As more employees and companies around the globe continue to work from home, managers find new challenges in tracking their team’s progress and spending face time with everyone. It’s even more challenging to get everyone in a meeting, especially if the members of the team work from different locations.
Fortunately, the technology required for the current work setup has long been established, including software that allows teams to share and access information whenever, wherever.
These solutions help teams collaborate virtually during this uncertain period and keep things at work flowing. Here are some examples of how the corporate world has adopted telecommute setup and how leaders are finding new ways to bring teams together, despite working in different locations.
Equipping the Team
Aside from making sure that your team has the equipment they need to get the work done, you must also make sure that they have access to software and materials that can help them work with little or no supervision. This includes tools for up-skill training and professional development, which can be provided through the use of reliable virtual training solutions.
This training solution offers different methods to provide training: instructor-led, learner-led, group discussion. But for teams who work in different locations, e-Learning and learner-led training sessions are the most suitable options for learning.
The changes brought about by the current situation require leaders and teams to undergo up skills training that will enable them to adapt to their new working conditions. The new work setup brings new challenges that need new solutions and workaround techniques to ensure that everyone stays on top of their game. Training and development is an important way to equip the team and prepare them for and help them overcome the new challenges ahead.
More Flexibility at Work
Working from home blurs the divide between work and home life. As we bring our work into our homes, we tend to blend our time between these two areas in our life and find ourselves task switching on top of multi-tasking.
While the new setup is the safer option, the level of convenience of this setup may not be the same for everyone, especially for households with young children. This has changed the way we see productivity, as regular work hours are now either longer or broken down in chunks, as some of us prefer to work when we are free of distractions during the early part of the day or when we are most productive. This leads us to our next example below.
Focus on Outcomes and Results
When teams work remotely, it’s impossible for leaders to monitor or track their team’s work progress. Hence, tracking progress using their activity as a benchmark is not as useful in the current work setup. Instead, measuring their work output and results are the more reliable factors to measure their progress with.
Letting go of old concepts and being more open to focusing on outcomes is a better way to measure your team, especially when they are working in different locations and different time zones.
Take Advantage of Communication Tools
During this time, leaders feel the need to keep the team connected and every member engaged. Taking advantage of the available technology and using communication apps prove to be the most efficient way to stay in touch with everyone in the team.
These apps are better suited for communication and collaboration, as they have the capacity to send and receive messages, files, and images; make calls and video conferencing as well.
While this sounds easy to do, virtual communication becomes more effective when leaders set expectations for the frequency and the schedule of calls. The team must also be aware of the best channels to use for daily check-ins and for urgent matters.
This way, communication is more organized and strategic. Everyone knows the proper communication channels and everyone knows where to look for any kind of information that they need.
The purpose of using these tools and management techniques is simple: ensure that everyone remains on track with work and is prepared for whatever changes may come in the future.
Now more than ever, employee engagement and team collaboration are crucial in keeping the team spirit alive. Keeping everyone on the same page can be challenging in this new environment. The tools and methods mentioned here make it possible for teams to provide feedback, access the information that they need, and stay in touch with the team despite being in different time zones and locations.
