Appropriate feedback becomes even more critical when people are working remotely.  That is why it is vital to regularly check in with your team members to understand how you can support them. 

Working remotely has its benefits, but it can also be incredibly stressful.  The solution is to stay connected with one another and selectin the right tools to do the job.

Schedule regular 1:1s

Giving and receiving feedback, tracking progress and reviewing any challenges the person is experiencing is the best way to keep the person on track and motivated.  A less formal catch-up similar to these meetings should be encouraged between peers as well.

Having an agenda and predefined questions before the meeting can help guide the conversation.  Some examples could be –

• What are you excited about?
• What are you finding the most challenging at the moment?
• Are there any obstacles that are hindering your work at the moment?
• What’s one task I can improve on to help you with your job?
• What’s one task you can do better to improve at your job?

If you use the questions consistently, it will be easy for both you and the employee to prepare and track changes in the team over time.

Build a positive feedback habit

Supportive and encouraging feedback is a great motivator and essential for building the team. 

Make sure you give your remote team members positive feedback regularly and encourage peers to celebrate successes online. 

Make a dedicated Slack channel to provide and receive simple and easy messages of support and praise.  You will find that the more people receive recognition, the more likely they will give it to others.  This increases the positive feedback without you having to intentionally plan for it.

Utilise tech to keep the team aligned with objectives and track results

It is so easy to disconnect from team goals when you are working apart from each other.  There are copious platforms you can use to track what team members are working on.  This also helps them to keep focused on the objectives of their work. 

With remote teams, this helps to pinpoint bottlenecks and know where everyone is up to.  Team members own their responsibilities, and there is a shared sense of purpose. 

Monitoring the progress of the objectives is one of the best ways to support performance and keep team members moving in the right direction.

Educate your team on structuring feedback

Some feedback, although honest, can be destructive.  Particularly if delivered through an impersonal form of communication such as email or instant chat.  It’s tricky to gauge the intention behind feedback when you can’t observe body language and facial expressions. 

It is vitally important that people in remote teams are taught how to use the right language when sharing feedback with each other.  One simple and effective way to deliver both constructive and positive feedback is:-

Context

Describe the situation

Observation

Describe the behaviour clearly and concisely, focusing on the actions, not the personality.

Impact

Describe the impact on the behaviour

Next

Offer some suggestion on what they could do to improve.

You need to make sure your team has the skills to communicate their messages effectively, avoiding potential misunderstandings and conflict.

Set up a regular 360-degree feedback

A 360-degree feedback is a process where employee’s team members, colleagues and supervisor give feedback along with a self-evaluation.  When your team is comfortable with sharing feedback, you must encourage them to share feedback with each other regularly.  Communication is vital to creating an effective team.  Plan for recurring 360-degree reviews that are focused on helping your team members develop and grow.

Whether your teams are completely remote or you have just a few members who are working from home, it is undeniable that communication is vital in making these teams work effectively. 

Organisations and their teams need the right tools and skills to remain engaged.  One of these is to give regular appropriate feedback.