How To Create A Remote Team Working Agreement

One of the things we know about performance at work is that talent flows from teams. How well a team communicates, collaborates, and supports the members greatly affects how well an individual performs. 

We’ve known this for some time now, but what may be surprising to most people is that this is true no matter the type of team people work on—including remote teams.

It may seem counterintuitive, especially during the Great “Work-From-Home” Experiment many of us live through. However, the success of individuals working remotely still relies on the success and support of the team working remotely with them. 

To take advantage of this truth, many of the most successful teams (colocated and remote) have found that the best way to establish the norms of communication and collaboration that fuel performance is by creating a working agreement for the team.

A Declaration of Interdependence

A team working agreement is a living document drafted by a team that outlines the ground rules for communication and collaboration. It outlines how teammates will keep each other updated, give each other feedback, and communicate—both in what medium and with what frequency.

Creating a team working agreement—or at least the first draft of a team working agreement—is a simple activity that shouldn’t take an average-sized team more than an hour to create. However, once the agreement is drafted, it will save hours of headaches within the first few weeks of working together.

So, in this article, we will outline the steps needed to draft a team working agreement: how to prepare, what to discuss, and how to gain commitment. (If you’d like a downloadable PDF discussion guide to review with your team, click here.)

How To Prepare

You need the whole team to collaborate on the team working agreement—the first step is calling a meeting. This works best when a one-off meeting is dedicated to this agreement. 

So, this is not the type of activity you just want to add to the agenda of a normal weekly all-hands meeting. Nor do you want to attempt to add a couple of quick items to the agenda of this meeting. The purpose of this meeting should just be to come up with this team working agreement. That’s it.

So, let your team know when you’re calling this meeting that creating this agreement is the focus. That way, they can think, reflect, and prepare beforehand.

Since the purpose of the meeting is to create a team working agreement, decide what tool you’ll want to use to keep a real-time record of what’s being discussed on the team—the virtual version of a whiteboard. 

Ideally, it’s a tool everyone can see and contribute to in real time, and it also allows others to see their updates in real-time. (If you want some great tool recommendations, click here.)

Ideally, complete these preparation items about a week before the scheduled meeting. This helps ensure people have adequate time to prepare and don’t forget about the specific details they want to address during the meeting.

What To Discuss

Obviously, you don’t want to open a meeting like this with, “Well, our communication is terrible…let’s fix it.” 

In fact, you don’t want to say that at any point in the meeting. 

You do want to open with a quick icebreaker. For remote teams, one icebreaker that will help set the tone for the rest of the meeting is a “virtual tour.” Each person takes 30-60 seconds, grabs their laptop or webcam, and shows the team around the space they’ve been working in. 

That way, everyone sees more of the environment their coworkers experience daily and builds a little more understanding. If you’ve already done that activity (or you’re working with a colocated team), you could have everyone take turns sharing their biggest “communication fails” (times they understood someone or were misunderstood).

Either activity helps get teammates used to talking and creates an easy connection to the real topic of discussion.

Once that connection is made, it’s time to get to work. The easiest framework for generating discussion and arriving at communication agreements is to cover a list of questions about communication and collaboration. Here are a few questions that work in a variety of contexts:

• What information needs to be shared team-wide?
• How might we communicate that information best?
• What response times are reasonable for each communication medium?
• How should we share what’s being worked on?
• How should we make requests for information or assistance?
• Do we need to find shared “core hours” that overlap with our work schedules?

The questions will obviously vary by team, and once you start discussing them, more questions will arise. Just add those to the bottom of the list to review later on in the same meeting. 

If you’re already using a specific project management software, some of these questions will be already answered by the specifics of the software. But this would also be a time to talk about best practices and the best ways to use that software.  Don’t end the meeting until everyone on the team has answers to every one of the questions on the list. 

Because the answers will become the group norm.

How To Gain Commitment

With the questions reviewed and answers captured in a working document, it’s time to move toward commitment. But this stage is trickier than it looks. Don’t just say, “Okay, everyone good?” and sign off. Instead, focus first on transforming the captured answers into statements or declarations.

For example, a question like “What response times are reasonable for each communication medium?” might turn into a declaration like “We agree to 24 hours as a reasonable response time for email messages—both to try to respond in 24 hours and to wait 24 hours before demanding a response.”

Go question by question, answer by answer, until each answer has been transformed into a declarative statement. By the end of the process, everyone on the team should be looking at a bulleted list of agreements on how to communicate and collaborate best with each other. Now, it’s time to ask if everyone is comfortable committing to it. Instead of a generic call for commitment, go person-by-person until each person can agree or speak up about a small tweak.

Once everyone has committed to work on it, you’ll want to ensure everyone has easy access to the agreement. (You’ll also want to ensure you’ve locked the document from further changes). You can review it six months or a year later and revise it, but until then, you want it front and center to remind people of the new norms of how they’ll work together…and how they’ll do their best work ever.

Benefits of a Remote Team Working Agreement

A remote team working agreement can transform your team’s operability and has several benefits, such as productivity and cohesion. Here’s how it can help benefit your organization:

• Clear communication is very important for remote teams as there are greater chances of misunderstandings. 
• The agreement also lays out the best practices for collaboration, like the number of meetings or the types of project management tools to be used for a mutually supported culture.
• Then, when expectations are set beforehand, each member knows their responsibilities, tasks, and goals.
• Defining the behaviors and norms in the work agreement reduces conflicts and provides a Framework for resolution.
• Moreover, the work agreement reinforces that all input matters. It leads to the team’s success when everybody is invested and takes ownership of the decision no matter where they are seated.

Common Challenges When Drafting a Remote Team Agreement

The process of creating a work agreement is simple, but it still presents challenges. Remote teams have individuals with different working requirements. Some require real-time interactions, while others prefer asynchronous communication. This is why we must facilitate and encourage open discussions where everyone has a say, can discuss their preferences, and can collaborate.

Another practical solution is establishing core hours or a window when all the team members will be available in real time to update them. Keep the updates asynchronous so that everyone stays informed.

Since there are so many collaborative tools, it’s easy to overwhelm the team with too many platforms. Focus on selecting minimal tools that are needed, such as Slack for communication and Zoom for meetings.

Also, provide basic minimal training so everyone is confident and on board about using these tools.

Some members view the work agreement as unnecessary, but let them know that it is only designed to make their work easy and efficient. Share examples of how such agreements have benefited other teams as well.

Keep in mind that overly rigid agreements can affect creativity and growth, so keep it as a living document and keep it evolving based on the changing times and preferences. Also, schedule periodic quarterly or annual reviews to keep it relevant.

Wrap Up

Creating a remote team working agreement is an investment that will pay off in the long run. Since remote work is now the norm, you need to establish clear expectations and keep all communication channels open for collaboration and productivity.

The agreement also benefits people by helping them overcome potential challenges, learn from real examples, and align their actions with the end goal.

Also, grow with the team. Keep in mind that the work agreement is a living document. It will change with time and your team’s requirements. So, whether you are thinking of creating a remote team or optimizing the existing one, you can create a work agreement and make it the foundation for success.