I'm based in the U.K. and my boss and four other team members are in Canada. Despite my efforts to be part of the group, geographical barriers and personal problems have made it hard for everyone to work cohesively with a consistent strategy. There's no team-building spirit or inclusiveness. What should I do?
It's tough enough for a new person to fit into a team when offices are right next to each other. Having to do it across an ocean is particularly difficult, especially when your boss is not easily reached and little effort is made at inclusiveness. This job structure is more common now in our global economy and brings it's own set of problems, as you are experiencing.
Your best bet in trying to bridge the distance is to set up regular team-building procedures such as conference calls and video conferences when possible and a telephone call at least every other day. Status reports of two or more pages also should be circulated within the team once a week.
It will be important for you to make visits to the Canadian office on at least a quarterly basis to develop one-on-one relationships with other team members. It's particularly hard for people to have trust and confidence in those they don't know well or see often. There's an old French proverb that says, "Far from the eyes, far from the heart." The best way to counteract this maxim is to work on building a foundation of personal experience with others in the group, and face-to-face time is a must for doing that.
Another strategy would be to form a cross-border partnership with one other member of the Canadian team and share responsibility for a specific project. Get input on this and other projects from the other team members as often as you can to help break the barriers between the two offices.