Growing And Sustaining A Virtual Team Takes Extra Effort

Ah, virtual teams. They’ve been around for quite some time, but are more common in this day and age when technology affords us the ability to work anywhere, any time of day. But it’s important to remember that virtual teams are made up up many different and diverse team members. And building that team into a cohesive unit can be a real chore. Here are some tactics you can implement to ensure your team is building in the right direction.

• Have regular team meetings. A weekly teleconference that everyone is required to attend goes a long way in bringing a virtual team together. Have a regular agenda and make sure you keep the meeting on track. You could alternate the meeting leadership to help every team member feel involved.

• Mix and match team members. As your company takes on new projects, don’t just keep the same old team members together to accomplish the new objectives. Look deep into your team and ensure you leverage the strengths of each and every team member. Give team members opportunities to work with people they’ve never met before.

• Stay in touch virtually. Send out a weekly email newsletters to let everyone on your team know what’s going on in the company. Conduct (at least) quarterly webinars to help team members stay in touch with the big picture of your company.

• Allow face-to-face interaction. Whenever possible and financially feasible for your company, get team members together face-to-face. There’s nothing that can cement a relationship faster and build a stronger team than pairing a face with a voice you’ve only known virtually.