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August 10, 2020 Content Chat Recap: Building Strong Relationships With Your Remote Content Marketing Teams

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When working apart from your colleagues or clients, it can be difficult to build relationships simply because of the physical distance of the team.

In this #ContentChat we discuss how content marketing teams can stay connected and grow strong relationships regardless of how distributed the team is. Read the full conversation below, including recommendations for onboarding a remote employee or client, icebreakers you can use in team calls to build relationships, and tips on how we can all do better at staying connected with our colleagues.

Q1: Let’s start with taking a pulse check on how we are all feeling right now.

Per our poll, the majority of our community members are loving remote team life.

This makes sense considering that content marketing roles usually involve a greater degree of workplace flexibility than other fields.

That said, circumstances are changing daily, some team members are balancing a mixed workplace setting, and not everyone is loving remote work the longer it lasts.

Q2: What virtual space / meeting / tool has replaced those casual break room and hallway conversations? What’s the new virtual water cooler for your team?

Google Hangouts & Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zoom have become essentials for both hosting work meetings and replicating a water cooler/common space environment.

Lunchclub is another option to try (thanks Megan for recommending!)

Most professionals are using some combination of the above tools. Check to see which channel(s) your team and/or client prefers to use and create a cheatsheet to remind everyone of what each channel is for.

Q3: Onboarding (be it for new employees, freelancers, or agencies) used to often start with an all-day, in-person meeting. What are you doing with onboarding today to start off on the right foot building relationships?

Switching to remote onboarding is a challenge, so don’t feel discouraged if you’re struggling. Use every onboarding as an opportunity to refine your process and learn how to best serve your new client or teammate.

Create documents and templates to help in the process, such as a 90-day plan worksheet, company and team overview document(s), or how-tos.

For especially detailed companies, you could create a certification process that is completed with onboarding.

Intake questionnaires and creative briefs should regularly be updated to ensure you’re asking the right questions and everyone is aligned.

Use Slack or other messaging platforms to your advantage, and make sure the teammate or client has access to all the right channels.

Video or phone meetings are essential, but remember that you should not do a day-long video call. Host multiple short calls (maximum 1.5 hours) over a few days or weeks to handle the initial onboarding.

Thanks to Shawn at Xoba for sharing your team’s onboarding doc template!

Q4: How do you feel about video Happy Hours? Are they still a good way to build virtual team spirit/encourage bonding?

Our poll shows mixed results, with a majority of respondents being over video happy hours or having never attended one.

In praise of video happy hours, they are a great way to connect with your colleagues in an easy and casual way. Maureen notes that they can be tiring at first, but you will learn how to adjust your energy.

Video calls can also be a fun and personal way to celebrate an achievement or team birthdays. Or, try Megan’s example of using a theme like ‘Cribs’ each month to add structured personality to the meeting.

Not everyone is a fan of video calls for casual purposes, though, so participation in these calls should not be mandatory. Some team members are facing increased video fatigue (here’s how you can combat it), and others simply do not wish to join. Consider asking these people what other ways they’d like to connect with their colleagues to offer options that appeal to everyone (and we brainstorm some ideas below).

Q5: What are some other ideas for fun + social meetings, other than video Happy Hours, to help us connect with our virtual team members?

Check out the community ideas below, including a pet-friendly “Yappy Hour”. What ideas do you have? Let us know in the comments.

Q6: What are some ways we can all put a better foot forward when it comes to building relationships and getting to know our virtual team members?

It all starts with a simple step: reach out. Contact of any sort can help maintain your connection and keep the door open.

Managers should meet with direct reports once a week to ensure everyone feels supported and heard.

Ask how your colleague is doing and genuinely listen. It can help to ask if they are looking for advice or just someone to listen so that you can give them the level of support they need.

Use open time in your meetings to strike up a conversation, such as the waiting time before a meeting starts.

Consider scheduling meetings for subgroups of your team to enable more intimate conversation.

Add structure to your meetings with set questions or exercises, like rose, bud, thorn/highlight, challenge, exciting opportunity or new idea.

Offer regular social meeting times, like a morning workout for team members to join.

And be conscious of how you treat any coworkers who leave the company.

Q7: What are your tips for starting virtual meetings off in a way that helps facilitate getting to know each other? Share your team icebreaker topics here too!

Try any of these at your next meeting to kick off the conversation. What else has worked for you? Comment below.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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