Goal: Establish strong relationships to fuel motivation,

collaboration, and productivity.

Recent research from the Gallup Organization’s Tom Rath shows that people with strong friendships at work are more motivated, loyal, collaborative, and productive. In a typical office, those relationships form naturally. Across remote locations, you need to foster not just your connection to your employees, but their connections to each other.

Face Time

To build relationships, there’s no substitute for meeting face to face. In person, your employees are more likely to tell you about what’s not working. You’ll better understand their work style, too — how they make decisions and which types of tasks they’re best suited for. There’s no set equation for how often to meet, but twice a year is a good rule of thumb. Many remote managers schedule one-on-ones around hiring and performance reviews. Team meetings should be scheduled around planning and

decision-making. LaBrosse of Cheetah Learning says her teams meet in person to kick off a project and again when the project is finished. Teambuilding gets mixed reviews in the corporate world, but it takes on greater meaning for people who rarely see one another. Each year the Corecubed staff converges at Orsini’s home in Louisville, Kentucky, for Derby weekend. “People stay at each other’s houses, so they get to know them better,” she says. “You see pictures of the kids and you get to meet the dog. It reinforces our need to make certain that each of us succeeds.” If you plan a team gathering, make the time count. Find something everyone will appreciate, schedule it at a time that won’t impact people getting their work done, and if someone doesn’t want to participate in social events, don’t force it.

Rewards and Recognition

The pats on the back that happen informally around the office don’t come as easily in the virtual world. Remote colleagues need to make greater effort to recognize each other’s accomplishments, LaBrosse says. Her employees at Cheetah Learning can hand out 2,000 “Cheetah Points” to each other every month. When one co-worker helps another solve a difficult problem, the first may give the second 200 points. At the end of the month, LaBrosse gives away $500, $300, and $200 worth of gift certificates

to the three people with the most points. “People are happier,” she says. “We have virtually no turnover.”  Turnover is also low for Alpine Access, which outsources call-center services using

a workforce of entirely home-based agents. A ticker runs at the bottom of every agent’s computer screen, carrying messages specific to their team or the client they serve, like J. Crew or 1-800-Flowers. Team supervisors listen in on calls and immediately transmit messages such as, “Tina just had a huge sale!” across the network. Then congratulations pile in from other agents, says Carrington. “You transfer

that excitement to the other agents,” he says. “That can be an immediate energy pick-me-up. People think. ‘I can do that, too.’”