How to improve remote team collaboration: tools, strategies & best practices

Summary: Remote team collaboration thrives with the right tools and strategies. Building trust in remote teams requires intentional connection beyond text-based communication. Video-first asynchronous tools help teams collaborate effectively while maintaining flexibility across time zones. Key remote collaboration tips: use varied communication channels, track engagement metrics, and prioritize relationship-building alongside productivity.

Why remote collaboration matters more than ever

Remote work is the new standard, and companies see measurable benefits: 77% of remote workers report higher productivity, and businesses save $11,000 per employee annually. When teams collaborate well remotely, they innovate faster and solve problems more creatively. Remote team collaboration also increases employee satisfaction and can reduce turnover when compared to traditional office setups.

The problem? Most organizations and teams treat remote work like the office but with more screen-time. They intentionally or unintentionally add more video calls, more and longer emails, and documents nobody actually reads. That certainly sounds busy, but not very productive. Real remote team collaboration happens when people feel connected to their work and each other. 

Successful remote collaboration requires three elements: 

• Intentional communication 

• Consistent engagement practices

• Tools that support productivity and connection

However, even with these in place, remote work isn’t without its challenges.

Common barriers to remote team collaboration

Collaboration is hard, even when everyone’s in the same room. Add in multiple time zones, video calls, and long Slack threads, and it’s no wonder some leaders are calling teams back to the office. But why is in-office collaboration the high-water mark for productivity and success? Especially when most employees love remote work for the flexibility and focus it brings. 

Remote work boosts productivity, supports work-life balance, and cuts down on office distractions. Even still, remote work can leave people feeling isolated, misaligned, or just plain burned out.

Here’s what often gets in the way:

• Multiple time zones. Teams spread across the country struggle to find overlap, delaying decisions and draining momentum.

• Zoom fatigue. Meetings become the default solution for everything, causing engagement to drop and attention to wander.

• Text-based miscommunication. Tone is hard to read, context gets lost, and short messages can come across as cold or confusing.

• Lack of real-time feedback. Teams separated by time zones can create bottlenecks, especially when someone’s waiting on a green light or clarification.

While tools like Slack and email help, they’re not always enough on their own. Long threads and missed context can stall progress and cause frustration.

But remote collaboration doesn’t have to feel this way. With the right tech stack, communication habits, and a commitment to connection, your team can work better together without needing to be in the same room.

Building real relationships, even remotely

H3: Building strong remote relationships is just as important

Everyone needs a work BFF because strong relationships at work make everything better—from productivity to job satisfaction to team retention. Studies like Google’s Project Aristotle show that trust and connection are the foundation of high-performing teams (Neil Pretty, "Google's Data-Driven Insights on High-Performing Teams," aristotleperformance.com, Dec. 2024). A 2020 Cigna report even found that loneliness leads to lower productivity and higher turnover ("Loneliness in the Workplace," 2020).

Remote teams face real barriers, like:

• Fewer spontaneous conversations to build rapport

• Misread tone leading to avoidable tension

• Isolation from time zone separation

• Limited bonding outside of task-based chats

That doesn’t mean forced fun or icebreakers. It means creating real opportunities for human connection, even when you're not in the same room.

So what’s the solution?

Essential tools for staying connected in remote environments

The right remote tools can make or break remote team connections, but you need to have the right mix for different interactions. Most teams use email for updates, Slack for internal messaging, and Zoom for video meetings. These work for basic needs.

Problems arise when teams force every interaction into these formats. Creative discussions get squeezed into text threads. Sensitive and complex feedback gets delivered through cold emails. Strategic planning happens in draining, back-to-back calls or in total silos..

How to collaborate effectively in remote teams starts with matching tools to conversations. Quick decisions can work in chats. Document reviews already happen through collaborative platforms. But relationship-building needs something different.

Video-first asynchronous communication fills this gap. It combines face-to-face connection with flexibility across time zones and work styles.

Here are some remote collaboration tips that work:

• Match tools to conversation types

• Set clear response time expectations

• Use video for nuanced discussions

• Make sure there is a clear separation between urgent communication and relationship-building

Is your current tool stack missing that personal touch? Find out how Marco Polo enables real connection for remote teams..

How Marco Polo helps us stay connected

At Marco Polo, we’ve been remote from the start, so we’re well-versed in the struggle of building relationships in distributed teams. While Marco Polo was created to help family and friends feel close, somewhere along the way, we discovered it actually helped our own team do that too! That’s why we use our own app—designed for video-first, asynchronous communication—to stay close as a team.

Here’s how it helps us stay connected and collaborate without adding even more meetings to our calendars:

• Facial expressions and tone matter: Video lets us see and hear each other, making communication richer and more personal.

• No pressure to reply right away: Marco Polo isn’t our only mode of communication. We have Slack, we use Zoom, and we use Marco Polo. As a team, we’ve clearly articulated when each tool should be used and the expectations for replies. Marco Polo is asynchronous, which means you can  respond when it works best., Individual teams use our tool differently but the core premise is: Marco Polo is not for urgent communication. We use it for in-depth conversations and fostering deeper and more thoughtful connections.

• Frequent, meaningful interactions: We stay connected through regular updates and check-ins, which build trust and camaraderie.

Using Marco Polo helps build a remote culture where people feel seen, heard, and supported no matter where they are. Still need convincing? Check out how Kiava Clothing transformed team communication and boosted sales using Marco Polo in our recent case study.

Tracking successful team engagement

You don’t need formal KPIs to tell if your remote team is thriving. You’ll see it in the way people interact, follow through, and stay plugged in. Here are some specific remote team collaboration success indicators to watch for:

• The back & forth feels natural. When someone shares a project update on Marco Polo, responses come in within a few hours without needing to nudge anyone.

• People respond like people.  A teammate watches a video update and responds with a thoughtful follow-up question, a suggestion, or a related resource rather than just an emoji reaction.

• Quiet voices show up in meaningful ways. Someone who rarely speaks up in live meetings shares a detailed async video walkthrough or offers feedback that shifts the direction of a project.

• Hand-offs feel seamless. Tasks assigned in your project management platform breeze through stages without bottlenecks because everyone knows what’s expected and when.

• People anticipate needs. Before a meeting, someone shares a quick explainer video or relevant doc link in Slack to help the group come prepared and aligned.

These small but consistent behaviors are often a better indicator of team health than formal performance metrics—especially for smaller teams. And when you start seeing them happen regularly, it’s a good sign your remote setup is working and distance isn’t getting in the way of collaboration.

Key takeaways

• • Match tools to needs. Use video-first asynchronous tools for trust-building discussions.

  • Measure engagement quality. Track voluntary communication and balanced participation, not response speed.

  • Build consistency. Building trust in remote teams requires reliable patterns, not immediate responses.

  • Prioritize connection. Personal relationships drive remote professional success.

  Learning how to collaborate effectively in remote teams means combining real connection with practical tools. These remote collaboration tips work by addressing both needs simultaneously.

Ready to transform your remote team?

You don’t need to sacrifice connection or collaboration to succeed as a remote team. Marco Polo makes it easy to stay close, work together, and thrive—wherever you are.

Ready to take your team to the next level? Start building deeper connections today with Marco Polo. Discover more or sign up for a free trial here.