How to Improve Collaboration Between Teams in a Remote Company

Doesn’t it feel good to run a remote company? You get to work with talented folks from all over the world, and everyone’s got the flexibility to work from their cozy home setups.

While the flexibility is amazing, getting teams actually to work together across screens and tech platforms can be a real challenge.

Collaboration doesn’t just happen because everyone’s online. It takes intention, the right tools, and a whole lot of clear communication.

Who shoulders the responsibility of helping team members connect with colleagues at work? It’s the company. Around 75% of workers reveal that their companies help them connect with others at work.

In this article, we’ll share how you can improve collaboration between teams. But before that, let’s take a look at the common hurdles of collaboration in a remote team.

Common Challenges of Remote Collaboration

There are many advantages of working remotely, like greater flexibility and independence. But it also comes with its own set of unique hurdles that can make collaboration harder.

Here are some common hurdles remote teams face when trying to work together smoothly:

1. Communication Barriers

Messages can easily get twisted when you cannot see a nod or a smile. This absence makes misunderstandings much more likely.

A simple text message, for instance, can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the reader's mood or assumptions. Relying heavily on text-based tools like instant messages and emails further increases this risk of misinterpretation.

Important information might not reach everyone quickly, which can lead to inconsistencies and errors in work. Sometimes, individuals may also feel hesitant to share ideas or voice concerns without the trust built through face-to-face interactions.

The lack of non-verbal cues also erodes trust and psychological safety within the team.

When a person cannot see a colleague's reaction or hear their tone, it becomes easier to assume the worst or misjudge their intent. This can make team members wary of sharing ideas or giving constructive feedback, fearing judgment or misinterpretation.

Over time, this lack of trust can slow down decision-making processes and reduce open communication, directly impacting overall collaboration and innovation.

2. Technical Glitches and Connectivity Issues

Remote work runs on technology. If your tools are not working, you are stuck.

Glitches, slow internet connections, software crashes, or hardware malfunctions can further disrupt workflows and lead to frustration. This not only wastes time, but can also lead to employee disengagement.

Microsoft outage is a case in point. Last year, airlines, banks, television networks, and health systems that relied on Microsoft 365 apps suffered outages. CrowdStrike, which provides antivirus software to Microsoft, was responsible for the technical glitch.

When communication gets fragmented because of tech issues, important information might not reach everyone quickly. This can lead to mistakes and inconsistencies in work. All these miscommunications and delays can slow down project timelines, hurt productivity, and drag down team morale.

3. Distractions at Home

Your home is full of life, which is great. But it’s a challenge to keep work from spilling into your personal time when your office is basically your couch.

Everything might seem great until household chores call your name, hobbies tempt you away, endless social media feeds or your phone buzzes constantly. Then there are the family members, roommates, or pets who need your attention. These things can easily pull you away from deep work.

It’s not surprising that 65% of remote workers admit to working later to catch up on tasks because of distractions during the day.

In a traditional office, there is a clear separation between work and home. At home, these physical boundaries disappear. This makes it harder to switch off mentally. The result? Remote workers check emails more frequently outside work hours and feel an implicit pressure to be "always on".

Home distractions do not just impact individual productivity. They directly harm the team's ability to be creative together and work smoothly. Those informal, spontaneous chats that spark new ideas in an office are gone.

Even planned virtual collaboration suffers when employees’ attention is being pulled in different directions.

4. Time Zone Differences

One of the perks of remote work is being able to hire talent from anywhere. But that perk can quickly turn into a scheduling nightmare when team members are spread across five or six time zones.

The State Of Remote Work 2023 report by Buffer revealed that 62% of people mentioned that the people they work with closely are in various time zones.

It is super hard to find a meeting time that works for everyone when some teammates are just starting their day and others are winding down. This can mean someone is always stuck with a really early morning or late-night call. That can significantly affect their energy levels and participation.

These time differences can delay important decisions by a whole day. Research shows that for every hour of time zone separation, real-time communication drops by 11%.

This can make employees feel isolated and left out, especially if they are always the ones adjusting their schedules. Constantly adjusting for time zones can force people into late-night shifts, which really messes with their work-life balance.

Even things like Daylight Saving Time can add to the confusion, creating significant temporal distance.

6 Ways to Improve Collaboration Between Teams in a Remote Company

Here are some awesome ways to boost teamwork in your remote company:

1. Use Video Conferencing for Remote Meetings

Video calls are the closest thing to meeting in person in a remote setting. They bring back those important nonverbal cues, allowing participants to see facial expressions and body language.

This visual context helps prevent misunderstandings, adding a layer of meaning that text and audio alone often miss. Video conferencing makes collaboration easier by enabling real-time brainstorming, document sharing, and immediate feedback.

Video calls also boost productivity by cutting down on long email chains and eliminating confusion or delays. Seeing each other's faces helps build trust and a sense of connection. This is especially important for new teams or those who have not previously worked together.For great calls, encourage everyone to turn on their video and audio. Make sure all participants can see and hear each other clearly.Have someone lead the meeting. They should share an agenda beforehand, set up cues for speaking, like raising a hand, and make sure everyone gets a chance to talk. They also help keep side conversations to a minimum.

Share all content directly within the video conferencing connection. Use screen sharing for documents or presentations to ensure everyone has equal access to information.

Ask participants to mute their microphones if their location has excessive background noise or if they are not speaking. This reduces echoes and improves audio clarity.

2. Hold Collaborative Planning Sessions

Getting everyone on the same page from the very beginning is super important for keeping teams aligned and focused. It removes any confusion and ensures everyone knows what they are working towards.

When your team is planning things remotely, you can't just copy-paste what you did in the office. You must find smart ways to use the remote setup to your advantage.

This allows for diverse ideas and better problem-solving, as different perspectives come together to generate new solutions. Ultimately, collaborative planning builds alignment and focus for remote teams, keeping them on track and productive.

For effective planning, choose tools that make working together easy. Use virtual whiteboards or collaborative flowchart tools so that everyone can access and use them easily.

AFFiNE is a case in point. It’s a workspace with fully merged documents, databases, and whiteboards, which is why it’s an amazing tool for collaborative brainstorming, planning, and communication. You can change the workplace’s interface typeface, color scheme, and icon settings.

Make your virtual meetings effective by having detailed agendas and writing down all decisions and action items. You might want to try different meeting formats, like quick daily stand-ups or brainstorming sessions.

Be careful not to schedule too many meetings, though, to avoid meeting fatigue. It is often better to have several shorter sessions instead of one really long one. Always review action items at the end and plan follow-up meetings.

3. Install Syncing Tools

Syncing tools are like the glue that holds remote teams together, no matter where they are. They keep remote teams on the same page, which helps boost productivity.

When choosing tools, look for real-time collaboration capabilities. That is because some discussions simply need face-to-face chats and other types of synchronous work.

With so much online, strong security is a must. This is especially important if you run a law firm where you handle your clients’ sensitive details.

Take, for example, the Snapchat suit. The photo-sharing app is accused of illegally using features that make users habitual to the platform.

The Snapchat lawsuit alleges that features such as push notifications, infinite scrolling, and autoplay videos promote addictive behaviors.As a result, many are suffering from mental health disorders. According to TorHoerman Law, anxiety, depression, body image issues, self-harm, and suicidal ideation are some mental health effects.

When your team is discussing sensitive legal matters like the Snapchat lawsuit, you need a system you can trust. You need a secure, reliable way to share updates, assign tasks, and track progress without compromising client confidentiality.

Look for syncing tools that offer data encryption, access control, and two-factor authentication. You want to be sure only the right people are seeing the right information.

Slack is a fantastic communication platform. It lets you organize discussions into channels and have instant audio or video calls where you can share your screen.

It also scores high on security. Enterprise-grade security is baked right into how you collaborate and work.

4. Host Daily Standups for the Whole Company

Short, focused daily check-ins can keep projects moving and everyone feeling connected without dragging on. They boost collaboration, build trust, and keep everyone engaged.

Standups also help spot roadblocks early and understand projects better. These brief check-ins help combat miscommunication and feelings of isolation that can arise in a distributed team.

To do them right, stick to a consistent time and place for your standups. Teams can quickly share updates on their work progress, raise any issues, and discuss potential roadblocks. Just make sure the time works for everyone, no matter their time zone.

Ask everyone what they did the previous day and what they plan to do today. This helps with accountability and prioritizing tasks.

Set a strict time limit and stick to it. Standups are meant to be quick check-ins, not long meetings. Choose one person to lead the meeting. They will keep things on track and redirect side conversations.

Avoid common mistakes like skipping the agenda, not being prepared, or not following up on action items. To boost engagement, start with a quick icebreaker, add a fun element, and make sure the discussions are relevant to most people.Daily standups, especially when run well and supported by the right tools, are more than just quick status updates.

They are powerful, low-effort ways to build a consistent, transparent, and supportive mini-culture within remote teams. They help create a sense of psychological safety by making it normal to share challenges and reinforcing the feeling of making progress together.

5. Create Overlapping Work Hours

Working in vastly different time zones can really hurt collaboration. It makes real-time teamwork tough and causes annoying delays in messages and responses. Surprisingly, a lot of projects fail just because of poor communication.

The best way to fix this is to create a time zone overlap. This means finding hours when your team members, even in different zones, can work at the same time. This allows for real-time collaboration, makes scheduling meetings much easier, speeds up communication, and ultimately leads to higher productivity.

The most practical approach is to hire folks from countries with time zones similar to or close to the U.S. This way, you have enough overlapping hours for important collaborative work.

Countries like Mexico, Peru, Cuba, Ecuador, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay often have good time zone overlaps with the U.S. Argentina, for instance, is only two hours ahead of EST, giving you about six hours of overlap for real-time communication.

Tools like World Time Buddy and Time and Date can help you schedule meetings at convenient times for everyone.

Google Calendar is also great because it shows you meeting times that fit within all participants' working hours. Microsoft Teams also has a ‘Shifts’ app to help manage work hours across different zones.

For times when real-time is not possible, use asynchronous tools like Slack or Asana. These let you share updates without needing an immediate response. For recurring meetings, try rotating the times.

6. Host Virtual Team Building Activities

Building bonds outside of work tasks is super important for morale and trust. It helps strengthen relationships, boosts morale, and keeps everyone engaged.

It is also a great way to combat feelings of isolation that can pop up in remote work.

Traditional office environments naturally foster informal interactions that build rapport. Virtual team-building activities are designed to fill this gap, creating deliberate opportunities for non-work-related bonding.

These activities help employees feel seen and connected, which directly translates to increased trust, better communication, and a willingness to collaborate more effectively.

When people feel connected and trust each other, they are much more likely to contribute fully. That helps build a more vibrant, collaborative culture.

You can schedule virtual coffee chats or happy hours. Video calls of 15 to 30 minutes for casual conversation, mimicking informal office breaks, would be great.

There can also be a skill-sharing session, where employees can teach a non-work-related skill, such as cooking, a hobby, or a new language. You can also play collaborative online games like Pictionary or other multiplayer video games that require strategic cooperation.

Remote collaboration is a skill. And like any skill, it gets better with practice and intention.

Yes, there are hurdles—time zones, tech issues, and distractions can make remote work feel harder than it needs to be. But with the right strategies in place, remote teams can be even more effective than in-person ones.

The key is to design your processes thoughtfully. Don’t just copy what works in the office and expect it to translate. Remote work has different rhythms, and success depends on leaning into what makes it unique: flexibility, autonomy, and a whole lot of trust.

So, if you’re trying to improve collaboration between remote teams, experiment until you find your flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do you keep remote teams from working in silos?

Silos are one of the biggest collaboration killers. The key is visibility. Make sure everyone knows what other teams are working on, even if it doesn’t directly involve them. Regular cross-team updates, shared project boards, and company-wide standups can really help.Q2. What’s the best way to handle time zone differences?

Q2. What’s the best way to handle time zone differences?

Time zones can be tricky. The best approach is to create a few hours of overlap where everyone’s available for live conversations. You don’t need to cover the whole day, just a block of time that works for most people.Q3. Do you really need video calls, or can everything be async?

Q3. Do you really need video calls, or can everything be async?

A lot can be done async, but not everything should be. Video calls give you that face-to-face feel that helps build trust and prevents misunderstandings. You don’t need them for every little thing, but they are great for kicking off projects, brainstorming, or just checking in.