The invention of the Internet brought many positive changes for small businesses. One of the positives that the Internet brought about was that it opened doors for small businesses to grow their teams with talent across the globe. Many companies now have remote team members working to help improve their bottom line. However, you must have a plan to ensure that your remote team model is successful. Below are a few practices to have in place to help your virtual team work in a collaborative manner.
Host a weekly meeting with your virtual team
Communication is key for any small business team. However, it’s even more important when your team works remotely. You want your team to feel as though they are a part of a team, even though they’re working alone. Getting them all together on a weekly basis will help them feel part of the group and will help them build relationships with one another. It will also encourage them to reach out to one another should the need arise.
Use a project management platform to help working together easier
You may be working in different parts of the country, but it doesn’t have to feel that way. Having a central workplace for all of your documents, tasks, calendar, and more will go a long way in helping your virtual team’s productivity. A project management platform can also help to foster your team’s collaboration by allowing them the opportunity to interact with one another.
Utilize video for meetings and training
It can be challenging to foster a relationship with someone who is hundreds of miles away, but it can be done. Email and phone are good forms of communication, but video can be a much more powerful way to communicate with your virtual team. Having the ability to see someone’s face while you’re speaking with them helps to build a relationship much faster.
Video is also a great platform to help with training your remote team. You can share your screen and walk your team through a training session as if you were all in the same room. You can even record your sessions for later use.
Working remotely is a normal way of doing business for many companies. If you’ve considered hiring virtual team members, but have been skeptical about doing so, just know that there are many tools available to help your company be successful. Don’t let fear stop you from utilizing the talent of someone who may be in another part of the country to help grow your business. You can build a great virtual team.
