7 Tips for Motivating Virtual Teams

Whether you have a team member who works from home one or two days a week, a few remote employees, or even team members who work from other countries, excellent personnel management and motivating virtual teams are critical to the success of your company.

Remote working tools are simple to implement and use. Every day, it seems, new platforms, applications, and systems are released to enable immediate communication, online connection, and virtual work. During our work conversations, we can see and hear our coworkers, collaborate with them in real-time, and even see their new puppy.

Successful CEOs, on the other hand, recognize that technology has yet to come up with ways to keep employees engaged, and that inspiring teams in a virtual environment is difficult. There are additional sources of distraction. And, no matter how spectacular video and virtual conferences are, there is a true sense of isolation when we can’t get together. Motivation isn’t something that happens by chance, and it now necessitates a new set of instruments, including some intriguing new concepts.

These seven techniques are being used by inspiring leaders to keep their staff going ahead enthusiastically in a virtual workplace:

7 Tips for Motivating Virtual Teams

1. Connect With Virtual Teams on an Individual Level

Not being present physically, it’s easy for virtual team members to feel left out. A missed invitation or someone mistakenly left off an email thread may lead to a lot of internal debate, with the main lesson being that they’re not really a part of the team. Connecting is often a full-body experience in which we can see and engage with the body language of another individual. When we meet digitally, most of these perceptions are eliminated. Therefore it’s critical to make an attempt to connect.

Individualize your approach to each team member. Begin talks with personal chit-chat and create a separate online place for non-work-related discourse. Find more personal and frequent methods to interact with one another.

 

2. Be Proactive About Being Transparent

In remote work, what is clear in real-world workplaces might become obfuscated. Have a place where you can share your work and chats, and make it a practice to loop in or tag everyone on every project. More notifications mean more people remain connected, but it also means more people stay connected. In contrast to a typical workplace, when everyone is in the office at the same time and can attend every meeting, some members of the team will be catching up in the evenings. Ascertain that all pertinent information is delivered.

3. Provide Immediate Feedback

In a virtual world, there is just less information. We don’t happen to run into each other by chance. Our capacity to see facial expressions is hampered, if not completely lost in the case of email and text conversations. Accepting work online and checking a box instead of providing comments is all too common with remote teams. Use dashboards to provide fast feedback to overcome this technological obstacle. When there isn’t a lot of information, this can help to lessen the mystery and poor narrative that occurs when there isn’t a lot of it. 

4. Lead by Example

Leaders set the tone in virtual workplaces just as much as they do in physical offices. When C-suite executives ask for input, they demonstrate that it is safe to do so and open the door to many new sorts of innovation and organization-wide learning. Until you ask for input, you won’t know what’s feasible.

Dashboards, project platforms, virtual organization systems, video meetings, and remote team communication technologies are all part of this brave new world. Along with all of the technological tools that make virtual business feasible, it’s critical to put people and their communication requirements at the center of your business.

5. Schedule Meetings Only When Necessary

Although it is critical that you communicate with your workers on a regular basis, you don’t want them to see these meetings as cumbersome and useless, so they refuse to attend.

This includes just scheduling meetings that are really necessary and avoiding scheduling meetings that aren’t. Also, try to keep your phone and video calls as brief as possible.

Furthermore, sending emails, texts, and direct messages too frequently is not just inconvenient; it may also be interpreted by your employees as a hint that you don’t trust them or value their time.

As a result, save these instant messages for important things only. Excessive contact with them is inconvenient.

Keep in mind that some people believe that discussing the same issues again and over reduces their drive. Instead of listening to the same topics again and over, they realize they can do something more constructive.

 

6. Start a Recognition Program

Workplaces with a recognition culture are more likely to retain top personnel, improve engagement, and encourage higher performance.

Follow these guidelines to launch a recognition program that will inspire your virtual team:

  • Make a list of the behaviors you wish to reinforce.
  • Select the sort of prize you’d want to present.
  • Consider how often you should acknowledge and honor people.
  • Make a list of applicants to choose from and determine who is qualified for awards.

Once you have all of the facts, send a group email or hold a meeting to notify your staff about the program. Request their input and implement it into your strategy so that your staff has another source of motivation to help them perform better.

7. Invest in Staff Development and Training Initiatives

You can go about motivating virtual teams by providing possibilities for upskilling and reskilling, in addition to implementing or strengthening your recognition program.

Look for alternative strategies to assist your staff in improving their abilities and learning new ones. Mentorship, training, and coaching programs are among them.

If any of your workers are willing to provide training or lectures about their areas of expertise, set up a timetable that works for everyone and utilize the appropriate platform to guarantee that everyone on your team can participate and profit.

Consider employing a virtual event platform to make your training stand out and be fascinating. This technological tool has a variety of features, such as customizable avatars and a 3D background, that assist make the event stand out, be remembered, and be enjoyable.

Several learning centers, schools, and universities provide online courses that allow students to obtain credits or credentials that may be added to their resumes. Determine the certifications your workers want and which providers you can collaborate with to assist them in obtaining them.

Also, provide websites, seminars, and other resources that can help your personnel learn and widen their horizons.

Finally, ask your coworkers about areas where they wish to improve or learn on the job. You might be able to cross-train staff to better prepare them for the future demands of your company.

There are strategies to keep your employees engaged even if you are managing them from afar. Begin by implementing these suggestions, and you may anticipate a better, happier, more productive, and efficient staff as a result.

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