managing a dispersed team

[mypropertea]

I just got a new job (woo) and I will be managing a newly created dispersed team that are spread out across the south. They will all be based at different offices and won't be together except for team meetings. I suppose a few of them may sometimes see each other at events but it won't be regularly.

The team all have different strengths and need to learn off each other. Also I want them to be happy. How do I encourage good team working and make shore people don't feel isolated?

Bump

My role is very similar to this. Things that have worked are:

Facebook "staff room" to promote water cooler style chatting

Slack for all project / development / project traffic. Keeps email clear and is great for searching

Regular team teleconferences - some with an agenda, some with a more free agenda

Referring team members to each other so they aren't dependent on the team manager.

Looking at the "learning from each other aspect" could you get them to take turns giving a short talk at the team meetings? Or buddy them up with each other as virtual mentors, in a fairly structured way so with an agreed number of skype/telephone advice sessions over six months? Maybe an online shared area where the whole team can post tips and techniques where things have gone well?

The main things I focus on with remote teams are making sure everyone gets the same info at the same time, so no-one feels left out, and getting round to see everyone as equally as possible.

Congratulations on your new job