When you think of your “fam,” you probably think of people like your old high school buddies, the members of your recreational soccer team, or maybe your actual family. But what about your coworkers?
Many people spend a huge chunk of the week in the office, hanging around with the same group of people, so forming friendships comes naturally. However, when you work out in the field, most of your days are spent independent from the rest of the team, making it difficult to get together with coworkers. Things can get lonely out in the field, and friendship isn’t the only thing your field team may be missing out on; workplace camaraderie encourages collaboration, communication, and can boost productivity.That being said, what can managers and reps do to form a cohesive culture across a remote team? Mike Volpe, CMO of Cybereason, has the secret to transforming your field team into a field fam. Check out our interview with him, and read on for the highlights of his expert advice.
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As a field team manager, you have the power to connect your reps to each other in ways they couldn’t do on their own. Unlike your reps, you know everyone on the field team and can easily connect your reps in ways they probably couldn’t. Take charge of the situation and use the following tips to create a friendly and supportive field team culture.
You know that your reps are not seeing each other on a regular basis, so facilitating get-togethers for your team is a must. Mike stresses the importance of creating an in-person connection with remote teams, advising managers to hold regularly scheduled events. These can be monthly, quarterly, or centered around a specific date or accomplishment.
Need some ideas for getting your team to actually show up? Try to plan an event that is in line with your reps’ interests. For example, an energy drink brand might choose to do something active, like go on a team hike or form a running club that meets once a week. If all else fails, bribe your team with a round of beer -- it works for us here at Repsly!
Human beings are competitive -- it’s in our nature. Tap into that competitive streak amongst field team members and develop friendly competitions or leaderboards to get reps more involved with other members of the team.
Mike’s pro-tip? Make these competitions team-based by grouping reps into small teams of 2-4. Then, have these teams compete with each other toward some end goal. The result? Stronger relationships amongst coworkers, increased communication, and if you set the right goals, even a better sales report.
While in-person connections are important, Mike proposes that keeping your field team engaged with each other via technology is critical as well.
When your reps aren’t hanging out face-to-face, make sure they have a way to stay in touch remotely. This can be done easily with the use of technology. Some options you have are to create an online message board, use a group messenger like GroupMe or WhatsApp, or employ a mobile CRM software to help reps stay connected on the go.
Reps, like managers, can also facilitate meetups between themselves and their fellow team members. If you don’t want to wait around for your manager to help you connect with your coworkers, Mike suggests you give these tips a try.
You’d be surprised how much you can learn from your peers. While all members of your team are performing the same job functions, you are likely using different methods to get from A to Z. Sharing tips and tricks amongst the members of your team empowers everyone to go from good reps to amazing reps.
There are many ways to get this team collaboration going, but Mike’s idea of a “peer learning group” sounds great to us. Set aside a half hour a week to connect in person or via video chat, and use this time to learn from each other. You won’t just be building better relationships, you’ll be building yourself up to be a better rep as well.
In the workplace (or the field), we tend to communicate in an extremely formal manner, which creates a distant, impersonal atmosphere. While professional communication skills are vital to the working world, don’t be afraid to get a little casual with your work relationships. Shoot your coworker a text every now and then, loosen up with the language you use in internal emails, and most importantly, as Mike puts it, “be human… don’t worry about being too corporate.”
So to wrap this up, here’s a quick recap of what Mike taught us:
Follow these tips, and you’ll be sure to have a close-knit field fam in no time.
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