Top 10 Ways for Managing Virtual Teams Effectively

A team of high-performing professionals is essential for every business. So, every company is deploying any resource at their disposal to build a high-performing team. But the task turns more challenging if you are running a virtual team. Building and leading virtual teams lack face-to-face communication or interaction. Direct contact always helps managers solve minor issues and discuss major projects in detail.

Why Managing Virtual Teams Is Essential?

Managing virtual teams is more complicated than managing teams directly as they fall into two different types of culture. It also means that the primary objective of virtual team management is to enable uninterrupted and effortless communication.

Anyway, that is only one aspect of the process, and things get complex if you manage one or more virtual teams. But the glad news is that you are not alone. According to the Workforce 2020 survey report, 83 percent of executives plan to increase the number of temporary, remote workers over the next three years.

Managing virtual teams can be a challenge because a manager needs to remotely set up a corporate culture. This situation calls for a ‘one step at a time' implementation of the top 10 best practices for virtual teams. These 10 strategies mentioned below turns an enterprise successful in building and effectively managing virtual teams.

Top 10 Strategies to Manage Virtual Teams Effectively

1. Establish Appropriate Work Systems

Establishing appropriate work systems plays a significant role in virtual team management. Different people approach the work differently and use different work systems or tools to complete a task. To achieve the desired result in leading virtual teams, setting standards is necessary to shorten the execution span, eliminate confusion, and foresee the time needed to finish a task. This process brings more effectiveness with tailored solutions in remote working activities like virtual team meetings.

2. Use Multiple Communication Tools

Using multiple communication tools while leading virtual teams brings two significant advantages. First, your virtual team gets a device for urgent communication with the right person. Second, it unifies the communication processes: easy selection of communication tools for conference calls, screen recordings, etc. When it is clear what communication tool is used for what sort of communication, it creates an internal feeling of togetherness during virtual team meetings.

3. Schedule Regular Virtual Meetings

Scheduling virtual meetings simultaneously on the same day in the week develops a routine among workers and managers. It eliminates the complexity associated with virtual team management. It is also one of the best practices for virtual teams because when the remote workers get familiar with the routine, their stress is reduced and keeps them at ease.

4. Be Clear, Precise, and Detailed in Virtual Team Management

When it comes to leading virtual teams, micromanaging or simply telling someone to do something is usually not an effective way to get things done. That is why intelligent managers avoid giving instructions with minor details.

It is always better to provide clear, precise, and detailed task descriptions with examples of the final result. More than that, it gives the team the freedom to execute it rather than letting them carry on with the project with lesser instructions and a doubtful mind.

5. The Timezones of Virtual Team Meetings Should Overlap

Chances are high that virtual team meetings happen over different time zones. It is recommended that regardless of the time zones of your virtual teams, they should at least be online at the same time, three to four hours a day. It doesn’t matter whether the team member at different time zones need each other or not to complete their tasks. But being online simultaneously brings the virtual teams closer, enhances mutual relationships, and brings quick solutions to the problems.

6. Create A Professional Work Ecosystem

Professionalism is a significant factor in both virtual and physical work environments. It brings feelings of work ethics, improves efficiency, and inculcates a professional attitude. Wearing formal or professional attire and creating a distraction-free work environment are the main elements in any corporate culture. These elements should also be implemented as one of the best practices for virtual teams.

7. Prefer Video Calls Over Chats and Emails

Today, information and communication tools like Skype and email are available at everyone’s fingertips. So, whenever a need to discuss something arises, we move our fingers over to a chat application or email. But, sadly, these communication tools lead to more misunderstandings than communicating something clearly.

Efficient virtual team management uses video calls or voice calls to bring clarity in virtual team communication and avoid misunderstandings. These direct communication tools connect the team members more personally during virtual team meetings. Managers should prioritize video calls for virtual team meetings because it recreates the physical office's ambiance and enhance the virtual teams' efficiency.

8. Choosing the Right People Brings Quality in Leading Virtual Teams

Virtual team management and remote work are not for everyone as personality, and work preferences vary with each person. However, if you are a manager, you can take the assistance of a few professional personality tests. Those tests are a great way to determine whether a candidate is fit to collaborate over virtual team meetings or could follow best practices for virtual teams. If not, it is usually better to move on to the next candidate.

9. Create A Meritocratic System

Meritocracy is the process of recognizing and rewarding people based on their skills, not on personal relationships or other unethical preferences. This stimulates people to work harder, better themselves, and enhance their performance. Meritocracy matches well with virtual team management as it can consistently motivate virtual teams and helps you to pick out the right workers who can take on more responsibility.

10. Utilize Project Management Tools

The best practices for virtual teams involve utilizing project management tools. These tools are ideal for keeping track of deadlines. As the virtual team members are working remotely, project management tools send alerts and reminders that help keep track of quick daily, weekly, or monthly overview of work schedules, deadlines, and responsibilities of assignees. Google Docs and Asana are examples of leading project management tools.

The Bottom Line

Leading virtual teams that use alternative communication channels and tools is a different story altogether. Virtual team management or remote working is precise and lacks conventional face-to-face interactions. In a challenging situation like this, managers should be careful and plan everything to suit the new business model. You can also apply your knowledge based on your experience along with the top 10 ways for managing virtual teams effectively for better results.