Do This to Prove Your Value When You Are the Only Remote Team Member

By the end of 2021, more than a quarter of American employees will be working fully remotely. Working from home on such a massive scale during the pandemic proved that remote work had benefits for both companies and employees, including more productivity and saved commute time. 

Remote work isn’t going anywhere, either. Twenty two percent of employers said that their team would be working entirely remotely five years from now, with an additional 14 percent of respondents noting their team would work partially remotely. 

Of course, there is another scenario that has and will continue to arise from this massive shift to remote work: teams with only one fully-remote employee. 

For instance, some organizations may have almost all of their team members working in the office at least some of the time and a single employee who lives in another city. Another scenario could include teams that were given the choice to build their own remote/virtual schedules balance, and only one member opted to work completely at home. 

Even if working remotely all the time is right for you, it can feel difficult to prove your value on a team of people who work in the office at least some of the time. Here, we’ll discuss how you can show your worth when you never go into the office. 

Initiate connecting with your colleagues.

Your colleagues may not always think to connect with you, simply because you aren’t in the breakroom or the office down the hall. That’s why you should initiate contact with them in various and regular ways, using phone calls, video chats, and text chats to demonstrate your availability. 

At the same time, you also need to articulate what you expect from yourself and others. For instance, set your own and others’ deadlines for projects and mention that you will respond to correspondence within 24 hours. If you’re running late in completing tasks, continue to update your coworkers so they don’t think you have forgotten what you promised to do. 

Maintain a regular work schedule and office hours.

In line with this consistency is keeping a schedule for at least most of the week. Colleagues start relying on you when they know they can get ahold of you when they need you. If you’re unavailable, unreliable, or inconsistent, they will almost certainly turn to a more convenient coworker. 

That’s why it’s important for you to keep a schedule your colleagues can remember. For instance, you could decide to work regular business hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Also, you may want to start holding your own “office hours.” You could be available on Zoom or Slack to connect with your colleagues if they need you for several hours on specific days. They may want to ask you questions or just come by to chat about their favorite TV shows – the same way they would if you were physically in the office. 

Share your accomplishments with your boss and co-workers.

One of the ways that remote workers get overlooked is that they are not visible in the workplace. Rather, you have to prove your value by sharing what you are accomplishing. Articulating what you have done is key here, even if you have to share your accomplishments yourself. 

Elizabeth Grace Saunders of Harvard Business Review suggests remote workers should share what they’ve done with their bosses either in face-to-face meetings or emails each week. They may also want to articulate their accomplishments in meetings or create presentations about how others can be successful in working remotely. 

“Focus on not only what you did but how it produced positive results for your organization. This is not bragging but simply informing others about how, even though they might not see you working, you’re getting great things accomplished. And this gives you increased visibility across the organization as people understand the role that you fill and the value you add,” she said. 

Offer suggestions for ways your team can more effectively include you.

Your team may leave you out, intentionally or not, and it will be up to you to suggest ways to better integrate you into the group. For instance, if your colleagues go out to happy hour together every week, and one of them has told you they discuss work informally, perhaps you could suggest hosting a monthly virtual happy hour instead. 

Brie Reynolds, a career specialist at Remote.co, says, “Good remote teams are always evolving and strengthening how they do their work. Whether it’s changing which platform we use to communicate, or developing a new way of tracking progress on a given project, a remote team relies on each member to spot weaknesses in a process and offer suggestions to strengthen it.”

Prove Your Value as a Remote Worker.

Whether you’re already working remotely or want to ask your boss for this option, you may worry that you’ll be overlooked in favor of your in-person colleagues. While you will have to work harder to replicate those inter-office chats your colleagues have in the office, it is very possible to be a key player on your team from your home. Sharing your expectations, promoting consistency, and “tooting your own horn” are ways to prove your value, no matter where you physically work.