Remote employees have become a vital part of an organization’s environment. While they are being accepted with open arms, on the contrary, managing the virtual team is becoming hectic for the managers. This is because of the fact that they are not physically present. As a result of this their needs and wants are sometimes neglected unintentionally. The organization becomes more flexible when there is constant communication with the virtual team.
Having a virtual team makes it easy to hire a bigger workforce. This ensures that the productivity of the team increases and the burden of the inhouse employees reduces. The virtual team should be included for all the integral decisions and meetings of the organization. There is no mantra to manage the virtual team perfectly in order to achieve the desired results. Because every organization and their environment is different.
They should be provided with such an environment where they feel belonged and comfortable. But despite of doing the necessary, there will be always that one thing you forgot to do. And that one thing can or may ruin your case. So to make sure that you don’t, we are here with 4 crucial factors to consider while managing virtual teams-
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Live Broadcast-
There are certain times when it seems like the meeting can be held without including the virtual team. As they would take time to join the meeting or a bad connection might interrupt it. But this is not an ideal solution. To avoid such circumstances notify them earlier via mail or any app your organization uses.
Also, once you start setting up the live stream all your employees, virtual or not, will be able to attend all the meetings, functions, parties, etc. This helps in delivering the message and delegating the task almost instantaneously. It is a great way to strengthen the relationship amongst the employees and it makes them feel included and recognized. This also helps in asking questions and solving queries on the spot. For which the traditional method of emailing and texting would have to be used.
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Encourage Inclusion-
Ensuring that they are included in every aspect of the organization is essential for both the parties. Meetings are only a part of it but they should be encouraged to follow the rules, ethics, code of conduct, etc. Even though they are not a part of the office, but are a vital part of the organization. It is because they spend little or no time in the office. So it’s the manager’s job to make sure that the virtual team’s duties are delegated beforehand.
This can be done by hosting various conferences, weekly reports, a weekly newsletter, etc. to integrate them into the daily office culture. Once they start understanding that they are being treated at par with inhouse employees, their morale boosts up. The results also increase as they start becoming familiar with the environment and people.
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Coworking Space-
When your remote employees are from different parts of the country or the world, the culture so built around the office is diverse. They work as a remote employee because it suits them. But others would require a pseudo office where they can get into the zone and start working. For such employees, who are also based in the same geographical area a coworking space is the best setup.
Creating a central location for them will ensure that they get the typical working environment. This enhances the relationships amongst the virtual team and the management. These spaces have additional amenities that will make sure that their needs are being fulfilled.
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Communicating with Virtual Teams-
The only way to bring the management and the virtual team closer is through communication. They say communication is the key to a successful organization but here it is not a key but a necessity. The transfer of communication has to be regular so that they know their daily or weekly duties. While handling or working with a virtual team, information is the source that keeps the partnership intact.
It is advisable to have open and honest communication with the virtual team. They always respect honesty and transparency which makes them trust the management and the organization. Along with communication, feedback is also important as they should know their performance. The managers should always give honest feedback to the virtual team so they know the prerequisite standards.
Conclusion
Collaborating with the virtual team could be a task sometimes but it is mandatory. The organization has to take bonafide initiatives to keep an eye on them for the best results. This goes both ways, the management and the virtual team have to be transparent with each other. The goals have to be laid down by making sure that the whole workforce is included. This will ensure that inhouse and virtual employees coordinate with one another. As a result, they will have an organic relationship rather than a forced one.
