You can build international teams by hiring across time zones and countries while fostering trust, transparency, and shared goals from anywhere. As your company grows, whether it expands into Canada or manages talent across continents, building international teams requires intentional, culturally aware communication.

Encourage Trust and Communication From a Distance

Encouraging cohesion when building international teams requires both access to technology and human-first leadership. Video conferencing tools, including Zoom, and instant messaging platforms, such as Slack, should be the minimum, not the maximum. Seamless global teams also need asynchronous communication, extensive documentation, and process visibility. Daily stand-ups, weekly one-on-ones, and project management tools like Asana or Notion help keep all team members up to date, even when they’re not in the same room.

But cultivating trust isn’t dependent on the software. When team leaders use software as part of their role, they must also actively foster psychological safety across all cultures. They also need to be vulnerable, solicit input from everyone, and acknowledge the time zone and cultural differences that dictate how and when something can be done.

According to McKinsey & Company, teams with more diversity outperform their competition by 35%, but only when they prioritize inclusion. Global team members must be seen, valued, and empowered; they cannot be a checkbox or another percentage toward diversity.

Even the low-hanging fruit—the easiest and least demanding approaches, such as team coffee breaks and monthly team-building meetings—can help build genuine interpersonal relationships. Acknowledge these little things when building international teams, champion them, and help others take these same steps for true cohesion across the miles.

Add Cross-Cultural Awareness to Team Standards

Cross-cultural team-building techniques should not be optional when building international teams. They should be mandatory. Whether a team includes members from different cultures or not, their communication styles, work ethics, and culturally shaped expectations may complicate situations without intentional guidance. The team must communicate the standards it creates to support feedback and continuous learning.

Ensure onboarding exists. Develop a process that helps new team members understand global expectations and regional working conditions. Canadian business culture supports both collaboration and independence. Someone from a more directive, hierarchical company culture may assume leaders provide more guidance. Instead, acknowledge your team’s standard and the “why” behind it, but leave room for feedback and adjustment.

Ongoing cultural exchange is also essential when building international teams. Perhaps every other month, a different team member could lead the all-hands meeting by sharing customs, values, or work approaches from their culture. A living document could emerge regarding preferred communications and types of feedback. Optional peer-led roundtable discussions could focus on work-life balance, traditions, or expected norms in various countries. Such opportunities help people feel heard and appreciated, rather than simply conforming to the majority.

It’s similarly easy—and impactful—to acknowledge international holidays or ensure that all meeting times rotate to accommodate time zones. Such activities operate on the assumption that the company has positive intentions for everyone regarding membership, culture, and respect. That’s all that’s necessary to create effective remote team cohesion efforts.

According to Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends, global collaboration is more than just an operational need—it’s a strategic imperative. Teams that focus on cohesion rather than just communication achieve greater resilience, innovation, and engagement.

Develop Shared Objectives and a Global Mindset

It won’t matter how advanced technology is or how much equality of effort is typical. Building international teams without a shared objective will result in disaster. What international teams need to bond despite language barriers, geographical differences, and even differing job responsibilities is a shared course of action.

Leaders should emphasize the long-term vision and explain how each department, regardless of location, contributes to the company’s broader and current goals. If one team builds software in Canada and another leads projects in Berlin, explain how both support the larger effort.

Just as important when building international teams are feedback loops. Encourage your international employees to share suggestions, solutions, and concerns. However, show them that you value and act on their input. When people from the global side feel acknowledged and included in policymaking, they become full-fledged team members, not just people working from another country.

International expansion isn’t always easy, but it remains a valuable strength of your company. Between successful remote team cohesion tactics, consistent channels of communication, and a purposeful attention to inclusion, your team can succeed internationally.

To learn more about hiring and growing teams in Canada, visit BrightR. You can also reach out to the team to discuss any questions you may have.