7 Ways to Keep Distributed Teams Aligned
September 4, 2024
Distributed teams allow you to hand-pick the top talent from across the globe, each bringing their unique skills and perspectives. But what happens when a team leader you desperately need to get in contact with is in a time zone on the other side of the world? You’ll need to enact change and move away from traditional approaches.
People don’t want to move for a new job. In fact, only 1.6% of U.S. workers relocated for a job in the first three months of 2023. By creating work environments where employees can collaborate from anywhere, companies can offer an enticing benefit for a vast global talent pool.
Here’s what you need to know about distributed work and successful distributed team management, including the team communication tools that foster stronger bonds and collaboration.
Distributed teams vs. remote teams: What’s the difference?
Every employee must be completely remote and work in a different location for a team to be considered distributed. Distributed teams don’t gather for in-office meetings or have a shared physical office space where hybrid employees can work for a few days a week.
This lack of face-to-face interaction means your distributed team relies on a combination of remote work software and transparent communication.
How do distributed teams work?
These are the main characteristics of a distributed team:
- Location: Team members work from various physical locations around the world, often in different time zones.
- Office space: Teammates work entirely from their preferred location, whether it’s their home, a café, or a coworking space, but have no access to shared office space.
- Organizational structure: Distributed work requires a fundamental shift in how a company operates.
- Hiring: Distributed teams can recruit from a global talent pool without worrying about location constraints.
Distributed teams also don’t adhere to a strict set of work hours, and this flexibility is essential when collaborating across time zones.
How do remote teams work?
Here’s how remote teams compare to distributed teams in terms of main characteristics:
- Location: Remote teammates may work outside of a central office but usually live nearby.
- Office space: Remote workers may be required to visit a nearby office building for occasional meetings, training, and events.
- Organizational structure: Remote work usually requires a shift in how an individual or team operates rather than an entire company.
- Hiring: There’s some flexibility during recruiting, but companies are often limited to hiring remote workers from certain regions or time zones.
Are distributed teams worth it?
In a word, yes. More workers are looking for roles that allow them to work remotely while traveling and living in different global locations. Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work report found that 60% of remote workers note the flexibility to choose where they live is the best benefit of working from home. This means businesses can and should offer this perk to attract more talent.
6 benefits of a distributed workforce
1. Cost savings
Companies save on rent, utilities, maintenance, and office supplies without needing a physical workspace. Additionally, since distributed businesses primarily use cloud-based software, there’s no cost associated with maintaining an IT infrastructure. Global Workplace Analytics estimates that businesses can save about $11,000 per year for every employee who works remotely at least half of the time.
2. Larger talent pool
Distributed companies enjoy access to worldwide talent. There’s no concern about whether a new employee is within commuting distance of your headquarters. This is especially key as U.S. labor force growth is expected to continue declining, meaning businesses will have fewer local candidates to choose from.
3. Increased employee well-being and retention
Distributed workplaces improve team performance by eliminating time sinks like commutes and distracting open office layouts. This flexibility also contributes to better work-life balance and well-being. A 2022 Future Forum survey found that 22% of fully remote workers feel good about their stress and anxiety levels compared to only 9% of fully in-person employees. The same survey also reported that 70% of employees who are dissatisfied with flexibility at work are looking for a new job.
4. Improved diversity
A 2024 research paper from Wharton reports that remote work attracts 15% more female applicants and 33% more applications from underrepresented minorities. Increased diversity boosts performance. McKinsey found that companies with gender and ethnic diversity had a 9% greater chance of financially outperforming their peers.
5. More innovation
Research shows that teammates tend to contribute more ideas while brainstorming virtually compared to in-person sessions. Successful remote teams make room for introverts, extroverts, and a range of roles, creating spaces where employees feel safe to contribute.
6. Better productivity
When employees don’t have to commute to the office, they spend a majority of that time (40%) working. Gartner found that, when given the flexibility to choose when and where they work, who they work with, what they work on, and how much work they complete, the number of high performers rose by 40%.
Challenges of a distributed workforce
While there are several benefits to distributed teams, there are also challenges. These include:
1. Company culture
With employees working around the world, it becomes more difficult to create an organizational culture. Consider the hurdles of sending welcome packages during new hire onboarding or gathering everyone for an off-site activity. At a minimum, culture-focused activities now require more intention.
2. Communication
Time zones and cultural differences can make workplace communication difficult for distributed teams. Thankfully, a combination of asynchronous communication and online collaboration tools helps teams work better together, even when they live across the world.
3. Employee relationships
Isolation is a big challenge for remote teams. Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work report found that 23% of employees who work from home say loneliness is a challenge. With a distributed work model, a team can work full-time together without really knowing one another.
4. Challenges for each individual
Some employees easily adjust to remote work, while others struggle. If you’re moving from a traditional work environment to a distributed approach, you may find that managers need to spend more time coaching and sharing remote worker tips for success.
How to manage a distributed team across time zones
Here are some ways you can help your virtual team thrive in a distributed work environment.
Set clear goals
Teammates and managers need to be extremely specific when setting and sharing goals. Get clear about how you’re measuring performance and any deadlines. Don’t be afraid to be direct, as to-the-point messaging helps employees understand their role in meeting goals. Setting SMART goals, or goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, is an ideal way to ensure everyone has a clear understanding.
Establish clear roles and boundaries
Establishing points of contact and identifying decision-makers for each project ensures everyone stays on track. It also clarifies where and how to access information and reduces the risk of confusion, slowdowns, and conflict.
Embrace flexible communication
Using flexible asynchronous vs. synchronous communication gives distributed teams a real advantage—and video messaging offers a few additional benefits for global teams. A video-first culture brings team members closer together. Using video creation tools like Loom adds a human element to your communications by recording your webcam and any nonverbals like facial expressions and hand gestures.
Improve your onboarding process
It’s possible to make your remote onboarding personal and scalable even when you’re thousands of miles apart. Use tools like Loom to create training videos, greet new hires, and share your team’s best remote work resources to give them a running start toward success.
Upgrade your software
The right tools can make or break your team’s efficiency. It’s a good idea to regularly audit your tech stack to make sure everything flows smoothly. It might be tempting to put this task off but remember: distributed teams rely on technology to stay productive. So, introducing new tools to reduce friction is essential.
Structure meetings for efficiency
Even teams that rely heavily on video communications still need to meet in real-time occasionally. Team meetings keep everyone in the loop and provide additional ways to connect. Keep your meetings from getting overwhelmed by water cooler chitchat, and clarify the goal of each meeting by sending out an agenda ahead of time. This also helps more introverted teammates prepare and feel less put on the spot.
Encourage feedback
Feedback loops and check-ins are a must for distributed teams. Seek input from your entire team to gauge which tools and processes are most beneficial and weed out any that aren’t helpful. Invite your team to share suggestions for improvement—after all, distributed teams tend to be innovative, and you may receive a game-changing idea you hadn’t thought of yet.
Must-have technology for distributed teams
Here are some of the must-have remote productivity tools for streamlining distributed team workflows.
1. Loom
The Loom screen recorder makes asynchronous video communication easy. Record your webcam and screen in one click to create high-quality videos for new-hire onboarding, marketing campaign updates, sales outreach, and sharing feedback.
2. Cloud-based storage
Distributed teams need to share documents and files quickly and securely. In this case, email won’t cut it. Instead, cloud-based storage services like these are a better way to manage digital assets:
3. Slack
Slack keeps everyone in the loop with text-based private conversations, social channels, and channels shared with external stakeholders.
4. Project management and collaboration tools
Project management is another challenge distributed workforces face. Using project management and collaboration software keeps everyone updated on project statuses, deadlines, and assignees.
5. Video conferencing software
Sometimes, a real-time video call is necessary. Distributed teams can use video conferencing platforms to brainstorm, share updates, and even chat casually.
Loom keeps distributed teams connected
Distributed workplaces give your employees the flexibility they crave while opening your business to new talent and opportunities. While this approach comes with a unique set of challenges, a combination of helpful tools and thoughtful processes can help you maintain team well-being and performance. By sharing asynchronous Loom recordings, you can overcome challenges like time zone differences and improve team alignment.