5 Staying Connected With Remote Teams: Practices for Inclusion and Engagement
In today's increasingly remote work environment, maintaining team cohesion and engagement can be challenging. This article explores effective strategies for fostering connection and inclusion among distributed teams. Drawing from expert insights, it presents practical approaches to recreate the spontaneity and camaraderie of in-person interactions in virtual settings.
- Informal Pre-Event Strategy Huddles Foster Connection
- Virtual Coffee Breaks Recreate Casual Office Interactions
- Random Video Calls Build Trust Among Workers
- Open Room Sessions Spark Spontaneous Collaboration
- Weekly Virtual Chats Cultivate Genuine Team Connections
Informal Pre-Event Strategy Huddles Foster Connection
I schedule informal 15-minute pre-event strategy huddles where my team walks through their individual contributions to upcoming projects—but here's the twist: these aren't formal presentations.
Our video editor might share rough cuts while eating breakfast, or our AV engineer explains sound design concepts while setting up equipment in their garage studio. These glimpses into real work moments create genuine connections because people see the human side of professional expertise.
I think what makes this effective is timing—catching people in their natural workflow rather than asking them to perform connection on command. During one of our event preparations, our creative designer's casual explanation of her color psychology choices while her dog interrupted the call led to breakthrough insights about audience engagement that we never would have reached in a formal brainstorm.
The vulnerability of showing work-in-progress, complete with interruptions and imperfections, builds trust faster than any structured team-building exercise. These sessions feel more like creative collaboration than mandatory check-ins, and honestly, they often generate our best event concepts.
Virtual Coffee Breaks Recreate Casual Office Interactions
To keep remote and hybrid team members connected and engaged, I prioritize regular, purposeful check-ins beyond just task updates. One specific practice I use is hosting weekly "virtual coffee breaks" where team members join informal video calls to chat about non-work topics. This helps recreate the casual office interactions that are often missing in remote setups. For example, during one of these sessions, a quieter team member opened up about challenges they were facing, which might never have surfaced in formal meetings. This allowed me to provide support and foster stronger bonds across the team. I also rely on Slack for real-time communication and quick polls to gather input and keep everyone involved in decisions. These tools and practices ensure the team stays connected, feels heard, and maintains a positive culture despite physical distance.
Random Video Calls Build Trust Among Workers
What worked best for me was to assign people to speak for a few minutes every week, just to catch up. I personally use a program called Donut through Slack, which randomly chooses two people for a weekly 15-minute video call. Having two people talk face-to-face without any specific agenda, seeing each other's body language and hearing each other's tone of voice, goes a long way towards improving inclusion, allowing people to unload emotional issues and generally getting to know one another.
Over a longer time period, these one-on-one video sessions will increase trust among the workers and include them more in their office environment.
Open Room Sessions Spark Spontaneous Collaboration
I've found that consistency beats complexity when it comes to staying connected with remote or hybrid teams. At Spectup, we run a weekly virtual "open room" session—it's not a meeting, it's just a recurring time block where anyone can drop in, chat, share updates, or simply work in parallel, like a digital co-working space. There's no agenda, which ironically makes it the most effective touchpoint we have. It recreates the kind of spontaneous hallway conversations that usually vanish in remote setups.
One time, a team member joined with a random idea during one of these sessions—a small tweak to our investor readiness checklist. That tweak ended up becoming a key feature in our client onboarding. If we'd stuck strictly to formal meetings, that input probably would have never surfaced. It's those unscheduled moments that often bring the biggest impact. Beyond that, we also keep things personal. I make it a point to message folks individually after a big delivery or when I sense someone's been quieter than usual—not as a manager checking in, but as a colleague showing up.
In a remote world, tools matter less than intent. We use Slack and Notion like everyone else, but it's how you use them—sending a quick voice note instead of a long message, reacting with more than a thumbs up—that builds the feeling of team.
Weekly Virtual Chats Cultivate Genuine Team Connections
For staying connected with remote and hybrid team members, I prioritize regular, intentional communication that goes beyond just work updates.
One specific practice I use is scheduling weekly "virtual coffee chats" where team members can join informal video calls just to catch up and share ideas in a relaxed setting. We also play fun and interactive games during these sessions. This creates a space for genuine connection and makes people feel seen and heard, even from a distance.
We also use collaboration tools like Slack for quick check-ins and brainstorming, but it's those casual, non-work conversations that really build trust and engagement. I've found this helps bridge the physical gap and keeps the team aligned emotionally as well as professionally.
