Business
Managing Remote Teams with Digital Etiquette
Janaína Leme explains productivity hurdles, video call etiquette, and respecting time in remote routines.
The permanent shift to remote work introduces new challenges in management, professional demeanor, and team well-being. Janaína Leme breaks down essential digital etiquette practices and the need for structured breaks between meetings.
Janaína Leme, partner and head of PR at Sing Comunicação, spoke with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast about the leadership demands, digital etiquette, and productivity expectations of the remote work model.
When discussing the corporate perspective on remote work, Leme dismisses any romanticized views of the format. "It's not a fairy tale thinking that working from home is simply amazing," she states. In her view, both in-person and remote setups carry distinct challenges that require leadership maturity: "Working from home isn't easy. Working remotely demands a lot, especially from the management team, because we need to stay connected with the employee somehow." In the video above, Leme details how her agency was already operating remotely before the pandemic and how that prior experience eased the transition.
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
Digital recruitment and onboarding
Screening and onboarding talent for a remote environment requires clear technical and behavioral criteria from the very first interaction. Leme shares that the agency conducts initial interviews online specifically to assess proficiency with corporate tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or StreamYard.
Beyond technical skills, the agency developed guidelines to align employee behavior when engaging with clients. "Once they join, we do a whole training process to teach them how to be digital—knowing how to carry oneself on a call, how to set up the background so an unmade bed isn't visible when getting on a call with a client, which is why we created custom virtual backgrounds," she explains.
Scheduled breaks and asynchronous communication
Another core challenge of remote work is back-to-back virtual calendars. To combat meeting fatigue, the agency caps meetings at 45 or 55 minutes. "We've tried to keep meetings to 45 or 55 minutes so we have at least 5 minutes to grab a glass of water, use the restroom, and join the next call," Leme notes.
Asynchronous dynamics also require discipline and emotional control from managers when sending messages and waiting for responses. Leme emphasizes that visibility into shared calendars prevents micromanagement: "We have access to each person's calendar, so I know if my employee is on a call or in a client meeting, and I won't send 50 messages waiting for them to reply."
Digital etiquette in client relationships
The level of attention given during meetings—whether virtual or in person—directly impacts client trust. Leme shared an early career experience where she nearly lost an account by taking notes on her smartphone without informing the client in the room.
"We were taking notes on what the client was saying directly on the phone. But we lacked the foresight to tell them: 'Hey, I'm using my phone to take notes,'" she recalls. The incident helped establish clear rules of conduct across the agency: "From that moment on, I learned the hard way that digital etiquette is real, professionally speaking."
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
