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Remote working has gained significant traction in recent years, becoming a preferred choice for both employees and employers. And for good reason. Remote work brings numerous benefits—from improved work-life balance to cost savings on office spaces.
With these advantages in mind, many business owners are now opting for virtual teams. However, working remotely comes with its own set of challenges.
One major pitfall is fostering collaboration among remote teams. A healthy working atmosphere and strong collaboration are essential for productive work in a department like marketing, where creativity thrives on teamwork.
So, if you’re wondering how to better manage your off-site marketing team and boost collaboration, you’re in the right place. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into it.
Why Opt for a Remote Marketing Team?
When it comes to building a remote team, you might often ask yourself, “Will all this effort be worth it in the long run?” The answer is definitely positive.
Though some companies are trying to strike a balance with hybrid work models, the off-site approach is still going strong. When comparing hybrid and remote work, many benefits kick in, proving once again that the off-site model can be far more productive. Here are the key advantages you can gain from this working format:
- Access to global talent: Regardless of your location, you can access top talent from around the world. This allows you to build a truly diverse marketing team where everyone can bring their unique and creative thinking. Plus, experienced professionals require little guidance and are skilled enough to leverage appropriate analytical platforms or content creation tools to measure and enhance campaign performance.
- Cost savings: Let’s face it—budgeting for office rent, accommodations, and employee benefit packages can be incredibly expensive. However, with a remote team, there won’t be a need to bother yourself with such expenses.
- Improved employee satisfaction: Here’s an interesting fact—98% of workers strongly prefer working remotely, at least some of the time. That is because working from their homes may establish a better life-work balance. This is one of the strong remote work trends showing how off-site work fosters people’s satisfaction and motivation.
How to Boost Collaboration Within Your Remote Marketing Team?
Now that we’re on the same page about the core benefits you can gain by choosing a remote workforce, let’s explore the key steps that will assist you along the way.
1. Hire a Solid Staff
Everything starts with having the right people on board. This means that when you build your team you should consider both your staff’s professional expertise and personal qualities.
While their professional skills are crucial to driving your business forward, you shouldn’t overlook personal qualities like empathy, a willingness to help, and the ability to share knowledge with other team members.
So, you should look for talent in the right places. One option to consider is always hiring top professionals with exceptional leadership skills. In this regard, it’s worth exploring marketing agencies (like us) and outsourcing your future marketing team.
However, with so many agencies available, it’s essential to choose the best one. Before making your final decision, review the checklist for hiring an agency. If you do, you’ll have a solid place to start from.
2. Define Roles and Responsibilities
Once you’ve hired a solid team, the next step is to define clear roles and responsibilities for your marketers. This is one of the key factors that will help you avoid conflicts and misunderstandings in the future.
Plus, when everyone knows what they are responsible for, it simplifies measuring their productivity. Ultimately, with the right roles and responsibilities in place, your marketing team will be less at risk of burnout.
3. Set up a Buddy System
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that smooth onboarding is the cornerstone of building a productive team. According to Microsoft studies, 73% of new hires feel more productive with a buddy system in place.
To give you a clearer understanding of a buddy system, let’s get a bit specific about what it is. Consider it a knowledge-sharing method, where more experienced team members support new hires. This process typically lasts from a few weeks to the first few months on the job.
In short, experienced employees help new teammates adapt to their roles and feel more comfortable within the company. Whether it’s sharing insights or addressing issues, a buddy system gives new hires a sounding board.
4. Offer Training
Another proven way to build a collaborative remote marketing team is by offering your staff growth opportunities. Frankly speaking, whether you have an in-house or off-site team, providing training to create a culture of continuous learning is always a good idea.
You can offer subscriptions for specialised courses and training programs. Additionally, you should encourage your senior professionals to share their experiences and know-how. For instance, your digital marketing lead could set up a Lunch and Learn where they provide insights on how to use buyer personas to help your marketing team perform better.
You can also start a mentorship program. This will not only serve as a cost-effective method to expand your staff’s skill sets but also foster collaboration across the entire team as you’ll get team members interacting outside their comfort zone.
5. Organise Daily Meetings
Daily meetings are a crucial component of a collaborative marketing team. First and foremost, they help you stay informed about your staff’s workloads and allow you to identify if anyone needs assistance.
Additionally, these meetings provide an opportunity to pinpoint potential issues early on, helping to mitigate them before they become serious problems for the team in the future.
You can also encourage your remote or hybrid team to collaborate openly with you and each other by utilising tools that allow them to book virtual meeting rooms for discussions. If you’re a hybrid workspace or have a couple of team members in the same town then consider platforms that allow mobile booking of office meeting spaces. This will make scheduling pretty simple for everyone involved.
6. Foster Open Communication
You should not only talk but also listen to your team. In other words, create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable sharing their concerns. This isn’t just about issues related to the current project. Your team members may have personal concerns that could negatively affect their productivity.
For example, you may notice that one of your teammates often misses deadlines. By actually having a conversation with them, you may find out that this person is overloaded. This can lead to project delays and burnout, but now that you know the reason, you can do something about it.
Instead of assuming they’re not focused or working hard enough, create an environment where they feel comfortable sharing their concerns. You may ask for feedback on their workload, tasks, and teamwork to understand their challenges and offer appropriate support. Your team should feel comfortable telling you the truth – but if they aren’t then try anonymous methods.
7. Offer Virtual Team-Buildings
As Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
One proven way to get your marketers to work together effectively is by organising team-building activities.
There are plenty of engaging ideas for virtual team-building activities to keep your team motivated. For example, you could organise quizzes or team games that promote friendly competition.
Additionally, you can host virtual tea time calls, where you can organise interesting discussions about films, and books or just share hobbies. This will provide a perfect opportunity for your team to relax and become closer.
8. Be Transparent
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that transparency is the key to winning employees’ hearts. Whether it’s a problem related to a project or the company’s financial situation, it’s always better to communicate openly with your remote marketing team.
This shows that you respect them and value their input in tackling challenges together. Your team will feel more inclined to come up with their own ideas to improve the company’s performance and processes.
9. Set Clear Expectation
Though the word “remote” speaks for itself, defining the kind of work schedule you expect from your team is crucial. Flexible work might mean allowing your marketers to work at any time they want. However, you may still require daily meetings and expect everyone to attend.
While you can offer flexible working hours, it’s essential to set a couple of fixed hours when everyone is in the office. This ensures a clear path for communication and the option to have meetings where everyone can participate. This becomes especially important when building a remote team across different time zones.
10. Use Project Management Tools
Using project management tools may not create collaboration but it certainly makes it easier within your marketing team. These platforms will streamline communication across your team. Specifically, they help track progress, speed up conversations around tasks, answer questions quickly, and keep everyone updated on key news and project changes.
As such, project management tools have become essential for remote teams, and there are plenty of options to choose from. Here are some of the most used ones:
- Asana
- ClickUp (That’s what we use!)
- Monday.com
- Trello
As a bonus, here are some communication tools you can use:
- Slack
- Troop Messenger
- Google Chat
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
11. Create Shared Documentation
Though you may not consider this to be important for boosting the collaboration and effectiveness of a remote multinational team, it is. And here is why.
Firstly, shared documentation ensures all team members are on the same page. They have access to essential guidelines and resources for their current projects, keeping them aligned with updates.
Additionally, creating shared documentation for new hires gives them a better understanding of the tools they will use and keeps them informed about the company’s core values, mission, and primary responsibilities.
And these are just a few benefits of shared documentation.
Bottom Line
Building a collaborative culture among your remote marketing team is not a hard nut to crack. However, it’s the only way to establish a long-lasting and loyal team that will drive your business forward.
To create a productive and collaborative workplace, you must invest significant effort. We’ve outlined the most effective steps to assist you along the way, from hiring the right professionals to fostering transparency and encouraging open communication within your team.
So, put a lot of effort into building a collaborative team today, and it will pay off down the road.
Article by
Nicholas Turner
