Fostering Team Bonding Among Remote Engineers

I’ve been leading #remote teams for 17+ years, and I know firsthand that building strong bonds within the team doesn’t happen as organically as it might in an office. Remote work makes fostering meaningful connections more challenging—it just does. Stevie Case and I discussed this challenge on my podcast, and here’s what we’ve found works: 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. Build an environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas, feedback, and wins. At SalesRoads, for example, we create opportunities for team intros to encourage connection across departments and recognize individual contributions in creative ways. 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Be intentional about creating moments of connection—virtual game days, where the team hangs out and has fun together, or Slack channels like our “Water Cooler,” where people share updates, hobbies, and non-work-related moments. These small efforts help foster a sense of belonging. 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Steve also pointed out the importance of in-person retreats or offsite. If it's not feasible, focus on consistent virtual touchpoints to keep the team connected. For instance, I have a virtual lunch with every new hire. Just 30 minutes to get to know them and make them feel welcome. Since the key to feeling connected to work lies in feeling connected to the people you work with, it’s on us to intentionally create space for collaboration, trust, and engagement. What have you found works best for building bonds in a remote team? You can find the episode here ⟶ Sell Like A Leader Podcast #salesteam

🚀 Building Connection in Hybrid & Remote Teams 🚀 24 years with Accenture - remote since 2006 - 8 years in a Global HR CoE. I’ve seen a lot of attempts at fostering connection in hybrid/remote work - some brilliant, some… well, let’s call them “learning experiences.” Here’s what actually works: 🔹 Get to know people on a human level - Not just roles & responsibilities. Be authentically curious. Build time into meetings/1:1s for real conversations. 🔹 Be inclusive - Different viewpoints, experiences, cultures, and work styles aren’t just “nice to have.” They’re the fuel for high-performing teams. 🔹 Build & learn together (in public!) - Show your work. Share context. Make it okay to fail. Normalize iteration. 🔹 Laugh together - Seriously. Nothing bonds people like shared laughter. It’s engagement glue. 🔹 Play together - Yes, even at work. Play fuels creativity, trust, and outrageous results. Let’s stop acting like it’s a distraction. 🔹 Collaborate cross-functionally - This one’s my personal favorite (so much so, I’m weaving it into my business). Encourage it. Recognize it. Create space for people to ideate, iterate, and engage across silos. And before rolling out any connection initiatives… ASK YOUR EMPLOYEES: ✅ What’s working? ✅ What’s not? ✅ What’s missing that, if present, would make a real difference? But don’t stop there - ask in a way that makes them feel safe to be honest. Oh, and one last thing - Get obsessed with asking great questions. Ask for better questions. And - most importantly - be ready to take action on the answers. What’s worked best for you in building connection remotely? Drop your thoughts below. Let’s make work actually work. 💜 #FutureOfWork #RemoteLeadership #HybridWork #WorkCulture #Collaboration #TheUnexaminedMind

People don’t start to care until they know you care. (5 ways I bridged the cultural gap with my remote team) When outsourcing, you’re not just hiring workers. You’re working with real people: who live in different countries, with different cultures, values,  and ways of working. For my business, I built my operations support team in the Philippines. Understanding who they are and  how they tick made all the difference. The key? Get to know them personally. The result: ☑ Enjoyable work experience ☑ Increased productivity ☑ Smoother workflows Here’s what helped me bridge the gap: Make space for small talk  ↳ Use the time before meetings to chat while waiting for everyone to join. ↳ Ask how their weekend went or what their plans are. ↳ Show genuine interest in their lives beyond work. Start meetings with icebreakers ↳ Assign a team member each week to lead an icebreaker. ↳ Keep it simple—fun questions or quick games. ↳ Helps break down communication barriers and build trust. Host a virtual year-end party ↳ Celebrate wins, big or small. ↳ Make it fun with games and awards. ↳ Recognition boosts morale and engagement. Organize in-person retreats ↳ If possible, meet in person for team bonding. ↳ This is also a good time to plan for next year. ↳ Creates unforgettable moments that build trust. Hold 1:1 performance meetings ↳ Recognize efforts, not just outcomes. ↳ Understand their personal and professional goals. ↳ Give feedback in a way that aligns with their culture. Culture isn’t a barrier.  It’s an opportunity to connect. When you take the time to understand your team, they’ll show up, engage, and do their best work —because they know you care. Helpful?  ♻️Please share to help others. 🔎Follow Michael Shen for more. #ManagingRemoteTeams #RemoteTeamManagement #BridgingCulturalGap

Building strong bonds within a remote team is hard. Here is a team building experiment we recently tried at Velt (YC) 👇 First, this is what we have been doing so far: * every Monday we talk about our weekends. This gives a glimpse on how everyone spends their time outside work. * every Friday we go around the table and celebrate each person's accomplishment they are proud of for the week. * every year we do a week long in-person offsite. Our Head of Marketing suggested that we should do more little things every week to boost team bonding. So he introduced games after Friday standups. The first game: "one word story". 'One word story' is an improv exercise where a group collaborates to tell a story, with each person contributing just one word at a time in sequence. This game has a simple goal that naturally encourages cooperation, but it also allows for individuals to be creative and share bits of their personality. Most of the time you will be tasked with contributing a supporter word like "and" or "the", but other times you get the opportunity to insert the name of a person or a place like "Yoda" and "Mordor". I didn't have any expectations as to how this experiment would go, but to my delight the game was a success! The team really enjoyed the game, and it gave everyone a chance to see a more personal side each other! I'll be making these social activities a regular part of our Friday standup. Have you tried any activities that boosted social connection on your remote team? I’d love to hear about them and maybe try them out at Velt!