Being a completely doesn’t remote team doesn’t stop us from working together on a day-to-day basis. But, what happens when a colleague is out on a long vacation or, say, on maternity leave? Although the tendency is to hunker down and go at it alone, doing so is a disservice all around. In fact, it’s the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate how well you’re collaborating and if there are opportunities to do more. Here are some tips for ensuring close team collaboration, based on what’s worked well for our team:

Plan ahead 

If you know someone is going to be out – whether it’s for an extended leave or a brief vacation – pull the team together to make sure you can cover the work that needs to be done, and ensure clients won’t feel any disruption.

Create a quick way to update the team regularly 

Whether it’s a simple spreadsheet or a short list, be sure to include key need-to-know items, such as current project status, issues/concerns, remaining budget and next steps. Circulate the update among team members on a regular basis.

Share high-level updates with everyone on the team 

If you have a team meeting, email your project status sheet beforehand to the group. This will give your colleagues the chance to get up to speed so they can participate during the meeting.

Even if they don’t work directly with the client or on a specific project. Sometimes a fresh outlook can get ideas flowing, and you never know when you might need a colleague to step in and help. 

Don’t just share the good stuff. 

Celebrating successes is one of the best things about being a part of a team, but you can learn a lot from each other by discussing challenges and concerns. Sometimes it just helps to vent, but chances are a team member may have a new idea to try out.

What’s worked well for your team? Please pass along your tips and tricks, we can all benefit from the power of collaboration!

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