We’re committed to providing high quality remote talent to our customers and ensuring the longevity of that placement on their global team. Our internal surveys and 12+ years of experience as a company has found that a harmonious relationship between customers and their remote teams can be achieved through a few simple strategies, and the impact is enormous.
The Impact of Relationships on Team Member Tenure
We’ve found that the average tenure and retention of team members was greatly affected by the quality of the relationship between clients and their extended team members. As reported on an internal survey, team members who are working with clients that regularly make efforts to build relationships with them, reported that they see themselves staying longer with their clients. This is in stark contrast to the responses of those working with clients who don’t put in as much effort, who responded that they absolutely did not see themselves working there for very long.
Those clients that put in more effort experienced higher average team member tenures and more than twice the retention rate than those who did not.
| Customer | Retention rate | Average tenure | Employee response to: “I see myself still working with the same client in the next 2 years.” |
| Client A | 100% | 1.7 years | 100% Agree |
| Client B | 90% | 2 years | 90% Agree |
| Client X | 40% | 1.5 years | 100% Disagree |
Given this information, we highly encourage our customers to build meaningful connections with their CoDev team members. This can be done through the following:
Schedule regular virtual standups/meetings/get-togethers
Communicating with your extended team via emails and instant messaging is good, but you need more to build a meaningful relationship. Real-time virtual conversations are essential, especially with accompanying video, as they allow for more casual conversations, visual communication cues, and more opportunities to bond. These can take as little as 5-15 minutes a day. Many of our customers have daily standups with their extended team, and these team members have given great feedback on their experience. They say that such meetings make them feel truly part of their client’s team, and not just a third-party contractor.
Encourage team building
Give team members their own place and time to get to know you and each other better. You could sponsor a meal or a fun day out for them. Also, create opportunities for them to collaborate with your in-house team. By doing so, your team members get to know each other’s working styles and thought processes better, helping them to work even better together. They will also appreciate you more for allowing them to become more cohesive as a team.
Provide constructive feedback
Providing constructive feedback is an oft-overlooked but very important part of managing a remote team. CoDev team members that we’ve talked to have said that they’ve felt anxious when a client does not provide any feedback, as they feel uncertain of their performance.
Recognize excellent performance
Recognition of good performance always boosts employee morale. Simply giving your extended team members positive feedback or recognizing small wins with the entire team is great, but you could also give small rewards, such as gift cards or monetary bonuses.
Be available
Allow your team members to communicate with you as much as possible. You can do this by having an open-door communication policy, wherein they are free to message you anytime without the expectation of instant replies, but the guarantee that you will get back to them as soon as you can. Also, give your team members an idea of your schedule, so that they know when would be the best times to get in touch with you should they need to.
Building relationships with remote teams can be new and different for a lot of people, but it is just as important as building relationships with team members in and around your office. Once hired, CoDev teams are your team, and just as much a part of your company as any other in-house team. They are just as committed to achieving your goals as any other team member. The more you invest in your team, the better the relationship and results will be for your organization.
Want to learn more and extend your tech team internationally with CoDev? Get in touch with one of our team members today!
