Establishing and moulding a strong and positive working environment is generally the key to building a successful and profitable business. But, how can you achieve this when your business operates with an offshore remote office?

While it may seem harder, at its core, it is no different than when you are building your local office culture. We say to all our clients, that your remote office should be an extension of your local office.

For all employees, but especially remote ones, authentic interpersonal relationships where everyone is on the same level, is the key to empowering them to make the position their own. In fact, research has shown, remote employees who feel a strong connection with their local counterparts are more likely to be satisfied with their position and stay with the company for longer.

While you may not be able to have face-to-face conversations each day and feel like you are in the trenches together, your approach should be the same. The keys to building this connection with your remote team, and between your local and remote employees will boil down to trust, showing appreciation and open lines of communication.

Trust is the key

Trust is at the heart of any working relationship. As the leader, if your employees trust in your ability to lead and drive the business forward, they’ll follow. And, with most businesses moving towards encouraging workplace collaboration, if your employees trust each other, the results will be a lot better.

At the heart of building strong relationships within the workplace is to not look at an employee or coworker as a number, instead, approaching them as a human. This means, looking beyond deadlines, KPI’s and processes, and taking the time to find common ground, understanding what makes them tick and building a meaningful relationship with them.

When you make it a priority to create trust between all aspects of your business, not only will your business see better results but your staff will be more willing to go above and beyond for the company.

Show appreciation

When you look at your business, as it stands, how do you recognise and celebrate success, achievements or milestones? Is there a company-wide email, do you have a quick stand up meeting or do you have a quiet chat with the individuals involved?

Now, think about how you recognise success with your remote employees? Just like your local team, remote employees crave appreciation and recognition when they achieve something positive.

Thus it is important you make the effort to reach out and give them a virtual pat on the back whenever they do something well. Not only will they appreciate the recognition, but it will also boost their sense of belonging within the company.

Prioritise communication

In any organisation, communication is one of the biggest indicators and drivers of success. And organisations that have clearly defined lines of communication tend to see their employees be more productive, leading to better results.

When you lead a business that has multiple offices, regardless of whether you outsource or not, you need to make a real effort to design and implement adequate communication processes. When you have numerous people working on a project, in multiple locations, the opportunity for things to get lost in translation is high. So to avoid this, take the time to clearly define what channels are for what type of communication.

For example, keep emails for formal passing of briefs and work-related information, video chats for meetings and reviews, and messaging systems, like Slack, for informal ‘virtual office banter’.

While it is critical for the success of projects that communication is prioritised, the importance of having channels for people to conduct informal conversations is just as important. And, having these channels open is a great way of building strong relationships between your staff members.

While there are obvious hurdles to building strong workplace relationships between offices in different locations, they are not as large as people once thought. With advancements in communication and connectivity technology, we are actually more connected than ever.

Deployed, have modern IT and communication systems in place that facilitate easy and clear connections between multiple offices. Bringing you and your team closer together.

To discover why Deployed is the best option for your business, get in touch with us today.