With the ongoing pandemic, countless offices throughout the globe have been forced to shut down, leaving many workers no choice but to work from remote locations. Every business aims to build a team of high-performance individuals. However, managing a virtual team and creating a corporate culture may be challenging.
Keep on reading if you are having trouble managing an online team while maintaining productivity. The following tips will help you improve your team management skills and create a virtually motivated and productive work environment.
Keep track of attendance, hours worked and overall productivity
In a physical office environment, the managers can see how many employees are coming in each day. But, in a virtual environment, it may be challenging to find out how long each employee worked and interpret their productivity. Software’s such as ‘Time Doctor’ can make it highly convenient for managers to evaluate login and logout timings, analyze how much time is spent on each task, and assess what sites each employee is visiting, etc.
Provide employees with the right equipment
Availability of high-quality equipment is necessary for virtual employees, as it can help them increase productivity and eliminates chances of any equipment-related issues. All business owners should provide their employees with the best technology and latest software’s possible to ensure maximum motivation and productivity. You should also give the employees other relevant platforms and tools to try to speed up the completion of each task.
One of the most common reasons behind failure and reduced productivity in online teams is lack of communication. In an office environment, the managers and employees interact daily, and having people around whom have similar goals is a great motivator. However, virtually, it may be challenging for managers and employees to interact and have formal/informal conversations, which may cause frustration and misunderstandings.
A simple method of eliminating the communication gap between employees and managers is to have multiple communication channels for different purposes. Below are a few modes of communication that you can use for different purposes:
- Emails: Official messages and day-to-day task allocation
- Virtual phone systems: Day-to-day task management
- Video chat: Team meetings, everyday information exchanges, discussion of any issues the employees might be facing
Issue of clear and precise deliverables
Micromanaging and ordering someone to do something is not the ideal method of team management. Instead of giving detailed instructions, provide more thorough work descriptions with samples of what the end product should look like so that the employees have some power over the project and can be more creative rather than worrying about sticking to a strict set of instructions.
Hire Individuals that are fit to work online
Not everyone is fit for remote work, and not everyone’s personality fits in with the teams. Therefore, managers should carefully assess and hire individuals who are the right fit for the job. There are multiple professional personality tests that you can utilize in determining whether someone is the appropriate fit for your company. However, the most uncomplicated method of evaluating whether someone is the right candidate for the job is to ask yourself whether you are sure about them.
Utilize project management tools
One of the best ways of managing any project, and increasing the chances of meeting all deadlines, is to use a project management software. There are several management software to choose from. These software will make project management much less stressful for you by sending alerts and reminders for deadlines and providing you with a quick daily, weekly, or monthly overview of what needs to be done, by whom and when. Tools like Google Docs can also be a great addition along with time tracking applications, as mentioned above.
Don’t forget to recognize and reward hard-working individuals
By appreciating and rewarding your most productive employees, you will probably motivate them to keep working hard. Additionally, this can inspire all employees to be most productive.
Moreover, by having daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rewards and bonuses for employees who meet a specific productivity goal, you can increase the chances of all employees being at their A-game every day.
Pay attention to the time zones of your team members
If you are working with a virtual team, then there is a chance that some of your team member’s work from different time zones. However, it is your job to figure a way of having all team members online at the same time for at least three to four hours a day. Even if some team members are working individually and are unlikely to contact others to complete their tasks, having all team members online at the same time eliminates the communication gap between employees. Doing so will help you bring the team closer and solve any issues quickly.
Conduct physical meetings every 6 months or annually
Bridge, the communication gap between your team members, as nothing, beats physical interaction. Having physical meetings or getting together are the best methods of creating trust and relationships among team members.
Eliminate the feelings of alienation by keeping everyone engaged
One of the common challenges of working online is making everyone feel like part of a team. Your job as a manager is to make sure that everyone has a chance to give their input in all meetings. After each session, take the time to provide all workers with the opportunity to raise their hands virtually to ask questions or offer any input.
Remember that by making workers feel important, you will be reducing the likelihood of any distraction and making sure that they stay focused for a longer period.
Managing virtual teams may be tough, but it is not impossible. Even if you are new to managing virtual teams, there is nothing you cannot achieve with just a little planning and commitment. By following the tips mentioned above, you can successfully manage a high-performance virtual team.