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Virtual teams, with their benefits and downsides are here to stay. Find out how to manage the challenges to grow your business.
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The covid-19 Pandemic came with many changes, including a shift in workplace dynamics. That shift needed the workforce to devise means to keep working despite geographical differences and employers obliged. An article by Finance Online shows that 80% of global corporate remote work policies had shifted to virtual and mixed forms during the early part of the coronavirus crisis. Employers can now recruit talents from different parts of the world, and employees can collaborate on projects remotely.
While virtual teams have become a mainstay in workflow architecture and eased work synergy, they are most beneficial when managed effectively.
The success of a virtual team depends mainly on how well the challenges of managing remote employees are overcome. The inability to tackle these challenges makes a virtual team unproductive.
So, how do you find the balance?
In this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of virtual teams, the challenges they commonly encounter and how to properly handle them. Let’s get to it!
The biggest challenge to managing a virtual project team is poor communication.
Communication in a virtual world has its peculiarities, different from conventional face-to-face interactions. People have to rely on verbal and temporal communication cues in the virtual world. When these cues are misinterpreted, misunderstandings easily arise.
The problem of communication in virtual teams may arise due to the following:
How can this challenge be resolved?
The problem of poor communication between virtual team members is overcome by addressing the root causes. It is important to lay down communication guidelines that team members should abide by.
The guideline should specify:
The tool selected should reflect the communication style of the team. Video call-ins are supported by Skype, Google Meet, and Zoom. Instant messaging is great via slack, while the team can use Emails for official conversations.
When team members have clear working hours and know each other's work hours, there’s less room for misunderstandings. It solves the issue of late replies and complacency and brings about effective collaboration.
Communication should be polite and cordial. Since a virtual team comprises people from different geographical areas and cultures, using slang is not ideal, as some could be offensive in certain cultures.
Apart from the major drawback of communication, the three common challenges of virtual teams include:
The sense of urgency that characterizes a physical workplace is absent in virtual teams. So, there's always the need to ensure that your virtual teams put in maximum effort.
You can boost the productivity of virtual teams by:
● Having regular check-ins
Employees show more commitment when you frequently check in on their progress and learn about their challenges in specific tasks. Using Check-in templates also allow the team to overcome the challenge of irregular communication. You can also share proven tips for improving productivity with team members.
● Working towards a clearly defined goal
A virtual team must have clear and precise goals to prevent redundancy and burnout. In addition, the goal should be realistic and achievable.
Task supervision becomes more difficult and complex when multiple teams are involved. The process of scheduling virtual check-ins can be tedious and often requires methods different from what may typically work for a physical team.
What's a solution?
● Project management tools
These tools and platforms help you effectively manage virtual teams. They make meeting scheduling easier, allowing you to easily track deadlines and see the progress on the current task each employee is working on.
Assembly offers teams a range of workflows that improve productivity and accountability. Book a Free Demo Today.
Challenges of teamwork include low team spirit. Virtual communications cannot match the extent of bonding face-to-face interactions offer.
Once in a while, remote workers may experience workspace detachment. And this affects team cohesiveness, causing a lack of motivation and reduced performance.
How do you solve this?
● Regularly check up on the welfare of team members
When conducting check-ins, don't just inquire about work. It’s essential to ask about your employees and how they're faring. Let them know that they are vital to the team. Celebrate their wins.
● Promote socialization
Encourage team members to get to know each other more personally. Workers can have a slack channel for conversations not related to work. Another option is to dedicate a particular time weekly for employees to check up on one another. The goal is to foster team bonding and team building.
Check out Assembly's list of team-building activities.
There are various ways to manage a virtual team effectively. Here are our top 5:
After establishing a good communication policy in the team, it’s vital to delegate tasks to team members correctly. This implies that the job description should be clear, concise and tailored towards achieving the team's objective.
Employ collaborative tools for efficient task management. This introduces structure to the virtual workflow, enabling you to monitor the progress of tasks assigned. They also act as a repository for important files and documents, making them easily accessible to team members.
Regular feedback is the gift that keeps on giving. Commend team members doing an excellent job and suggest ways to improve for those not performing well. Constructive feedback boosts the team's commitment and morale.
Though the workspace is virtual, it is not proper to disregard an agreed-upon working duration. Employees feel exploited and not respected when there's no respect for the work hours.
Just as it applies to the physical workplace, remote employees need the right tools to carry out their tasks effectively.
Assistance could range from covering the subscription fees of specific applications, handling internet costs or purchasing laptops. There's also the option of splitting the costs or giving out loans.
Before we consider virtual teams' benefits and drawbacks, let's look at the different types of virtual teams. They include:
Members of a parallel team are professionals drawn from the same company. Their major function is to assess a peculiar company's issue and develop an action plan using their expertise and knowledge. These teams are temporary and get dissolved once their objectives are achieved.
They are cross-functional, drawing members from different areas of speciality. Companies set up these teams to boost service delivery and improve customer satisfaction.
New members are routinely added, while old members exit when their tasks are complete. Cross-functional challenges of poor communication and distrust characterize these teams.
These are composed of employees responsible for daily operations. Each team member has specific tasks and is accountable to a supervisor or team lead. As long as the organization still exists, they remain functional.
These teams have experts in specific fields whose sole aim is to develop or modify a company's product or service. They are formed on a short-term basis. Product development teams are disbanded once their purpose of creation is achieved.
These are individuals working across limits of geographical locations, cultures and time. They are, however, connected by technology to achieve a common goal by executing co-dependent tasks.
Companies can significantly save costs when employees work remotely. Expenses such as office maintenance, office supplies and transport are cut off.
Employers can extend their search beyond the local talents available. They are not limited by distance in their search for bright minds.
Virtual teams are a win-win for both employees and employers.
Employees can enjoy the flexibility of working from home without the pressure of an office environment. In turn, employers can save recruitment costs due to reduced turnover.
Companies can achieve 24/7 service with virtual teams. They can harness the opportunities presented by different time zones to achieve round-the-clock availability. While one team hits closing hour, another team in a different time zone takes over.
Virtual interactions don't bode very well for team bonding. Team members may not understand themselves adequately compared to what is obtained in face-to-face interactions.
Supervision of virtual teams is typically more demanding and may require expertise or proper training.
The backbone of virtual teams is seamless technology. When tools become faulty, their effects on operations are more than when there’s a physical space.
Since team members are far apart, poor communication structure or a break in communication could lead to the total absence of interaction between team members.
Virtual teams are indispensable, considering the significant benefits that they offer. But challenges exist. The success of companies with virtual workers depends on how well each company handles the challenges of managing remote employees.
Virtual teams can attain their full potential when these generic issues are summarily nipped in the bud. The challenges of virtual teams are not impossible to manage. Productivity tools like Assembly sit right at the top of the pack to get your virtual teams productive and motivated.
Get started today and harness the full benefits of your virtual pool of talents.
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