Trust is paramount in any working environment. Remote software engineers are no exception. Employers don’t trust employees who work remotely and any business that wants positive metrics regarding productivity has to build trust with employees.
Lack of trust in the workplace can sabotage engagement, productivity, and retention. In a survey by Edelman Trust Barometer, 1 out of 3 employees don’t trust their employer. How can you foster trust with your remote engineers? Here are practical steps to get you started on how to build trust while working with remote software engineers:
Lead by example
Trust comes into play when your team trusts in you. To win their trust, you have to examine your transparency and behavior. Are you open to your remote team, or do they keep guessing about your next move? Your behavior and statements should reflect your actions.
Some of the ways you can destroy trust with your remote software engineers:
- Partial sharing of information includes sharing information with the senior employees leaving the rest of the team in the dark.
- By favoring a particular clique of remote employees. The emotional damage caused leaves the rest of the team feeling like outsiders. In some instances, they might go for other companies.
- By contradicting your statements. For instance, you might say you value teamwork but then end up rewarding individual performance. The remote team may feel unwanted and demotivated.
When remote employees can trust their leader, there’s motivation and productivity.
Communicate effectively
Effective communication is usually at the core of any business. You must maintain constant contact if you have remote software engineers. Effective communication ensures that the remote team can constantly get in touch when faced with a problematic code or troubleshooting issue.
Without communication, the remote developers will likely remain isolated, and isolation is never a good breeding ground when you want to build trust. If you have a team of remote developers, constantly get in touch, and you’ll build trust with them.
Encourage collaboration
Remote software engineers love collaboration. With the new global demand for remote African Software engineers, you’ll need to foster collaboration within your team because you’ll have remote employees from different backgrounds and cultures.
Stanford University conducted a study on collaboration, and the results were interesting. Employees who work collaboratively have a 64% chance of working for longer than those who work independently.
You should encourage collaboration because:
- It brings your remote team together
- It promotes the sharing of information
- It boosts the morale of your remote team
- It results in higher retention rates for employees
Be accessible
When you’re available and accessible, you build trust with your remote developers. If your remote team has to go through levels of superior to access you, they will most likely not trust you. Trust works on a personal level; they will need the personal touch to trust you.
Ensure you remove any barriers that hinder your access to your remote employees.
Foster accountability
Remote developers should be accountable and own up to their mistakes. To build trust, you’ll have to encourage accountability. For instance, if they submit work late, they must own up to their mistakes and not make excuses.
Accountability fosters trust because there’s no blame game among your remote software engineers.
Show appreciation
Appreciation goes deeper than monetary gifts. When your remote software engineers do an excellent job, recognize them and appreciate them for their wonderful job. You can even include a personal note thanking them personally.
To Summarize…
Any business built on trust is bound to succeed and achieve its goals. Building trust with your remote team is easier than you thought. Remote software engineers are never demanding. A little gesture to them goes a long way.
To foster a team with your remote team, start leading by example, communicate effectively, encourage collaboration within the group, be accessible when needed, and promote accountability.