap up the week, highlight our accomplishments and successes, give props to team members that stood out that week, share important company news, and wrap up the week on a fun, positive note.

A challenging time finding talented local employees gave Brad the idea to make WebDevStudios 100% remote—hear about his strategies for creating a healthy remote work culture.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Brad, co-founder and CEO of WebDevStudios.


Company Interview with Jan Fex, CEO of DotDee Digital

By being honest, fair and treating everyone as equals. Another thing is worth mentioning. Vietnamese devs are as good as any other nationality, but their knowledge of English might fluctuate. Therefore, the Western tech leads have as one of their duties to assist in research on Google and Stack Overflow.

But the individual devs are also encouraged to help each other with this. We found this to be a good bonding procedure that quickly builds up trust among the team.

Our policy is that a quest for knowledge may include failure, and there's no such thing as a stupid question.

A three-hour work commute motivated Jan to establish a full-on remote work arrangement for his company. What have been the benefits & challenges? See his takeaways!

Read full interview from Company Interview with Jan Fex, CEO of DotDee Digital.


Company Interview with Devin, CEO of Animalz

It’s all about process and goal-setting. If you are clear about expectations and deadlines, then everyone knows what they need to do to succeed. If you have a process that includes sharing what you’re working on, reporting on your work, etc. then you know how your team is performing and what they are up to. The rest of that trust is up to you as a leader to have faith in your team.

How do you keep remote teams motivated? Devin, CEO of Animalz, shares her tips for how leaders can avoid demotivation and her hopes for the future of remote work.

Read full interview from Company Interview with Devin, CEO of Animalz.

Keep your remote working skills sharp—get notified when we post the next remote work interview! RemoteHabits will help you achieve your remote work goals!