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As a manager, you have likely noticed the hardships of managing a virtual team. It is challenging to oversee project goals and ensure each member is doing their part without having your team present. While Zoom immersive view templates can provide the semblance of a team, managing a virtual team is more involved. Thankfully, as the world becomes more experienced in working in virtual environments, many professionals are sharing their tips for managing virtual teams.
1. Weekly Sync Ups
While having Zoom virtual office meetings is essential, the frequency of those meetings is just as important. You cannot expect your team to mesh and work well together if its only interaction with management is once per month or less. If you want to manage your team effectively, you must maintain an active presence during projects. Most managers should be striving to meet or sync up with teams weekly. In some situations, it is best for managers to meet with teams more often.
2. Immersive View Backgrounds
A Zoom office background with company logo is a unifying thing; However, it is not as effective as the immersive view background. In immersive view, a manager can place their entire team into a single virtual room. People can no longer hide during video conferences or weekly meetings; all must be present and accounted for. Using tools like the immersive view also helps create the feeling of unity and togetherness, which is often lacking in remote work situations.
3. Instruction and Assignment
When people were in an office, it is was for managers to delegate jobs and oversee responsibilities. Virtual offices make managing such tasks more difficult, but not impossible. What a virtual setting calls for is clearer, more precise dialogue and written instruction. Managers must be careful of how they word assignments and ensure precise instruction. Employees cannot be expected to read the minds of management. Therefore, if you want something done a specific way, write it down.
4. Praise and Recognition
Because remote employees are not gathered in one physical location, they do not share in the energy or excitement when a project is successfully completed. Therefore, to maintain employee morale, managers must remember to give praise and provide recognition to team members. Share who did what to make a project possible, and express thanks and gratitude for their effort.
5. Availability
As the remote team manager, you must be available throughout the day. Team members will have different schedules from each other, which means you need to be accommodating to various schedules and practices. While you can set boundaries, it is important that team members know that you support them and are always available to address their questions or concerns.
Managing a virtual team is not easy; there are many challenges you will face in the process. However, with support and patience, your team can be just as productive, if not more so, than teams you managed at physical locations. Consider talking to a local remote work expert if you need more information or guidance.
