In a post-pandemic world, leading distributed teams has become part of the blueprint for many organisations of all shapes and sizes.

For those willing to challenge the traditional conventions of working, it’s seen as the future of business, offering flexible working patterns, happier employees and a more productive team.

But before you think about creating your own distributed team, there are hurdles you’ll have to negotiate.

For instance, how will you keep your team motivated? How will you share vital updates and developments with colleagues? And how will you know if you’re on track to achieve team targets?

In this post, we’ll share how to transition your business into a distributed team by employing the right set of strategies and software from the get-go.

Effective strategies for managing distributed teams

Leading a distributed team can be challenging. If you’re not careful, your team can quickly feel disconnected, demotivated and devalued.

But with the implementation of some simple strategies, together with the integration of the right technology, you can lead a striving team – no matter how distributed it may be.

Here’s what we suggest.

Choose the right team

Every individual is a vital component of a well-functioning team. If one or more employees fail to fulfil their duties, the productivity and performance of your business can swiftly take a turn for the worse.

In a centralised working environment, unacceptable performance is more likely to be identified by management. But when it comes to leading a distributed team, tracking poor performance may not be so easy.

That’s why you must take the time to choose a team you can trust. Individuals who demonstrate they are autonomous, driven and understand what needs to be achieved without continuous prompting.

To heighten the chance of finding the right candidate, you might want to add assessments, presentations and even role-play rounds to your interview process.

While the whole process may initially take up more of your time, it’ll give you much-needed peace of mind you’ve found the right person to fit the role.

Assign a mentor

We all know what it’s like starting a role in a new company. Quite often, it can feel overwhelming with the pressure of remembering a lot of new faces and information in a short period of time.

As a distributed team member, the feeling is no different. And in some cases, it can feel even more pressurising knowing there’s no one to provide instant support.

But that’s where a mentor can be worth their weight in gold. Because not only will it give your team a designated point of contact, but it’ll also give your mentors a stronger sense of responsibility within their roles.

What’s more, a mentor can ease the onboarding process for new employees by providing an instant response to any questions or concerns as and when they arise.

Of course, it won’t feel the same as the close contact of a physical office environment, but at least it puts a system in place where spontaneous questions can be answered in an instant.

Set clear expectations

Setting clear expectations from the offset will limit the possibility of misunderstandings later down the road.

Of course, some employees will have prior experience of working remotely and will understand the demands of the role. However, those who are new to a distributed team will likely need support with clear direction about what they need to achieve.

Ultimately, the key is to set achievable expectations. After all, a leader who asks too much from employees by setting unrealistic targets will likely end up with a distributed team who feel frustrated, worthless and demotivated.

Our advice? If you want to help team members achieve their goals, make a habit of communicating key messages and deadlines.

It’s also advisable to set up daily, weekly and monthly targets to help motivate and steer your team towards their collective goals.

Check in with your team

Scheduling frequent communication with every team member is a wise move when leading a distributed team.

During each meeting, you should check members are clear on the tasks at hand, gauge whether they feel motivated and ask them if there’s anything else they need to help achieve their targets.

As well as scheduling one-to-one and team meetings on a regular basis, it also needs to be clear which communication channels should be used by each member.

This will limit the chance of important messages going unread, which, as you know, can be a huge detriment to any business.

What’s more, we suggest creating a video-first culture for your scheduled catch-ups. While it’s not quite face-to-face, it’s certainly more personal than a blanket ‘how are you getting on?’ email sent to each employee.

Provide a structure

“The first step is establishing and communicating a framework, such as remote work policy.” — Tammy Bjelland, CEO and founder of Workplaceless

It’s unarguable that working from home offers more flexibility. But what does this mean for productivity?

While it’s important to give employees the work-life balance they need, you’ll want assurance it doesn’t hinder the productivity of your business.

Our advice is to offer a structure for employees. Give them examples of how they can structure work around their home life. Because for some, this’ll be the first time they’ve ever worked in a remote role.

Organise team-building activities

When leading a distributed team, it’s important to give employees the opportunity to build a rapport with one another outside the usual working environment.

Because unlike the frequent opportunities to get to know your colleagues in a physical office space, remote working has the potential to feel isolating if it’s not managed correctly.

If you want some ideas, you could plan a virtual wine-tasting evening, a quiz night or even a dine-at-home event. You could also set up a work-appropriate social media group where colleagues are invited to share family and pet pictures.

The choice is yours.

Using immersive technologies to lead distributed teams

Team meetings through a video call are all well and good. But it doesn’t really excite a team. It’s more of a needs-must approach that serves to disseminate information in a dull, limiting and painfully one-dimensional way.

So what if there was another way to work as a distributed team? A digital workplace where you can interact with three-dimensional representations. A place where colleagues can interact and work together as if they’re in the same room.

Well, that’s where extended reality technology can help. It provides a safe working environment where your team can get on with business in a new, exciting and immersive environment.

At Future Visual, we understand the difficulties that come with leading a distributed team. And it’s why we’ve developed new technologies such as VISIONxR™️ to help teams collaborate, communicate and solve problems – no matter their location.

Have a question about our virtual reality technology or want to book a demonstration on how it all works?

Fill in our quick and easy contact form and we’ll get straight back to you.

In a post-pandemic world, leading distributed teams has become part of the blueprint for many organisations of all shapes and sizes.

For those willing to challenge the traditional conventions of working, it’s seen as the future of business, offering flexible working patterns, happier employees and a more productive team.

But before you think about creating your own distributed team, there are hurdles you’ll have to negotiate.

For instance, how will you keep your team motivated? How will you share vital updates and developments with colleagues? And how will you know if you’re on track to achieve team targets?

In this post, we’ll share how to transition your business into a distributed team by employing the right set of strategies and software from the get-go.

Effective strategies for managing distributed teams

Leading a distributed team can be challenging. If you’re not careful, your team can quickly feel disconnected, demotivated and devalued.

But with the implementation of some simple strategies, together with the integration of the right technology, you can lead a striving team – no matter how distributed it may be.

Here’s what we suggest.

Choose the right team

Every individual is a vital component of a well-functioning team. If one or more employees fail to fulfil their duties, the productivity and performance of your business can swiftly take a turn for the worse.

In a centralised working environment, unacceptable performance is more likely to be identified by management. But when it comes to leading a distributed team, tracking poor performance may not be so easy.

That’s why you must take the time to choose a team you can trust. Individuals who demonstrate they are autonomous, driven and understand what needs to be achieved without continuous prompting.

To heighten the chance of finding the right candidate, you might want to add assessments, presentations and even role-play rounds to your interview process.

While the whole process may initially take up more of your time, it’ll give you much-needed peace of mind you’ve found the right person to fit the role.

Assign a mentor

We all know what it’s like starting a role in a new company. Quite often, it can feel overwhelming with the pressure of remembering a lot of new faces and information in a short period of time.

As a distributed team member, the feeling is no different. And in some cases, it can feel even more pressurising knowing there’s no one to provide instant support.

But that’s where a mentor can be worth their weight in gold. Because not only will it give your team a designated point of contact, but it’ll also give your mentors a stronger sense of responsibility within their roles.

What’s more, a mentor can ease the onboarding process for new employees by providing an instant response to any questions or concerns as and when they arise.

Of course, it won’t feel the same as the close contact of a physical office environment, but at least it puts a system in place where spontaneous questions can be answered in an instant.

Set clear expectations

Setting clear expectations from the offset will limit the possibility of misunderstandings later down the road.

Of course, some employees will have prior experience of working remotely and will understand the demands of the role. However, those who are new to a distributed team will likely need support with clear direction about what they need to achieve.

Ultimately, the key is to set achievable expectations. After all, a leader who asks too much from employees by setting unrealistic targets will likely end up with a distributed team who feel frustrated, worthless and demotivated.

Our advice? If you want to help team members achieve their goals, make a habit of communicating key messages and deadlines.

It’s also advisable to set up daily, weekly and monthly targets to help motivate and steer your team towards their collective goals.

Check in with your team

Scheduling frequent communication with every team member is a wise move when leading a distributed team.

During each meeting, you should check members are clear on the tasks at hand, gauge whether they feel motivated and ask them if there’s anything else they need to help achieve their targets.

As well as scheduling one-to-one and team meetings on a regular basis, it also needs to be clear which communication channels should be used by each member.

This will limit the chance of important messages going unread, which, as you know, can be a huge detriment to any business.

What’s more, we suggest creating a video-first culture for your scheduled catch-ups. While it’s not quite face-to-face, it’s certainly more personal than a blanket ‘how are you getting on?’ email sent to each employee.

Provide a structure

“The first step is establishing and communicating a framework, such as remote work policy.” — Tammy Bjelland, CEO and founder of Workplaceless

It’s unarguable that working from home offers more flexibility. But what does this mean for productivity?

While it’s important to give employees the work-life balance they need, you’ll want assurance it doesn’t hinder the productivity of your business.

Our advice is to offer a structure for employees. Give them examples of how they can structure work around their home life. Because for some, this’ll be the first time they’ve ever worked in a remote role.

Organise team-building activities

When leading a distributed team, it’s important to give employees the opportunity to build a rapport with one another outside the usual working environment.

Because unlike the frequent opportunities to get to know your colleagues in a physical office space, remote working has the potential to feel isolating if it’s not managed correctly.

If you want some ideas, you could plan a virtual wine-tasting evening, a quiz night or even a dine-at-home event. You could also set up a work-appropriate social media group where colleagues are invited to share family and pet pictures.

The choice is yours.

Using immersive technologies to lead distributed teams

Team meetings through a video call are all well and good. But it doesn’t really excite a team. It’s more of a needs-must approach that serves to disseminate information in a dull, limiting and painfully one-dimensional way.

So what if there was another way to work as a distributed team? A digital workplace where you can interact with three-dimensional representations. A place where colleagues can interact and work together as if they’re in the same room.

Well, that’s where extended reality technology can help. It provides a safe working environment where your team can get on with business in a new, exciting and immersive environment.

At Future Visual, we understand the difficulties that come with leading a distributed team. And it’s why we’ve developed new technologies such as VISIONxR™️ to help teams collaborate, communicate and solve problems – no matter their location.

Have a question about our virtual reality technology or want to book a demonstration on how it all works?

Fill in our quick and easy contact form and we’ll get straight back to you.

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