6 Ways Telecommuters Can Show They're Part of the Team
Just a millimeter from the cozy bubble of telecommuting -- soft as sweatpants and warm as home-brewed coffee -- sits a persistent, poking anxiety. Do your co-workers assume you just slack off all day? Do they think of you as part of the team? Is your manager sitting there, fingers tapping, mentally filing you under "AWOL," because you haven't emailed her since yesterday?
Worst: Do your co-workers and manager not even think of you at all?
"There's a fear that when you work remotely, you're not as engaged, and you're not seen as part of the group," says Brie Reynolds, director of online content at FlexJobs, a professional job website that offers telecommuting opportunities as well as flexible freelance and part-time work.
In some cases, the fear is founded, simply because while you're floating in your solitary bubble, your colleagues are bonding in the office break room. "Remote employees have a tendency to work in their own little silos and be unintentionally ostracized over time," says Hassan Osman, senior program manager at Cisco Systems and author of "Influencing Virtual Teams."
Lose the silos by overcommunicating, he says. "If you want to stay engaged in your team's latest developments, put in the extra effort to constantly connect with them through quick emails, phone calls and meetings," he says.
Osman and Reynolds share how telecommuters can engage the heck out of in-office team members and managers.
1. Update your manager -- often. To stay on top of your manager's mind, Osman advises connecting with him or her every day, or at least every other day, even if you don't absolutely need to. The best way to do so? An "FYI" email. "This could be a quick status update about your progress or a short note about something you'd like them to know," he says. "Labeling an email as 'FYI' will also signal that you're not looking for a reply, which makes it a bit more pleasant for your manager."
2. Chitchat. Working remotely means you'll miss small talk in the elevator, office happy hours and other in-person interactions that help make co-workers feel like teammates. Say your "hellos" and "good mornings" and "how was your weekends" via email or whatever instant messaging service your company uses. "Think about the way you would have those conversations in an office, and then try to replicate that in a virtual environment," says Reynolds, who works remotely, too. She points out that it's easy to become engrossed in your work while telecommuting, so "it really takes forethought to actually reach out and start those casual conversations."
Osman agrees that small talk plays a big role in building rapport with co-workers and suggests chatting about vacation plans, hobbies and family, or even sharing a funny article or video, if doing so seems appropriate. "Just be cognizant of the time you take up," he says. "Limit your virtual water cooler conversations to the typical length that they'd usually take offline."
3. Keep notes on your co-workers. "Not to be too creepy," Reynolds says, but to make these personal interactions go smoothly, "you can have notes about your different colleagues and what they're interests are, so you're not starting from scratch every time." She points out that you're not in the office seeing Bob every day, so you don't have that visual cue saying, "Bob: He has two kids who play soccer, so ask how their games went this weekend."
4. Set up a virtual coffee break. At FlexJobs, a company in which all employees work remotely, Reynolds says co-workers will sometimes schedule virtual coffee breaks. "I might set up a casual phone call and say like, 'hey, let's each have a cup of coffee or tea or whatever you like to drink, and let's sit down and chat,'" she says. Like an in-person coffee break or after-work drink, she says the focus is on getting to know each other and being casual, as opposed to talking about work.
5. "Friend" co-workers on Facebook. "If you're comfortable, friending your colleagues on Facebook can be a really good way to create a sense of knowing what's going on socially," Reynolds says. If you're not sure whether this co-worker would be receptive to your request, give him or her a heads up -- and an out. Email your co-worker to inform him or her that you're going to send a friend request, and stress that there's no pressure to accept it, Reynolds says.
As for friending managers, Reynolds suggests you "wait for their cue," or until you get a sense within your company whether doing so is OK or not.
6. Suggest a company message board. FlexJobs, for example, uses a service called Yammer, which Reynolds likens to a private Facebook page with groups. On FlexJobs' page, for example, there's a book club, a cooking club, a group for outdoorsy folks and so on. "It's a nice middle ground," she says. "It bridges that gap between being friends on Facebook and being strictly colleagues."
If you're one of many telecommuters at your company, a message board can corral all your separate balloons. Suggest a service like this to your supervisor, Reynolds says. "Companies are open to this type of suggestion," she says, "because it really does help to build the corporate culture."
Laura McMullen is the Careers editor at U.S. News and was previously a Health + Wellness reporter. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, circle her on Google+ or email her at lmcmullen@usnews.com.
