How to Know When Your Team Actually Needs to Meet in Person

The COVID-19 pandemic normalized the concept of remote working for countless organizations around the world. Many businesses that previously hadn't even considered the idea of employees doing their jobs from home had to adjust to this new approach, and for a large proportion of employers, the transition was a success.

Various studies have suggested this will be a permanent shift. According to forecasts from Gartner, more than half (51%) of global knowledge workers will be remote by the end of 2021.

Businesses and employees alike can benefit from remote working, but from a management perspective, it's important to know when you need to get team members together in person.

So what signs should you be looking out for to know when the time is right for a face-to-face meeting?

1. There's dissatisfaction with remote meetings

Sentiment on your team is one of the most reliable indicators you have of how employees are finding remote working and when they would benefit from seeing their colleagues in person.

If you notice a trend of people asking questions about remote meetings or raising concerns about their effectiveness, it could be time to arrange a physical get-together so colleagues can talk face-to-face about any worries they might have.

To maintain positive relationships with your staff and ensure people feel heard and supported, it's crucial to take their views on board and to implement relevant changes where you can. The transition to remote working is unlikely to prove successful over the long term if people feel like it's being forced upon them.

2. Poor communication is causing problems

Solving problems and finding solutions to challenges is a common part of being a manager. But if you're seeing a steady increase in new issues after making the move to remote operations, you need to ask if people being based outside the office is having unintended consequences.

It's particularly important to be on the lookout for difficult situations or negative outcomes that could have been avoided through better communication between co-workers.

Being alongside each other in the workplace provides lots of opportunities for colleagues to casually check in with one another and periodically share information. Over time, this can help to ensure that teams are running smoothly and you're delivering for your customers.

Remote working shouldn't come at the cost of good communication, so if standards are starting to slip, you might need to arrange more frequent physical get-togethers.

3. You're focused on relationship-based goals

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Rae Ringel, President of Leadership Development Consultancy The Ringel Group, notes there's an important distinction to be made between task-based and relationship-based goals.

Task-based objectives generally involve practical activities that help to move a project forward or support employees in fulfilling their everyday responsibilities. They're likely to be frequent and relatively straightforward to complete, making them well-suited to remote meetings and collaboration.

Relationship-based goals, on the other hand, are more nuanced and have an emotional or personal component. Examples might include:

• Resolving conflicts between co-workers
• Supporting people who are going through a difficult time at work or finding aspects of their job particularly challenging
• Forging stronger connections between team members
• Evaluating and nurturing individuals' leadership capabilities

When you're focused on achieving aims like these, face-to-face meetings are often the best option. Conflict resolution, for instance, is easier and more effective when people are in the same room together, can look each other in the eye and have an honest, natural conversation.

4. The company is preparing for change or new challenges

Remote operations can be perfectly sufficient - and indeed more efficient - than traditional office working when business is stable and you're not facing too many unusual events or challenges.

However, if the company is navigating turbulent market conditions or preparing for a period of major change - you're scaling up or expanding into a new territory, for example - there's a strong argument for the benefits of meeting in person.

When colleagues frequently see and speak to each other face-to-face, they form stronger emotional connections and feelings of togetherness that will help them navigate unusual or uncertain times.

This sense of community could prove crucial for your business to make its next big project a resounding success.