It is trite to say that we work in a global economy, but over the past decade more companies have begun to hire workers from different regions of the world and have them work in teams that are separated by large distances. Through video conferencing and messaging platforms, it is easy to share information among remote teams, but there are still significant challenges in enabling these teams to work well together.

Several interconnected factors make managing global remote teams complicated. It is hard for them to meet face-to-face, because of the distances people have to travel. There are only a limited number of hours that team members are working in common, which can make meetings and check-ins difficult. And there may be language and cultural barriers that affect the way team members interact.

Here are three key lessons to keep in mind when managing team members based around the world.

Remote work is tough. When the team is geographically separated, it becomes particularly difficult. The team may silo along geographic lines, because the people who work similar hours will spend more time with each other, and because the people who live in similar time zones may also have similar cultural backgrounds.

To create a more cohesive team experience, your organization should invest in regular opportunities for teams to meet in person. Ideally, these face-to-face meetings should focus on particular projects, so that the time spent traveling feels like a good investment. But there should also be a day set aside for strategic engagement and developing team cohesion.

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