How trust and EQ empowers our global team

Global teams are no new thing. The advent of the internet and subsequent rise in software has allowed for digital communications and collaboration between people in bustling cities in one country all the way to a small town thousands of miles away.

This has opened the gates for businesses to tap into the global talent pool and leverage the benefits of working across time zones. Take Voyage, for instance. We’re headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand and work with remote experts in London, the Philippines and throughout the country, all without breaking a sweat - well, mostly.

As touched on in our previous blog, we’ve come to see that global, remote teams work when there is a healthy degree of trust, communication and emotional connection between people.

As reported by the BBC, work quality and experience, especially with remote teams, relies on the quality of relationships. Jonna York writes, “Leaders are increasingly looking for ‘emotional intelligence’, also known as ‘EQ’. This range of competencies encompasses our ability to understand and manage our own and others’ feelings, then use this knowledge to build positive, productive connections.”

Creating a foundation of trust and EQ

It’s important to establish the ethics of trust and EQ from the offset of any new employee agreement. These ethics must come through from even the first conversations, and reinforce a broader company culture that’s part of every day life, not just a nice banner to put on a website.

At Voyage our value ‘all aboard’ is defined as, “We are a strong and united team. We’re all in this together and value our colleagues and our clients. People are at the forefront of everything we do.”

This defines our culture of camaraderie and trust, which is baked into all that we do, and describes our approach to remote working. We place emphasis on being a self-starter, using initiative and doing great work, and give our people autonomy to use their expertise and creativity. Putting our values front and centre is an important part of keeping our geographically separate team together and supported.

We’ve captured the thoughts and sentiments on remote working and global teams from our three team members: Kathleen May Gagasa, our Quality Assurance Tester in the Philippines, Jess Small, a Developer in London, and Keziah Rackley-Gale, a Developer also based in London.

Check out the previous blog for more on Jess and Keziah. As for Kathleen, she collaborates with Voyage’s developers and project managers throughout the development process to make sure what’s being delivered meets the requirements. Manual testing includes using the web platform, site or app as an end-user would and catching any areas of improvement or defects and bugs.

Kathleen says, “QA Testers work closely with developers and project managers to help ensure that the software is continuously improved and refined until it meets the desired level of quality.”

Juggling the pros and cons of working abroad

Working remotely comes with its share of advantages and challenges. For Keziah, the perks are clear: “New experiences, personal growth, and no commute,” she says. However, she also notes the downsides, saying, “Time zones can be tricky, and it’s the little things, like missing out on spontaneous office banter or navigating different public holidays.”

Jess agrees, saying, “The best part is being able to continue my work with Voyage while experiencing life abroad, and we can pick up work from other people and continue on it overnight. But I do miss not being able to see everyone in person and the fun activities like internal days. It can also take longer to get information from clients.”

For Kathleen, the positives include greater flexibility, savings from not having to commute, and quality time with family. However, she also acknowledging the need for quality tech and to establish boundaries between her personal and professional life.

She says, “Setting up distinct work-life boundaries can be difficult while working remotely, despite the flexibility being a benefit. It becomes essential to find the correct balance to stop work from interfering with family time and vice versa.”

From a business point of view, despite potential challenges, there can be benefits of working across time zones. Keziah says, “Whenever an urgent ticket comes in during the NZ afternoon, the London team can jump on it overnight and have it resolved by morning!”

Jess adds to this: “We had a last-minute requirement from a client that needed to be addressed ASAP, and thanks to our time zone difference, we managed to deliver it overnight.”

Staying connected across geographies with tech and touchpoints

The importance of open lines of communication can’t be understated when it comes to building a foundation of trust and EQ. This can be established quite simply through messaging tools and regular touchpoints, to address the projects at hand but also to inject brevity and humour into a work day.

Kathleen emphasises the need for tools to stay connected. She says, “I stay in touch with the team through Slack for messaging and Google Meet for video calls; applications like JIRA to help track tasks, deadlines and project progress; and Google Drive for shared documents and collaborative work.”

Keziah and Jess note the importance of regular catch-ups, with both having weekly meetings, stand-ups for projects and regular messages with the team.

Jess says, “An average day for me usually starts with a project stand up, and then just going about my day as I normally would if I was at home. At the end of each day we send in an end of day update and push up all the work we’ve done so that if need be someone else can pick it up overnight.”

Stay tuned for our next blog post where we’ll share more tips on how to maximise remote working, including insights from both our global and Kiwi team that work away from HQ.

Making the most of an international life

When people feel more supported in their work and personal life, they’re more likely to produce high quality work and remain with the company, developing hugely valuable understandings of the ins and outs of client projects and processes.

When asked about what she enjoys most about her work, Kathleen expresses her passion for quality assurance: “It’s incredibly rewarding to ensure that our products meet high standards. Each day presents new challenges and opportunities for learning.”

She appreciates working at Voyage, where the company values work-life balance and supports flexible hours. “It’s great to be part of a team that respects personal and family time,” she says.

Jess and Keziah share similar sentiments, highlighting the satisfaction of contributing to meaningful projects and the joy of working within a supportive team culture.

At Voyage, our triple threat global team exemplifies how collaboration and communication can transcend borders, leading to innovative solutions and a thriving work environment. Whether tackling development challenges or ensuring quality, the Voyage team both in and out of HQ are making a significant impact - one project at a time.