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Virtual teams are saving businesses all around the globe. Because of the pandemic, many employees have been forced to replace their offices with home ones. The transition brought many challenges and difficulties both to employees and managers. They may be making it work somehow, but there is always room for improvement. All the more so as business owners are thinking about making remote work a more permanent work arrangement, at least until the pandemic is over. For this reason, they are looking for ways to turn their virtual teams into high-level ones.
Socialization
Employers often assume that socialization and rapport will come naturally in the digital workplace. That is one of their greatest mistakes. Interaction is almost effortless in the office because employees can chat by the water cooler, during lunch or coffee breaks. In the virtual world, socialization opportunities are quite rare. That is why employers have no other choice than to create some by themselves. For example, they can invite experts from the field to hold a workshop on a refreshing topic, so the staff can engage and stay up to date with the growing trends in the industry.
Physical Activity
No one realizes how easy it is to become sluggish until they start working from home. All employees do all day every day is sit. No wonder they turn into chairs or couch potatoes over time. What most employees don’t realize is how bad it is for their health. Unhealthy and physically inactive employees are unproductive and inefficient. Therefore, to run a high performing remote team, employers should ensure the well-being of their employees and encourage them to work out regularly. To make any physical activity more appealing, employees can listen to some upbeat music regardless of their location, thanks to SoundCloud MP3.
Shortcuts
Great managers never overburden their team members. They make sure not to add on workload and stress to employees. Why? Because overburdening and increasing stress lead nowhere. Employees will crack under pressure and heavy workload. For this reason, employers should resort to shortcuts and encourage employees to do the same whenever possible. That is time savers, efficiency hacks, productivity tips, and tricks. If employees know any shortcuts, they should share them with coworkers. Shortcuts will increase your team’s efficiency and performance. They will need less time to complete a task or find a piece of information.
Video Conferences
Every week, the staff should pop on Skype, Zoom, or any meeting tool and communicate not only virtually but also visually. Video conferences are great for natural and more direct interaction with employees, which remote work severely lacks. Thanks to body language and eye contact, internal communication is more effective than a written one. This way, employers can easily pick up on the emotional needs of their staff, which they would usually overlook during a phone call or a message.
Besides, keeping regular video conferences puts employees in the proper mindset. When working remotely, they lack structure and routine, so they let themselves go a bit. They stop dressing up for work and wear sweatpants or pajamas all day instead. Video conferences force them to take care of themselves and look their best despite working from home.
Traps
The greatest advantage of remote work is flexibility. However, even flexibility has disadvantages. Those disadvantages are best known as distractions. Kids, pets, and Netflix can all get in the way of meeting deadlines and completing tasks. Nonetheless, there are some steps the team can take to stay focused despite all distractions. For example, make to-do lists, use time tracking and anti-distractions apps, or find the quietest area of the house for a home office. This way, employees will have no problems with getting things done in the workplace.
Remote Work Policies
It doesn’t matter whether the staff is working from home permanently or temporarily. Employers still have to have clear remote work policies framed. Such policies will keep both the management and remote workers on the same page regarding working conditions, hours, expectations, processes, and desired outcomes. They can even ask employees to help them with policy development. Since regulations and rules concern them, they should be able to have a say in their content, elements, and implementation. Besides, if they take part in such activities, they are more likely to conform to them in the digital workplace.
Thanks to the pandemic, virtual teams are gaining importance. Despite all challenges, they are keeping businesses afloat. Such teams can become high-level ones in no time. All you have to do is act on some of our suggestions.
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