Speaker 1: Is remote collaboration difficult for you and your team? Remote working poses a handful of unique challenges, specifically when it comes to staying in touch and on the same page. In today's video, we're going to cover a few methods for improving remote collaboration. I'm Alex from JotForm, and let's get into it. How well does your team collaborate remotely? Maintaining communication in a remote team can be challenging. Not only do you need to share information with employees, but you also need a good system for hearing their feedback and ideas. To improve communication and collaboration in your remote team, begin by identifying the issues that might affect productivity. A few of the most common challenges are a lack of clear boundaries and routines, difficulty focusing during business hours, miscommunication amongst team members, difficulty debating and brainstorming ideas outside of in-person meetings, difficulty coordinating activities from afar, and a reduction of company culture and team cohesiveness. On one hand, occasional breakdowns in communication might not seem concerning, and managers may not immediately see a significant change in employee performance. However, small issues add up over time and can lead to significant problems. Thankfully, there are some simple solutions that you can implement to address the challenges of remote collaboration. By implementing a few key practices, you can overcome the problems of remote working and foster an environment where your workers thrive. Your goal should be to develop a shared vision while empowering employees to stick to their responsibilities and rise to the occasion as an essential part of your team. Consider the following methods for improving remote work collaboration. First, set team goals. Every employee should have personal targets that connect with overarching goals. Setting clear, detailed goals is essential for evaluating progress and productivity. When setting goals, choose objectives that match the company's mission. Next, assign responsibilities. Without clear expectations, even the highest priority tasks can fall through the cracks. One step to improve remote collaboration is to ensure daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities are clear. Then, define schedules. While a flexible work schedule is one benefit of remote work, team schedules should be on the same track. It's challenging to develop team collaboration if employees don't have a chance for real-time communication. So keep time zones in mind and schedule time for collaboration. Also, be sure to meet regularly. Set a time on the calendar for a virtual team meeting. You could schedule a daily check-in for team members to discuss their accomplishments, current projects, and any issues. Next, prioritize team building. While project meetings are important, don't forget that virtual team building is essential for developing collaboration. Promote company culture through activities like online games, virtual coffee sessions, or casual conversations. Consider establishing set discussion channels. Having clear communication channels enables people to easily access support and information when they need it. Video conferencing and group messaging are a good way for team communication. And offer chances for one-on-one collaboration through phone calls, email, or even text. You could also try investing in software. Teams need to share and collect information online, making it essential to have the right tools. JotForm Tables is one great solution for collecting data and collaborating. In addition to collecting and centralizing data, you can easily analyze information. Finally, simply increase communication. Even if you think you're being clear, be proactive by over-communicating when you're discussing key points. Being too vague will get in the way of effective collaboration. When communicating through text or chat, you might miss the tone or leave too much open to interpretation. Over-communicating will ensure that your message has been understood. With the right tools and a clear vision for the future, you can improve remote collaboration and optimize team performance all at once. Effective collaboration is the key to the long-term success of your company. If you implement the methods we've outlined here today, you will surely develop a stronger team of remote workers. Let's go ahead and briefly review. Remote collaboration can be difficult as there is often a lack of clear goals and boundaries, as well as the potential for miscommunication. To avoid these problems and improve remote collaboration for your team, try any of the following methods. Set team goals, assign responsibilities, define schedules, meet regularly, prioritize team building, establish discussion channels, invest in software, and increase communication. Again, I'm Alex from JotForm, and thanks for watching. We'll see you again next time.