Now, during the global pandemic, most of the tech teams became virtual. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and thousands of other companies worldwide advised their employees to stay at home. Of course, there are a lot of companies offering remote positions with a flexible schedule; nevertheless, for the majority, it’s an entirely new experience.
So, here are ten tips for efficient work from home.
10 Remote work tips for teams
Tip 1. Virtual effectiveness
When you are working at an office, you spend a lot of time walking to each other and discussing different matters. Of course, solving issues and misunderstandings on the spot is a great thing, but a virtual team can be effective as well.
According to the Harvard Business Review, developers who work remotely had increased efficiency and achieved better business results.
To make your team more productive, you need to provide them with the right tools and develop entirely new processes. Picking up the right software for video or audio conferencing, screen sharing, developing a schedule of meetups and calls, and other things to organize a virtual environment will help a lot.
Tip 2. Team chat
If you don’t have one, it’s time to create it! Probably, the hardest thing is to choose software. Skype might not be as good as it looks. Zoom, Slack, or even Telegram had proven themselves as a smart alternative that consumes fewer resources and easier to set up.
If the software of your choice has a business version, it’s time to buy one. Tools provided to premium users are more productive, and we shouldn’t forget about the security of your chats.
Tip 3. Audio and video conferencing
Sometimes, chats are not the solution. Audio or video conversation is better than writing tons of passages in chat. As we mentioned before, most messengers are offering this functionality, so you need to pick up the one right for you.
Tip 4. Organize your team using project management tools
Most companies are already using various project management software. Unfortunately, not all software we use is sufficient for remote teams. Calendars, tasks, to-do-lists, and other things are creating a mass of data, and not all team members can cope with it. A lot of project managers think that Trello is the key, but when you are doing a massive project, you might get lost in your records.
Choose wisely. You need to understand project goals, technologies used, tasks, and how many people are working on the project. Don’t mix marketing with development; make sure that your team members have a clear understanding and clean interface with their tasks.
Keep all the documents at the same place and follow the same structure of naming. It will save you and your team members a lot of time asking and searching for this data.
Tip 5. Human factor
Like in-office teams, the human factor plays a critical role in virtual teams. We started to work in the technology field because we had talent and will. We are coming to the office not only to earn money but to enjoy what we do. Support the creativity of your employees, and you will get productive work even in a virtual environment.
Tip 6. Promote trust and sovereignty
Work with a virtual team doesn’t mean that you should continuously monitor each team member to make sure that the person is working. Set clear goals and trust your team; they will definitely accomplish these goals as expected.
Tip 7. Leadership
A leader can either ruin or build a virtual team. The remote work doesn’t give your co-workers a feeling of presence, and sometimes it plays against you and your skill. Now, your primary responsibility as a leader to make sure that there is no disengagement.
Try to get everyone together regularly, make sure that all the projects are organized, and there are no unaddressed concerns.
Tip 8. Make all team members accountable
While your team members work independently, they shouldn’t lose sight of accountability. Set goals and make sure that they are met. Don’t let projects to drag on. If your team knows these goals and deadlines, the more likely they will feel involved.
Tip 9. It shouldn’t be only WORK
The warmth of a human body is an essential part of working at the office. These interactions are sometimes critical, and as you probably understood, they are impossible when you are working virtually.
So, at the beginning of a team call, try to spend 5-10 minutes just chit-chatting, speaking about general things and life. It’s okay to share funny videos and images in a chat room. Moreover, you can create a separate chat for such things.
Tip 10. Video team building
Remote team’s meetings are usually happening in audio formats. Nevertheless, team building is a critical part of a healthy work environment, and video conferences are the key to that. Video allows feeling that you are all real people, with smiles and emotions. It will help to reinforce the human between your team members.
You may play games, having a tea party, a couple of drinks as if you are in a bar or any other activity you all like.
To sum up
While we are all going through a Coronavirus crisis, it’s a good time for companies to experiment with the effectiveness of virtual teams. The global business tendency shows that more and more companies are a move towards flexible work environments, and virtual teams are part of them.
Here at Efisco, we tested virtual communication as a part of our business-client relationship since we build dedicated teams for our clients. Now, we have a chance to follow another approach – make our team entirely virtual on both sides. And we think that we are succeeded in this.