How to foster teamwork in remote data teams

Are you struggling to make your remote data team feel like a team?

The term remote literally means “distant” or “situated far from the population”—hardly the type of environment where one could envision teamwork thriving.

But with remote work not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s up to management to find ways to encourage remote data teams to work closely together. Luckily, there are various ways to help ensure that teams do not suffer despite the distance between team members in a work-from-home format.

Teamwork skills examples such as collaboration, communication, and listening need to be focused on when developing ways to foster teamwork in remote data teams. Managers need to build trust, keep open communication, and be creative in today’s hybrid and digital-only work environments.

Overcome the challenges of developing teamwork in a digital environment

While it’s extremely tough to replicate the feeling of a team working physically together in the office, it is possible to promote the development of teamwork when managing remote employees.

Your to-do list as a manager of a remote data team to promote and strengthen collaboration and other aspects of teamwork include:

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Communication is a two-edged sword: you must promote communication between team members while also being very open and communicative yourself.

Be sure to drive home to your team the purpose of the project you’re working on together as well as company values. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page, which goes a long way toward building and maintaining a team. Present formal long- and short-term objectives and goals. Place them in a shared document.

Use chats, video calls, and other tech tools like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams to keep in touch with the team. Discuss individual and team goals, give and take feedback, and report on the progress of each project. Recognize individual efforts and achievements during whole-team meetings. Introduce new team members and organize informal conference calls and chats to get everyone acquainted and comfortable with each other. Make everyone feel included.

Falling under the umbrella of communication is: be transparent. Openly discuss any project issues, progress, and goals. Making sure that the team shares a purpose and has a sense of mutual dependence builds trust. Trust and accountability are main components of establishing effective teamwork in remote data teams.

While too much communication from you can feel like you’re micromanaging, remember that overcommunication is better than undercommunication.

Provide learning and development tools and opportunities

By making each team member the best they can be, you will be heightening interdependence and showing the true value of each individual team member. This is an effective way to foster teamwork, especially in remote teams.

Arrange for virtual or in-person workshops, courses, and training sessions. Recommend books and other materials. Encourage team members to share what they’ve learned with others. You could also set up a mentoring or coaching program among team members.

By investing in professional development, you will promote the practice of team members relying on each other and turning to each other for support and guidance. If your database administrator has the utmost confidence in the data engineer and vice versa due to their continuous professional growth, then team members will be apt to interact and work more closely together.

Create professional and social connections between team members

Define specific roles and the responsibilities attached to each role. Who is responsible for data analyzing? Which team member oversees data warehousing? Who is the database administrator?

Make sure that each team member understands the role of others on the team and how some duties and responsibilities might overlap. Stress the importance of each role and how each contributes to the success of the team.

Similarities exist, for instance, between the responsibilities of data architects and data engineers—both extract data, for example, or are involved in the cleaning and storing of data. Both data analysts and data scientists examine data, though the former presents more general observations and the latter delves more deeply into specific insights. Have these team members with similar roles rely on each other and report to each other regularly to encourage collaboration and active listening.

To promote connections beyond work duties, host virtual games or coffee breaks. Support in-person lunches or activities at local venues that help team members form bonds. Boosting morale and engagement are effective ways in which to foster teamwork in digital work environments.

Lastly, it’s important that you lead by example. Hold yourself accountable as you would any team member. Communicate regularly. Participate in team-bonding activities, both social and professional. Announce your shortcomings as well as your achievements. You are both manager and team member. You’ll most often need to wear both hats so your employees recognize that you are essentially the same as they are: an active, responsible, and integral part of a team that must work together for both individual and organizational success.