The workplace plays an important role in most people’s lives. It comes as no surprise considering that the average person spends roughly 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime, according to Gettysburg. That means one-third of their life is spent working than on any other activity.
Why engage your remote team successfully
When you decide to hire a VA in the Philippines, think about the effects of the work on their mental and emotional health too. The field of psychology reveals that feeling connected to others is a basic need thereby affecting mortality, physical, and mental well-being.
Some of the reasons why you need to cultivate strong remote team relationships include:
It boosts collaboration
When your new hire Filipino freelancer has a teammate they respect, they get motivated to communicate and perform better. Tasks are accomplished more efficiently since they are become comfortable with working together. Messages are less ambiguous as well so everyone involved are more productive.
It boosts employee morale
The overall productivity of your organisation is affected by the psychological state of your employees. In hiring Filipino remote workers, for instance, you must look beyond their array of skills and experiences and check if they know how to have good relationships with people too.
It transfers knowledge
Your team may be made up of both new hire remote staff in the Philippines and senior workers in your local area. If they have positive relations with each other, the experienced workers become more willing to share what they know to the newbies.
It boosts creativity
Strong remote team relationships stimulate each party to think outside of the box. Being in an environment where they are able to show their unique personality provides them with the support and inspiration they need to develop innovative ideas and efficient solutions.
It boosts worker retention
A company capable of retaining its talents tends to deliver better results as the workers are accustomed to each others’ attitudes and working styles. Staff members who feel connected to one another are less likely to find jobs elsewhere because they value the bonds they have established.
It boosts physical health
Individuals who are socially isolated are at higher risk of acquiring serious medical conditions. At the same time, having strong social support encourages them to stay healthy both physically and mentally. This is because there are people checking in and motivating them to exercise, eat, and sleep better.
It boosts newbie integration
A team that knows one another well makes it easier for a new hire Filipino VA to feel welcome. This is because they’re aware how to relate to people better and assimilate them to the company culture through experience. They also already familiar with each of their strengths and weaknesses so they only need to adopt to the rookie.
Hows of maintaining a strong remote team
You must give your staff opportunities to establish bonds with their peers and colleagues. Given how the coronavirus pandemic changed the way people do their jobs, building professional relationships is more important than ever. Try the following strategies for building bonds within your remote team:
1. Reduce chances of miscommunication
Likely, your team uses tools like Zoom or Skype for voice and video calls. These enable them to keep in touch and lessen issues like misunderstandings or time lags. Most of the time, communication is by text through Slack chat conversations, Google Drive shared documents, or company emails which are more convenient.
To ensure written communication gets your point across while showing empathy:
- Always assume ignorance before malice when someone does something wrong.
- Know what they are currently busy with and at what level of completion they are at.
- Be concise but add some important details so they won’t have to bother you with those.
2. Make them know you and each other
Start by knowing yourself better by taking a personality test. Share the results with your team and encourage them to take the same exam. While you don’t have to take them as hard facts, they provide insight on any similarities or differences everyone should be mindful of.
Take the time to share what your hobbies are or what people may not know about you initially. For example, you enjoy video games on your days off and your worker might be playing the same title. Another example is that you’re the fur parent to 3 cats and 1 dog.
3. Consider a mentoring arrangement
Give new connections a start by pairing up, let’s say, a new hire freelancer in the Philippines with an experienced employee. Provide this as an option rather than something mandatory as not everyone may be comfortable with or available to being paired together.
Donut is an excellent tool for matching up your workers together. It’s a Slack app that randomly connects one individual to another to encourage water cooler talks. If you’re already using Slack, this is a minor add-on that does wonders for boosting engagement and collaboration.
4. Take note of any important dates
Here’s something you may implement right away if you aren’t already doing this within your business. Remember that there are two key dates that the human resources department or upper management must be mindful of.
The first one is the date that you decided to hire your Filipino virtual assistant and the second one is their birthday. Celebrate with them by sending them a small gift card or reminding the rest of your team to greet them. When you have dozens of employees, try celebrating birthdays by month.
5. Establish ongoing feedback loops
It’s a given that you provide your workers with feedback regarding their performance or quality. You expect them to be open to constructive criticism and improve their work accordingly. Make sure that you are doing the same and asking for feedback from them too.
No manager, boss, or system is perfect so there will always be areas that need adjusting for greater productivity and efficiency. Every time an issue is raised, address it as soon as you’re able then keep this going until it becomes a pattern.
6. Try to meet in-person every so often
If you’re based in somewhere like the US or UK, it might be difficult to meet with your online employees, especially when you decided to hire remote staff in the Philippines. All the same, it’s worth considering the idea if you want to build a long-term relationship with them.
You don’t have to send them over to your headquarters as you may also travel to where they are instead. There’s the option to meet in the middle like at an industry event in Hongkong or Vietnam. Take the opportunity to teach them new things while you’re meeting up onsite too.
Why hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines
Like with other kinds of relationships, maintaining a strong remote team takes continuous work. Establishing foundations alone takes up time and effort. Things get complicated when you end up hiring people who have difficult personalities that you didn’t notice during recruitment.
Reduce the stress of cultivating strong remote team relationships by hiring Filipino remote workers. Not only are they fun to work with but they are also dynamic enough to hit the ground running. We at Remote Workmate specialise in connecting global employers with virtual assistants in the Philippines.
Are you excited to hire a Filipino VA for your team? Click the button now!
