What Google learned about remote work from its employees

What Google learned about remote work from its employeesWhat Google learned about remote work from its employeesGoogle is a huge corporation with kollektivs and employees in 150 cities in mora than 50 countries around the world, so you would expect it to knowhow to handle collaboration among remote workers.But its also a company that is driven by data, so its leaders recently decided tomake sure its virtual teams were collaborating effectively. According to a Google blog deutsche bundespost by Veronica Gilrane, Googles people analytics manager, that check took the form of a survey sent to more than 5,000 of the corporations nearly 100,000 employees, as well as focus groups with about 100 of those workers.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWhat Google learned about remote work, perhaps not surprisingly, is thatboth formal and informal communication are the keys to successful remote work.This is a serious issue for Google, which found that 48% of its meetings involved employees from two or more buildings, while 39% involved two or more cities, and 30% involved two or more time zones.We were happy to find no difference in the effectiveness, performance ratings, or promotions for individuals and teams whose work requires collaboration with colleagues around the world versus Googlers who spend most of their day to day working with colleagues in the saatkorn office, the blog post says. Well-being standards were uniform across the board as well Googlers on teams who work virtually find ways to prioritize a steady work-life balance by prioritizing important rituals like a healthy nights sleep and exercise just as non-distributed team members do.However, Gilrane tellsFast Companythey also discovered thatworkers in remote offices sometimes struggled with feeling disconnected from their teamsor frustrated with other aspects of their jobs related to their location far aw ay from colleagues.The specific problems she mentioned will be familiar to all remote workers. Coordinating schedules across time zones and booking a conference room for a video chat takes more logistical brain power than dropping by a coworkers desk for a meeting over coffee, she says in the Google blog post. The technology itself can also be limiting- glitchy video or faulty sound makes impromptu conversations that help teammates get to know, and trust, each other seem like more trouble than theyre worth.To overcome these challenges, Google has severalrecommendations for its distributed teamsHelp workers get to know each other as people.In the blog post, Gilrane suggests that team members departure meetings with small talk about what they did over the weekend or similar topics. Its especially important formanagers to help develop that rapport and connection among team memberswho may not see each other in person frequently.Account for different time zones.If some of your team membe rs are in California and others are in New York, try to find meeting times that work for everyone. If workers extend into more varied time zones, like Greenwich mean time or China standard time, (Gilrane) says to make sure that a manager should alternate meeting times so that one time zone isnt inconvenienced more than another, theFast Companyarticle says.Make sure your technology is up to the task.Nothing is more frustrating for remote workers thantrying to communicate using unreliable tech. Managers must make sure they have the right hardware and software to ensure smooth connections.Set expectations and boundaries.Instead of making assumptions about preferred working hours, take the time to ask your coworkers when they like to take meetings some may opt for a certain time of day if given a choice or like to disconnect completely from their computers at other times, Gilrane says in the Google blog post.Build connections, online and in person.Managers should seek the right opportun ities tobring their distributed teams together at one location, even if it means flying people in occasionally for face-to-face meetings. When thats not possible, develop other ways to build bonds that arent only work-related. In theFast Companyarticle, Gilrane says her team meets once a week for 30 minutes via video chat with no set agenda. We actually eat lunch or breakfast over chat, she says. Its a nice break from the day-to-day.The experiences of Googles remote teams will resonate with anyone who is striving to work efficiently and effectively with far-flung colleagues. And as any virtual team member will tell you,success starts and ends with strong communication. Whether you are an employee of a huge corporation or a small startup, that should be the core of your personal remote work plan.This article originally appeared on Flexjobs.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people