With the prevalence of virtual work, the task of managing remote teams has become a responsibility for numerous managers. Nonetheless, becoming adept at managing remote and hybrid talent is not an innate skill but rather requires time, expertise, and experience.
In the modern-day workforce, the advantage will be with the leaders who acquire the skills to effectively manage remote teams. This will enable them to:
- Produce better business outcomes
- Improve employee satisfaction
- Cultivate work-life balance
- Boost productivity
- Meet company goals
- Increase team retention
We understand that managing remote employees can be challenging, but we are here to offer assistance in improving your skills and becoming an exceptional virtual manager.
15 best practices for managing remote teams
Managing remote teams is not an immediate process, as remote work is still relatively new and has only recently reached its current scale. It involves a significant amount of trial and error, so it is important to give oneself sufficient time and flexibility to adjust and adapt.
1. Set clear expectations
When creating rules of engagement for your remote teams, it is important to be flexible while still establishing ground rules that all members should abide by. You can set expectations in the following manner:
- Team meetings: Set a time during the day when the team should plan meetings that’ll work for everyone’s schedule and time zones.
- Communication: Decide which communication channels you’ll use in different situations. For example, you might update employees about assignments through email and save Slack channels for non-urgent chatting.
- Workflows: Build workflows (automated and manual) that’ll help keep employees on track even when communication fails.
2. Create accountability
Provide your employees with the freedom to carry out their work independently, but ensure that they take responsibility for their assignments and projects. It is important that their achievements are linked to measurable targets within their control, and they should provide updates on their progress and obstacles encountered during individual discussions and team gatherings.
3. Provide the right tools
To support your remote teams effectively, it is essential to acquire a few tools and hardware. Firstly, it is important for everyone to have suitable computers based on their responsibilities, as you wouldn’t want your graphic designers to experience lengthy delays when uploading and processing their files.
Additionally, it is necessary to procure tools that are conducive to remote collaboration. Presented below are a handful of such tools that can be of assistance.
- Asana: Project management platform
- Figma: Online whiteboard and design tool
- Slack: Team messaging application
- Google Drive: Cloud file storage and sharing
- Zoom: Video conferencing tool
- Invision: Design and collaboration application
- GitHub: Collaborative software development tool
- LastPass: Password management and sharing tool
4. Overcommunicate
It is difficult to achieve the ideal level of communication, so it is preferable to communicate too much rather than too little. Make sure to regularly inform your team about the progress of the project and any significant company updates.
Assuming that your employees do not read every email (because they don’t), think step by step.
During your weekly virtual meetings, make use of the opportunity to catch up and ensure that everyone is updated. Consider incorporating regular round robin sessions where each team member can share updates on their current tasks or recently completed projects.
5. Respect time zones
Consider the step-by-step process, reword the following passage while preserving the original meaning. Do not introduce additional information and do not omit any information. Take into account that your staff members are likely spread out throughout the country and potentially even worldwide. Show consideration for these varying time zones. Avoid arranging meetings for 10am EST if it means your colleagues on the Pacific Coast will have to join at 7am.
To maintain the same meaning, consider rephrasing the text as follows: Utilize the scheduling features of email and messaging applications whenever feasible to send messages during your employees’ designated working hours.
6. Focus on output (not input)
One major drawback for distributed teams is micromanagement, which can be avoided by not stressing about inputs and keeping things simple for yourself as well as your employees.
The amount of time your employees spend working or being online each day is not important; what is important is that they complete their tasks. If your employees are achieving positive business results and meeting objectives, there is no need to be concerned about the amount of effort they put in.
7. Allow for flexibility
To promote flexibility among your remote workers, it is important to establish certain guidelines and synchronized meeting schedules, but it is advisable to refrain from imposing unnecessary rules.
If an employee chooses to take a 1-hour run in the afternoon but begins their day early in order to complete all their work, there should be no issue with that. Additionally, if a parent requires periodic departures during the day to transport their children to school and daycare, efforts should be made to ensure minimal stress in doing so.
Remember, your remote employees have lives. Although they are dedicated to your business, granting them more autonomy will increase the likelihood of their investment and contribution to your company.
8. Come together often
Make sure to regularly bring your entire team together, ideally once a week. Even if there isn’t much to discuss, it is still important to make time for everyone to gather and have face-to-face interaction. This can also serve as an occasion for team members to socialize and update each other.
Teams often schedule weekly or biweekly sessions to engage in remote-friendly games such as Among Us for Jack in the Box games, which helps foster team unity and promotes collaborative efforts.
9. Document processes
Develop step-by-step instructions to document your team’s procedures, whether it involves committing changes to GitHub or uploading blog posts to WordPress, in order to create guides accessible to all.
These can serve as useful tools for facilitating the integration of new employees and for minimizing the negative impact when employees inevitably choose to pursue other career opportunities.
10. Build streamlined workflows
Once you have established your documented processes, explore opportunities to simplify your workflows. This could include incorporating automation into the procedures or engaging contractors to take care of certain detailed tasks.
If you minimize the time spent on managing your projects and handoffs, you will have more time available for actual work.
11. Chat (just chat)
While it is not necessary for you to become close friends with all your coworkers or those you manage, it is important to establish a remote-friendly atmosphere that fosters casual conversations. It is beneficial to encourage social interactions among employees.
Consider it the virtual water cooler.
One option for achieving this is through regular video meetings, while another possibility is creating a dedicated Slack channel where coworkers can exchange humorous GIFs and discuss their weekend plans.
12. Be inclusive
When you have a hybrid environment, managing remote teams can be challenging. For instance, if most of your employees are in the office but only a few (or just one) are participating in a video conferencing call, it is important to make an effort to ensure that everyone feels included.
Occasionally, this entails pausing the meeting to provide an opportunity for someone on the remote call to contribute feedback. On other occasions, it involves actively utilizing and keeping track of your group chat during larger meetings. Certain employees may feel hesitant to speak up in a larger forum, but they may be open to typing their thoughts in the chat.
13. Meet in person
Ensure that you make an effort to gather in person at least once a year, or preferably more frequently if possible. This serves as a beneficial opportunity for collaboration, fostering a sense of camaraderie, and serving as a reminder that there are actual individuals behind online identities and profile pictures.
14. Do virtual team-building
There are numerous ways to foster teamwork and collaboration in a remote working environment, without having to wait for in-person meetings.
Here are a few suggestions to stimulate your creativity.
- Online office games
- Team cooking classes
- Fireside chats
- Lunch and learns
- Baking contests
- Virtual escape rooms
- Pictionary
- Photo contests
- GIF battles
15. Create a safe place
In a remote setting, it is important for your employees to feel at ease being true to themselves. This entails ensuring that introverted team members feel protected when choosing not to always express their opinions, and that LGBTQ colleagues can openly discuss their lives without fear of judgment or unconscious prejudices.
BONUS: Best Virtual Team Building Activities for Remote Teams in 2023
As a remote team, we are enthusiastic about virtual team building and consistently seeking opportunities to foster closer connections within our team.
As we have gained experience, we have discovered that there are significant distinctions between team building activities conducted online and those conducted in person.
Here are a few activities for remote teams that can help in building camaraderie and collaboration virtually.
1. Online Office Games with teambuilding.com (Most Popular)
If you are facing the unique challenges of facilitating team building online, you might consider seeking assistance. Our sister company, TeamBuilding, provides virtual team building activities as a service.
Some examples of the activities that are offered are Online Office Games. These games consist of virtual team building activities such as races to test typing speed, creating artwork through spreadsheets, and making origami with printed paper. Another activity is Murder in Ancient Egypt, which is a murder mystery game that incorporates puzzle-solving and challenges using the mechanics of “escape the room.”
2. tiny campfire : 100% Virtual Campfire for Remote Teams
The virtual campfires hosted by Tiny Campfire cater to remote teams. The activities offered in this experience include haunted historic ghost stories, icebreakers, mini competitions, and the opportunity to make real s’mores. This online camping experience is not only enjoyable but also highly intelligent, making it likely the best one available worldwide. Plus, there’s no need for mosquito repellent.
Tiny campfire sends your participants s’more ingredients and a tealight candle before your event in order to create unique shared memories, good vibes, and strong virtual employee engagement.
3. Alice Escapes Wonderland
Alice Escapes Wonderland is an immersive and participatory activity hosted in a digital realm. Your remote team will collaborate to unravel the enigma of the mirror’s thief, engaging in collective problem-solving involving puzzles, mazes, and similar challenges.
This virtual team building event combines elements of a video game and a murder mystery, and guarantees a highly enjoyable experience.
4. Gingerbread Wars (Virtual Holiday Event)
If you are considering a virtual team building event for the holidays, Gingerbread Wars is an excellent choice. Our sister company will send gingerbread kits to your participants in advance, and then organize holiday themed games and activities on a Zoom call. It is a fun and lively experience.
This event consists of:
- A professional host to engage guests
- Gingerbread kits shipped to participants within the US
- 90 minutes of fun holiday themed games and activities
5. Spreadsheet Pixel Art (Free Template)
If you are like me, you are likely familiar with Google Sheets, but may not be aware that it can be used for remote team building. If you enjoy developing complex formulas and graphs, you are probably a nerd. If you happen to be both a nerd and an artist, you will definitely enjoy creating Spreadsheet Pixel Art.
The concept of Spreadsheet Pixel Art involves incorporating code to automatically substitute numbers with colored fills in cells. This enables the utilization of these colors to visually represent the numbers and generate various images.
For virtual team bonding, it is recommended to introduce this activity as a competition in order to add a little competitive spirit.
6. Online Team Building Bingo (?????)
Online Team Building Bingo is a speedy and cost-free method to initiate virtual team building as it is an enjoyable and well-known game.
You begin with a bingo board that contains various action items or achievements. For instance, if you hear somebody saying “sorry, I was on mute!” you can check off that space on your board, and the same goes for “wearing pajama bottoms to a video meeting.”
7. Quarterly Christmas (Recommended)
Carly begins her countdown for Christmas every December 26th. This countdown does not have to be a lengthy wait, as an alternative, you can organize Quarterly Christmas or Quarterly Care Package for your team.
Every few months, you delight your team members by sending them a package in the mail. Implementing quarterly Christmas is effective as receiving an unexpected package brings a ray of sunshine to an otherwise gloomy day.
There are various packages you can send, such as tech gadgets, coffee and tea samplers, chocolate and wine, and gift cards. Additionally, if your remote workers have pets, you can also send them pet toys.
Our suggestion is to allocate approximately $25 per individual every three months, in addition to covering the cost of shipping.
8. A Slack Channel To Post Cute Pictures of Pets (Quick & Easy)
This particular one is highly favored by the company.
We created a Slack channel called #pets-of-museum-hack where we share pictures of our pets making funny faces and engaging in hilarious activities.
This channel is uncomplicated and requires minimal effort, yet it offers a significant benefit in terms of team building and enhancing company culture! Essentially, this channel is highly effective in the realm of simple and rapid team building exercises for remote workers.
9. “Can You Hear Me Now?” (Team Favorite )
One of the top online team building games is “Can You Hear Me Now?” In this game, participants gather in a virtual conference room and designate a speaker, while the others take on artistic roles. The speaker utilizes a random image generator to obtain a fitting image, aiming to effectively describe it to the artists for successful drawing.
By following a sequence of steps, rephrase the text below using only geometric shapes. Maintain the same meaning, but avoid adding or removing any information. This exercise emphasizes the speaker’s need for precise communication skills, while requiring the artists to listen and interpret. Apart from being enjoyable, this game serves as a representation of effective online communication.
10. Guess the Emoji Board
In the past, emojis were considered as an amusing and peculiar aspect of the internet, making it uncertain whether they should be used in professional emails and messaging. Nowadays, depending on the field you work in, it might be completely acceptable to send emoji hearts, flames, cocktails, and Christmas trees to your coworkers.
As more individuals incorporate emojis into their communication, a new enjoyable category emerges – the collection of one’s frequently used emojis. By capturing a screenshot of your phone or desktop, you can effortlessly share this list with your remote team. Disclosing which emojis you frequently utilize can foster the creation of inside jokes within the group. For instance, the frequency at which Michael employs the shrug emoji piques curiosity.
To play “Guess the Emoji Board,” follow these steps:
- Create a list of players and distribute this list to each player.
- Each person has up to five minutes to guess the five most used emojis by each person on the list.
- Reveal the answers and award points for accuracy, getting the emojis in the correct order and similar.
The prizes are not mandatory.
Guess the Emoji Board is a brief and enjoyable virtual game that can be played to entertain your team for a short period of time. We suggest incorporating the game into an existing virtual meeting rather than making it the main focus.
11. MTV Cribs: Remote Team Edition
Even if your remote team members never meet in person, they can still connect by welcoming each other into their homes and enjoying some fun activities reminiscent of MTV style.
Help Scout has recently launched an in-house video series inspired by MTV Cribs, where team members showcase their homes and personality through short self-produced videos reminiscent of the popular ’90s show.
Not only does the activity provide an intriguing glimpse into the personal lives of your colleagues, but it is also a enjoyable method to become better acquainted with your entire virtual team.
12. petri: Online Social Engagement Platform (Large Groups)
Petri organizes virtual team building activities that can be scaled up for large groups and are suitable for recurring events.
This is the way it operates:
- Each week, you can schedule from a variety of virtual team challenges, online games, and virtual happy hour activities. Example events include pub trivia, tea tastings, superhero challenges, online murder mysteries, escape-style games and more.
- Each experience is led by an engaging host that makes sure all guests can participate and make connections in a way that feels good to them.
Petri offers a significant advantage in terms of scheduling. With virtual events already scheduled, there is no need to be concerned about time-zones, attendee availability, or individual interests.
Rephrased: Petri has been renamed as “TeamBuilding: Packages.”
13. Remote Storytelling Workshops & Training (With Experts)
Museum Hack tour guides are skilled at conveying stories and information on a global level. Through leading numerous renegade tours, we have perfected the art of storytelling and developed a structured approach to training these skills. This approach encompasses the Five Elements of a Hack, condensing stories, and incorporating enjoyable team activities.
Our guide training, which typically lasts for 3+ months, has been condensed to a two-hour workshop specifically designed for your team. By attending this training, your staff will gain the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance their productivity and performance. Moreover, the benefits of this workshop can be witnessed across various roles within your organization.
14. Pancakes vs Waffles (Quick & Easy)
Pancakes vs Waffles is a game in which you, as a team, make collective decisions. The name of the game reflects the “either or” choice you are faced with.
In the first round, your team needs to make a decision regarding the retention of either pancakes or waffles, while eliminating the other option altogether. Advocacy for any preferred choice is open to everyone, and ultimately, a majority vote is required to finalize the decision.
By eliminating one option at a time, a new competitor is added in each round, altering the game’s matchup. For instance, it may begin with Waffles vs Pumpkins, then change to Waffles vs Puppies, followed by Puppies vs Kittens, and finally Kittens vs Romantic Relationships, and so on.
As the duration of the game increases, the conversation tends to become more intense and team members are more likely to reveal their values. The game mechanics serve as a valuable tool for virtual team building, initially starting with a low-stakes discussion about Pancakes vs Waffles, and gradually progressing to deeper and more personal topics in later stages.
15. Werewolf (Popular)
You could have played Werewolf during summer camp, in college, or at a company retreat. Werewolf is a game where you need to use your intelligence, deception, and skillful manipulation in order to stay alive during the night. The game revolves around talking, attentive listening, and voting, making it possible to recreate the experience in a virtual conference room like Zoom or Google Hangouts.
To begin with, every player selects a card that represents a role: werewolf, villager, medic, or seer. In the case of a game played remotely, a random generation tool can be utilized to assign each person a role, which will be sent to them privately. Werewolves consume other players, villagers cast votes on who they suspect to be a werewolf, medics have the ability to save a player from imminent death, and seers can disclose whether a player is a wolf or not.
After assigning roles to each participant, the game master declares the arrival of night. Subsequently, everyone shuts their eyes and proceeds to perform a pitter-patter drum roll for both amusement and to muffle any other noises.
The first action taken by the game master is to wake up the werewolves, who are then instructed to choose a single victim before returning to sleep.
Afterwards, the medic regains consciousness, gestures towards a specific individual to rescue, and subsequently resumes sleeping again.
After going through the thought process, it is the seer’s turn to select an individual and determine if they are a wolf or not. The game master then acknowledges the selection by either nodding affirmatively or negatively.
Afterward, the game master proceeds to declare that it is morning and discloses whether the wolves have managed to consume a villager. Typically, during the night, one villager loses their life, unless they are occasionally rescued by a medic.
The survivors engage in a discussion to determine the identity of the werewolf, followed by a voting phase in which they decide whether to eliminate a player or skip the round. Once a player dies or is eliminated, they become a mute ghost, losing their ability to speak or actively partake in the game. This cycle is continued until only villagers or wolves are left.
Virtual team building is greatly enhanced by playing Werewolf, as it generates extensive discussion that your team will thoroughly enjoy.
16. Typing Speed Race (Competitive)
You can initiate a typing speed race as a free online team building activity at this very moment. Firstly, assess your typing skills by taking a typing test on platforms such as typingtest.com. Afterward, share your test outcome on your company message board or through email. The more competitive individuals on your team will promptly respond with their results, encouraging others to join in.
One option is to organize a typing speed relay where you create teams and calculate the total scores to determine the winning team. This can be a way to escalate the challenge on a larger scale.
To ensure that everyone is taking the same test, it is advisable to provide guidance to team members, such as keeping their fingers closer to the keys or quickly fixing any mistakes and continuing with the test.
Typing speed races are portrayed as an enjoyable activity aimed at engaging all participants in online gaming. Additionally, they serve as a valuable means of improving one’s typing skills, which hold immense significance for individuals working remotely.
17. Virtual Pub Crawl
Pub crawls are a way in which people gather in the physical world. The participants visit multiple pubs, having a drink at each one before moving on to the next. However, it is also possible to engage in an enjoyable virtual alternative to pub crawls.
Here is the step-by-step guide on how to rephrase the text while maintaining the same meaning: 1. Start by reading the given text carefully to understand its meaning and main idea. 2. Identify the key points or ideas present in the text. 3. Begin rephrasing by focusing on one sentence or phrase at a time. 4. Use synonyms or different words with similar meaning to express the same idea. 5. Ensure that the rephrased sentence conveys the same information as the original. 6. Keep the structure and grammar intact while rephrasing. 7. Continue with the remaining sentences, following the same process. 8. Review and compare the rephrased text with the original to make sure they convey the same meaning. 9. Make necessary revisions to the rephrased text, if required. 10. Proofread the final rephrased text to ensure clarity and coherence.
- Join a virtual meeting or conference call with your team members.
- Everyone goes to an interesting website, and chats about the content over a drink.
- Every 15 minutes, move to a new website.
The Deep Sea is a cool web page that delves into the depths of the ocean, serving as a fascinating exploration hub.
18. Call of the Champions (Instant Upgrade for Virtual Meetings)
Assigning roles during meetings is one way to make virtual calls enjoyable. When individuals have designated tasks such as cheerleader or shade thrower, their level of engagement increases.
In the following list, you can allocate certain roles:
- Cheerleader: Responsible for keeping spirits high during the meeting! This person will enthusiastically cheer on the speaker and other team members, and lead others to do the same.
- Mover and Shaker: This role is like a virtual meeting traffic cop. When conversations get in the weeds or otherwise aren’t moving along, then this person’s job is to get everyone back on track.
- Shade Thrower: Someone on your team is probably “that person.” Empower your champ by assigning the role of Shade Thrower, which is essentially permission to politely boo others. This role is mostly for games with an element of competition.
- Photographer: Throughout your call, there will be opportunities for photos and snapshots of your team. Remote teams need photos too! Give someone the role of group photographer and they can snap a few shots to share by chat or email later.
- Scribe: For some people, Scribe is the least fun role at the meeting, and for others it is the dream job. The scribe is in charge of taking notes.
We decided to call this activity “Call of the Champions” in order to acknowledge the participants’ heroic roles in making a virtual call enjoyable.
19. Virtual Dance Party (Recommended)
The Virtual Dance Party is one of the fastest and simplest virtual team building activities available. You have the option to either host the dance party as a separate event or incorporate it as a brief one-minute session within a meeting.
All you have to do is turn on a song and move to the beat, without the need for elaborate dance moves. Dancing during team calls can cure awkward silences, maintain high energy levels, and bring fun and team building into the conversations.
Here are a few songs we particularly enjoy for a brief dance session:
- Taylor Swift – Shake it Off
- Rihanna – Work
- Kenny Loggins – Footloose
- Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance with Somebody
- The Beatles – Twist and Shout
20. Arm’s Reach Show & Tell (Simple & Fun)
Teachers, who are experts at engagement, can be a source of inspiration for virtual team building ideas, specifically in grade school.
One example of an enjoyable activity inspired by school is Virtual Show & Tell. To arrange this show and tell, you can establish a 1-minute timer for participants to locate “something close by that holds significance to you.” Afterward, each member of your team has one minute to talk about their item, providing details such as where they acquired it and the reason for keeping it.
21. Exciting Sponge
Exciting Sponge is a game that involves quick and easy storytelling. The game requires each team member to select a random object within their reach and use it as inspiration to create a story. Alternatively, they can choose to describe a generic sponge.
This extraordinary alarm clock, ladies and gentlemen, is not just any ordinary time-telling mechanism. Oh no, it is a true gem that transcends its mere functionality. Behold, for this remarkable artifact is much more than a household item – it is a treasure so cherished that even the legendary explorer Indian Jones 2.0, the cutting-edge AI version, would undoubtedly venture back in time to acquire it for an exclusive exhibit in the world’s most prestigious museum.
In order to rephrase the text below while maintaining the same meaning, it is important to think step by step. However, it is requested to make the rephrasing as absurd as possible.
22. Virtual Pub Trivia (Fun for Large Groups)
Although it is not possible for your team to go to the pub together, they can still engage in pub trivia and other virtual happy hour games.
Begin by inviting everyone to a call and asking them to have their favorite brew, whether it be tea, beer, or wine. After that, the host will gather everyone into smaller teams and present a set of questions. The participants are required to answer as a team, and points will be awarded for each correct response. Themed trivia sessions can be held, such as focusing on Netflix shows, musical hints, and scientific information.
23. Never Have I Ever: Rated E Edition
In college, a lot of individuals engage in a variation of Never Have I Ever, which frequently turns into discussions on inappropriate topics. Instead, opt for the remote work suitable version of this game. As the organizer of the event, you can either prewrite all the topics or allow team members to contribute their own, which you can then filter for the group.
Never Have I Ever is a game where you begin with five fingers up and deduct a point for each topic that you have actually experienced. If the statement is, for instance, “never have I ever eaten sushi,” then those who have eaten sushi would lower a finger.
24. Things (Classic)
The game of Things involves discussing various topics. Prior to starting the game, all participants contribute topics to a shared pool. The key requirement is that each topic should begin with the word “things”. For instance, examples could be “things that my dog dreams of eating for breakfast” or “things that we have planned for our upcoming video meeting.”
The game begins with one person acting as the host and reading a prompt. The rest of the players then send their answers to the host privately. The host reads the answers aloud, and each player takes turns guessing who provided each answer. Points can be awarded and prizes can be given as rewards, although keeping track of points is optional. In the next round, the role of the host is passed on to someone else, and the game continues with the same rules.
25. Spreadsheet Wars (Fun for Nerds )
Spreadsheet Wars is a miniature online event that provides participants with the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in Google Sheets and other similar software.
To participate in Spreadsheet Wars, the first step is selecting a theme, such as “advanced calculation” or “mini game design”. The only restriction is that participants must use spreadsheet software exclusively to create their solutions. If your organization benefits from resourceful solutions, you may consider setting a theme like “cost reduction calculator” to encourage the development of practical tools.
Here are additional initial subjects for Spreadsheet Wars:
- Design a choose your own adventure story.
- Create a beat-box harmony using sound scripts.
- Compete to reproduce the best pixel art Mona Lisa.
- Build a tool that someone would pay at least $5 to use.
- Make a recipe generator.
By engaging in games such as Spreadsheet Wars, individuals can enhance their skills in utilizing formulas and other features, thus harnessing the full power of spreadsheets, while also enjoying the process.
26. Flight of the Navigator (Nostalgic)
Flight of the Navigator, which was released in 1986, is considered one of the superior movies. It now serves a dual purpose as an online team building game.
To begin this activity, first watch the movie available on either Amazon or Disney. Whenever you come across any “totally 80s” occurrences in the movie, such as spotting a notable mullet or some fashionable headbands, have a drink. You may choose to enjoy coffee, tea, water, or any other beverage of your preference.
You can also utilize other movies instead of Flight of the Navigator as the main focus is not on the movie itself. The objective is to find a shared element that can be used for entertaining virtual games.
27. Learn the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Skill Building)
The phrase Alfa, Tango, Foxtrot goes beyond being a enjoyable expression that brings out your inner fighter pilot. It additionally symbolizes three code words of the NATO alphabet, and serves as inspiration for an excellent remote team challenge that you can undertake.
If you ever make a phone call, using the NATO phonetic alphabet can enhance your conversations by providing clear and easily interpreted shorthand to replace explanations like “K as in Kyle.”
Although your team may not often use the NATO alphabet, it is still enjoyable to learn and can serve as a unifying factor when it eventually becomes necessary.
The 26 letters of the English alphabet are assigned code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet, in the following manner:
The sequence of words is as follows: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.
