There was a time when working from home seemed like a taboo subject. For the most part, it was a concept that most people associated with millennials. But this perception has changed greatly in recent years. First, there’s now a great deal more demand for remote working. Second, it’s become a lifestyle shift for some who enjoy working independently.  Employers will develop a better understanding of how they can benefit from this new phenomenon by answering the following questions:

• What exactly is working from home?
• How do you define telecommuting?
• What does the term ‘remote work’ mean?

Whatever the case may be, finding jobs that allow you to work from home are no longer hard to come by. Like with anything, there are pros and cons to working from home. There are definitely pros and cons for the employee. Additionally, recent studies have shown an increase in the benefits of working from home for the employer as well.

What is Working From Home and Telecommuting?

Working from home and telecommuting are often used interchangeably. There is a slight difference between the two, although they are typically used to describe the same idea. Telework is defined as work that is done outside of the traditional office space. However, in some cases, telecommuting means that there may be an office space available that some work is being done out of.

Telecommuting can also mean that someone is “working from home.” The term “working from home” has also transformed over the years. Where one may believe that working from home means that someone is sitting in bed in their pajamas, working from home has evolved from that radical idea. Working from home could mean “remote working.” Typically, this has been defined as a job that is performed somewhere geographically distant from the company headquarters.

Working from home has also created something called the ‘co-working space’. This was designed for people who enjoy working from home but missed the social aspects of the traditional office. They enjoyed being around people while working and felt relatively isolated. Co-working spaces can be traditional office spaces or a group of telecommuters that come up with a specific time and location such as a coffee shop to sit down and work together. The main benefit of co-working is for socialization and networking.

Remote Working

Remote work is another term that refers to working from home or telecommuting. This work scenario is more popular than ever and is rapidly becoming the norm. Remote working essentially means that you can work from anywhere and because of that work for anyone. If a company in California offers remote work and you are in New Jersey, you are in luck.

No longer are employees or employers stuck in a single location. Some employers may consider remote working in a single time zone or a worldwide remote team. Remote working in a single time zone could exclude the previous statement on coast to coast working. When a team works in one time zone, they can be clocked in at the same time and monitor productivity in real time.

Worldwide time zone remote working means that employees can work anywhere in the world.  So enjoy your time on the beach in Hawaii or backpacking through Europe while you still get your work done.

Benefits of Work from Home, Remote work and Telecommuting for Employers

The major benefit for employers of working from home, remote work, and telecommunication is increased productivity. Recent studies have shown that people who work from home have increased productivity. As a result, the employer can enjoy higher profits.

Another major benefit is saving costs. With remote work, employers can eliminate the cost of rental space, office supplies, and janitorial services. They can also save on coffee and various types of equipment. In short, they can be set to save a lot of money by end of the year. No matter what size your company is, what matters most is your bottom line. If you have the ability to allow your employees to work from home and could save those costs, why wouldn’t you?

Benefits of Work from Home, Remote work and Telecommuting for Employees

Similar savings and costs also are seen in the employee’s bank account. Working from home, remote work or telecommuting can save employees costs such as transportation costs and office attire. These could mean huge savings for an employee by the end of the year. Working from home also benefits your health and the environment. Being able to work when it is good for you, your health physically and mentally can improve which in turn improves your overall working experience.

Just eliminating daily chores associated with work such as commuting cuts down on employees stress and wasted time daily. By being able to control your schedule and when and where you work, mental health can benefit. Working from home among employees also showed an increase in exercise and taking care of your physical health. In addition to the health benefits, there is also an increase of benefits for adventure junkies.

Remote working allows people to work from different countries allowing individuals and families the benefits of experiencing different cultures and different lifestyles. Speaking of families, working from home and remote working allow for the benefits of family time and family values to be increased. With an absence in maternity leave in some modern countries such as the United States, working from home allows moms to help their families financially while still working around the schedule of their children.

Working from home allows mothers to return to work sooner and still have time to bond with their newborns or show up for that kindergarten lunch party. Working from home fathers have more time to show up for their children in all aspects and have the freedom to help at home more with less time or no time in the office and commuting.

Are there any negatives associated with working from home?

Like with anything,  there are some negatives associated with working from home.  It takes a lot of discipline to work from home, for instance. This means that it takes time to get a good workflow going. Until this happens, it can be hard for remote workers to finish tasks on time.  Additionally, it can also be easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks of parenting or running a household. There’s also the danger of good old-fashioned procrastination. This can also lead to missed deadlines or a lack of productivity.

Learning when to turn it off and balance are also struggles associated with working from home. Going to an office to work allows most people the ability to shut off work when they get home and balance their work and home life. For those working from home, learning to “turn work off” and a healthy balance between life and work can be a challenge.

Also, feelings of isolation can be an issue for some people. For some employees, going to an office, socializing and being around like-minded individuals fuels their work productivity. Being at home, away from other like-minded adults, can cause some people to feel isolated. In these cases, making the most of co-working spaces and local coffee shops or libraries are a great option.

The Upshot of Working From Home

Working from home has tremendous benefits for individuals and continues to be a viable option for employees. Although telecommuting, remote work, and working from home have very small differences, for the most part, they all are used to describe the same situation for people who work mostly outside of an office. The benefits of allowing employees to work from home heavily outweigh any negatives. In fact, seeing the benefits shows employers that allowing employees to work from home is both cost-effective and highly productive.

Although there are jobs where working from home would never be an option, for those jobs that have the flexibility to allow employees to do so it would make sense for almost all jobs to go in that direction. Not only are there major benefits for employers, but the benefits outweigh any negatives for employees as well. Although it is important to consider any negatives associated with working from home,  knowing yourself us the best way to determine if working from home is right for you. And find out what top paying remote jobs you will love.

The post Working From Home and Telecommuting appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

People who work from home capitalize off of this new freedom. Remote work is the concept of working outside of a traditional fixed office setting. The idea behind remote work is that people do not have to physically be somewhere to get a job done. Remote workers can accomplish their work without commuting to an office every day so long as they have the proper communication outlet: consistent internet connection. So long as you have a computer, you have the flexibility to schedule your work day so that you have more leisure time to experience what you want.

How to Work Remotely

Working from home does not necessarily mean you work from home every day. Remote employees work from their home offices or nearby internet cafés and can work from their company’s office when if and when it’s necessary. They have the flexibility to choose when and where they work.

Co-working spaces act as a hub for community and productivity. They act as a halfway point between the traditional office environment and working from home. Co-working spaces give workers the opportunity to meet people and create partnerships, make connections and friendships.

Work From Home Policy

The work from home policy, also known as the telecommuting policy, allows workers to work remotely or on the road. You can set an informal or formal policy, meaning a short-term project while traveling or a set business schedule for your company’s needs. If both the employee and the job requirements are eligible for a telecommuting arrangement, a supervisor or employee can assign you to a work from home policy. With platforms like Slack, Google Drive, and Coschedule productivity is boosted, distractions are eliminated and the overseeing of task management is simplified.

Working For Remote Companies

Over the past 25 years, companies that hire remote workers have opened new industries and professions. The evolution of the internet and the infrastructure improvements has resulted in a radical change in the way people work, transact and behave, leading to the rise of “digital nomadism”. Major corporations and the global workforce have adapted to this remote work in a big way. Professionals in several fields, as well as a wide range of the workforce – analysts, technology experts, architects, sales and business development specialists, all work outside of centralized offices.  People can now work from remote locations such as an Airbnb they have rented a room in or a coffee house with good Wi-Fi connectivity.

Companies, instead of outsourcing workers outside of the company can hire remote workers from outside an office location entirely. Here’s a list of 5 companies that are hiring for work-from-anywhere remote jobs.

1. Toptal – Hire Freelance Talent from the Top 3%
2. Close.io | Inside Sales Software CRM with Calling & Emailing
3. Automattic
4. InVision | Digital product design, workflow & collaboration
5. Appen | High-Quality Training Data for Machine Learning

Be a Part of the Remote Workforce

There are a few simple requirements to be a part of the remote workforce. These include identifying your skill and being able to communicate your work. Communication is key! For this, you will need a laptop and consistent internet connection. If you’re interested in remote work, there are websites that list remote jobs. You can search for freelance work according to your field and your skill. There are freelance gigs anywhere from copywriters, transcribers, and publishers to photographers, accountants and virtual assistants.

Are You Considering Working From Home?

There are several benefits to working from home

1. Flexibility Pick and choose your own schedule. Dictate how much time you want to spend working during the week (and/or weekends) and decide how much personal time you need for your own leisure. Stick to your schedule.
2. Customize Your Workplace Create your ideal workspace. Keep your office at home or take it with you wherever you go. You can link your job with your travel schedule – you are not tied to your home. Your office can be anywhere. Decorate it exactly how you would want to. Or don’t. It’s your choice.
3. Save Money Stop spending money on expensive business attire. There is no need to impress anyone working from home and if you don’t need to meet anyone face-to-face as often. Also, start dictating the cost of your commute. Meet people when it’s convenient and stop spending money on gas commuting to and from work through city traffic. With that, lunches and coffee can be prepared at home. The need to spend 5 bucks on coffee at Starbucks has vanished.
4. Stay More Focused You can choose to stay out of the white noise. Working from home means cutting out small-talk with coworkers and just noisiness in engaging in unnecessary and miscellaneous activities which bring down productivity. Choose what you want to surround you. Also, choose your breaks. Everyone needs a moment to breathe to keep running.
5. Save Time With increased digitization, communicating information is at the tip of your finger. All you need is an internet connection and a device that will connect to the internet and communicate instantaneously with anyone from anywhere in the world. Obviously, this cuts out time in traffic.

Things you would have to consider before thinking about working from home

1. Motivation When you travel to a workspace or go to an office, it isn’t as hard to just begin working. The office setting creates the mood to start working. You may find it to be a little less motivating to sleep in the same place you choose to work.
2. Distraction Social media allows people to have that “always online” mentality, the need to be plugged in at all times. Stay away from social media other than for work. Interaction with friends or just simply reading the latest news on TMZ can be distracting.
3. Sticking to a Routine Sometimes the work-hard, play-hard mentality does not pan out the way it did in your mind. It’s tough to mirror the work ethic you have at work the same way if you are to work from home.
4. Miscellaneous Spending No surprise, how much can spend and how much you actually spend always end up being two entirely different amounts. This isn’t news. Sometimes you do end up ordering the chinese food you said you wouldn’t. Even with an accountant, it will never add up, no matter how much you try.
5. Productivity Where did your willpower go? HBO just came out with a new season of Game of Thrones. You have all this work, but… this is your favorite show.Being a part of the remote workforce does not necessarily mean you have to work from home. Some remote workers change up their usual routines and start traveling as digital nomads. This lifestyle opens many doors to new opportunities, experiences, friendships and, possibly, even partnerships. The remote workforce is more likely to achieve a better network and global understanding of what they do.

Five Handy Tips For Starting to Work at Home

1. Turn Off Notifications

   Maybe, turn off your phone notifications if you are not waiting on someone or for a call. Create a schedule for when you will check your email.

2. Set Goals, But Be Practical.

   Use a planner and stick to your agenda. Don’t just work as you go. You are not restricted to the traditional 9-5 workday at the office. You can choose your hours, but make sure you do choose hours in which you can complete a significant amount of work. If you’re a morning person, work in the morning. Or, if you work better at night, make the nighttime your working hours. Just make sure you do not lose time.

3. Keep An Account of What You Spend

   Know your budget and work with it. Download an app that stores your receipts and maybe has a cashback program so you can earn your money back as you spend at places like the grocery store. Definitely, start mobile banking. Watch what you spend on and look for things that you do not necessarily need – cut them out of your next week’s budget.

4. Keep Consistency in Mind When Choosing Who You Work With

   Keep in mind that you choose who you work for and who you work with. Choose wisely, make sure the people you work with are consistent and responsive. If they always have a delayed response, you start to move slower. This, in turn, can affect your productivity. Also, make sure you set boundaries with friends and family. Your work schedule is important and as much as you love your social circle, drama can be very distracting – good or bad.

5. Exercise and Diet

   Get your blood flowing. Build up your endorphins. Have a hearty breakfast that will keep your brain stamina going. Eating right can have a huge impact on your mood and, in turn, your willpower to work.

   Be grateful. You get to choose your schedule when working from home. Changing your perspective can help with the thought you have first thing in the morning, the “I wish I didn’t have work to do” thought. Motivate yourself with your leisure time. Make money so you can spend it.

The post Working From Home: When To Start? appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

Remote businesses of all types and sizes can capitalize on employee time tracking software. These software tools track employee movement, cost handling and more. Entrepreneurs who take advantage of this innovation will experience the benefits of increased productivity and higher profits.

Remote Management

Managing employees in a remote setting can be challenging when compared with overseeing employees in an office. It’s no surprise that the way things are accomplished in an office setting doesn’t generally mirror remote work.

The human resources sector of a company has four basic responsibilities: staffing, training, motivation, and maintenance. Human Resource Management (HRM) is the management of people within a business system. When a company is remote or hires workers remotely, those employees are harder to manage because they don’t report to the same location every day. It is important to use a remote time tracking software to manage these employees effectively. This software will help the four components of human resources production.

Employee time tracking is the observation of an employee’s work ethic. It is essential to manage employees efficiently with a centralized system, whether they work with you or for you, to guarantee productivity. Otherwise, missed deadlines because of miscommunication can become an issue.

Communication between remote workers is also important. Programs like Slack, Skype or working in a nearby coworking space offers opportunities to collaborate, expand, and make possible partnerships. Collaborative programs make it possible for employers to not only manage remote teams, but they also allow team members to work more efficiently together.

Employee Monitoring

Monitoring remote workers offers enormous advantages with regards to administration. Business owners and managers can focus on the bigger projects which need to be done, instead of micromanaging miscellaneous tasks.

It is important for managers to observe employees through a system, taking note of whose hardware they’re using and how they’re using it. Managers can screen the utilization of company-purchased computers and cell phones during business hours. The issue of lawfulness arises when businesses screen what and how they use company-owned electronics outside of working hours. This is where remote time tracking software comes in handy.

In the event that an employee’s work is web-based, a software tool like Time Clock Wizard can be used to capture the times when the worker clocks in and out. This shows the amount of time they spend working and can reveal their work ethic. Contingent upon your organization’s needs, it is necessary to track billable hours or to be able to see how much time each employee spends on each assignment. Remote time tracking gives a non-intrusive but detailed production of how an employee works and can say a lot about the employee. Software that includes remote time tracking can help clarify questions that may come up when accounting.

Some of the monitoring methods which use remote time tracking software include keystroke logging, GPS tracking, and internet monitoring, which includes surveillance of employees’ web browsing, email, instant messaging and interaction on social networks.

Time Tracking Software

Time misrepresentation is undeniably an issue and businesses regularly neglect the harm that it can cause. Dishonest clock-ins on a timesheet or having an associate punch in or out for another employee can result in inaccuracies. Things start to not add up. These types of miscalculations can be avoided by using a time tracking software. Time Clock Software lists the different remote time tracking software tools that business owners should consider implementing.

One of these softwares which offers a supplementary virtual human resource management is Time Clock Wizard.

TCW offers 6 main services:

1. Building employee schedules
2. Employee Time Tracking
3. Employee Expense Reimbursements
4. Online Employee Time Clock
5. Paid Time Off (PTO) and Accrual
6. GPS Time Clock App

The human resource management division of a company requires a dependable time clock number cruncher that precisely calculates the number of hours an employee works during a given time period. An online time clock application presents various alternatives, highlights, and advantages to remote employees. They will have the ability to clock in or out by the utilization of a phone, tablet, or computer with a downloadable application.

Managers have access to timesheets to see when an employee clocks in and out thanks to the cloud-based storage of a time tracking software. The logged time an employee works is produced on individual time cards for each worker. This takes into account the finances and gives managers a better understanding of the ratio of work completed to work that needs to be done. This also gives managers more time to focus on priorities. Saving time is saving money.

Increased Productivity

Remote time tracking software lets you track time and become more mindful of how much time you spend completing a job. This gives managers a better understanding which, in turn, may act as motivation. When employees see that the productivity bar is up or rising, they feel good about their work ethic. The time tracking software acts as a positive reinforcement. By understanding how long it takes someone to do something, he or she also has a better idea of how much energy a particular task takes to accomplish.

Good productivity deserves praise and a raise.

Remote time tracking also displays each employee’s capabilities by detailing what they accomplish and how much time it takes them to do so. With remote time tracking software, you can see who is slacking, who needs more to do, and who’s moving mountains. It is a group effort, and each task devoted to each individual requires peer review. This plays a significant role in a business’s success.

Keeping track of your productivity can help with scheduling in the future. Being able to view a particular employee’s work ethic and how fast it takes them to complete an assignment helps managers forecast future and, possibly, bigger projects. Without remote time tracking software, monitoring a remote workforce can be taxing.

Accountability

Without remote time tracking software, things don’t always add up. There is a considerable amount of time spent on miscellaneous activities which are not very profitable. But by using the right software, you will give your team a better work ethic and help them stay more centered on completing assignments. To ensure your remote team achieves everything and more, the employees have to be honest and straightforward. This practice will guarantee that nobody flies under the radar and misses critical deadlines.

Keeping tabs on attendance is less challenging when you can electronically log the hours worked by staff. There will be no debate concerning hours which gives managers an idea of workers’ transparency. Managers can identify patterns like tardiness. By combating these issues while they are still minuscule, managers can eliminate unwanted behaviors.

Some things managers need to consider are:

• What kind of features does this software offer?
• Is it necessary to keep track of start and finish time or activity past office hours?
• Are there additional features like webcam services to detect who is punching in for who if not for themselves?
• Can this work with other programs we use?
• How much will all this cost?
• Which employees (if not all) should download the remote time tracking software on their devices?
• Is this going to be a lot of extra work?

To answer that last question, probably not. It will increase productivity and improve time management. Staff will recognize that there are consequences for not sticking to the agenda. Likewise, employees that are consistent with their time will appreciate the praise. Everybody should be held accountable for their actions.

For any business to succeed, employees should try to give their full attention and be consistent. If any worker is not taking his or her work seriously, he or she can be replaced. Another employee will be more than willing to take up the responsibility. Time tracking of employees guarantees that everyone is held accountable for their work ethic. Employees are responsible for their time and work. Time tracking software eliminates inaccuracies and reveals those who may not work with integrity.

Workers who increase productivity are deserving of praise, while workers who cannot work with the same energy need assistance. Remote time tracking helps business owners get a better perspective on accounts and why they make as much as they do.

The acknowledged time spent on different projects helps businesses raise the bar. Tracking work will indicate what a business needs to focus on whether it be assets, employees or just details about the employed workforce. Managers need to know who is working and who isn’t. Everyone should be on the same page. Estimating productivity helps project realistic accounts of future projects or transactions. One remote worker who travels may be less flexible than one who works from home. One may take more personal time. These are all variables to consider when keeping track of clocked times.

The post Top 5 Benefits to Remote Time Tracking appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

If owning a business that employs remote workers from all over the world, it is essential to get everyone on the same page using collaboration software. How else would these remote workers collaborate? Every worker in a team should have the latest updates of projects. This is a challenge for both business owners and workers—without collaboration software; it is difficult for workers to keep pace with upcoming assignments. Managing in-house or remote businesses is made more efficient and productive thanks to online collaboration software.

There are many collaboration utilities in today’s market—they are not specific to remote location workers. These are valuable collaborative platforms for all businesses that wish to better time management and efficiency. Online collaboration software allow teams in businesses to take full advantage of the resources provided to them when implementing projects, and promotes clear communication with the utmost collaboration.

How Can Online Collaboration Help Business?

Remote work has become increasingly popular—employees situated in different places globally work together and collaborate on a single project. This increasingly scattered workforce is becoming a vogue, making online collaboration all the more necessary. Online collaboration eliminates the gap between employees due to remoteness by serving as a communication outlet to run virtual meetings and ensure that everyone can work together at a preferred time, and, on the same page.

An online collaboration tool for business is helpful in collaborating because of the features it offers to employees. These features include uploading and posting of documents, communication between employees, e-mail and pop-up notifications, and calendar. Collaboration software are usually secure and business owners can  choose the right software to fit the businesses’ needs and purposes.

This communication platform can be a useful component of technologies such as meeting software, collaborative education technology, and video conferencing. There no longer a need for physical media—with online collaboration software, viewers can display screens to several others and provide interactive displays from a remote location.

Collaboration solutions provide managers the capability to monitor employee work ethic by access to employee time tracking and GPS tracking features. Employers can observe who is doing what, how long it takes he or she to do it, and where this assignment is being produced. This, especially, ensures accountability within a workplace. Integrity is essential– when there is one central system in which everyone can communicate fluently and freely with one another regarding messages and updates, everyone is on the same page. This, ultimately, ensures consistency and reliability. Knowing who of your employees actually cares about work and values the company by being able to monitor the employees through a system.

Choosing a Collaboration Solution in the Digital Workplace?

The best collaboration applications do not come with one specific standout feature, but are flexible and act as a number of different tools for employers. When an employer signs up for an account, he or she can customize the account with specifications that would be appropriate for his or her business, specifically. These can be decided from a menu of options and filtrations. Discussion boards, private messaging, time tracking, and even scheduling are examples of features that collaboration software may include.

Collaborative platforms are vital for proper communication. However, choosing the right collaboration tool specific to the team’s needs is even more important. Companies must choose a software which is appropriate for the business’ needs and which can serve the team properly. Here are some considerations business owners’ so take into when choosing a collaboration software:

• User- Friendliness

Who likes complications? No one wants to finagle a complex structure, especially at work. The software utility implemented should deliver services that do not take much time to adapt and get used to. Look for a software which is intuitive, acts as a digital worker, and is easy to navigate through.

• The Features Offered

Different online collaboration softwares offer outstanding services with many features. Choosing a software that is simple to navigate and maneuver and still has many features will improve efficiency. Digital work is usually more accurate and productive than work assembled by a human employee.

• Cloud-Based Technology

Collaboration software, which operates by saving information and data to a central cloud, will save business owners the headache of version controls. Information is less likely to get lost. Everything is stored online and easily accessible by employees situated anywhere.

• Check for Integration

Tools that seamlessly integrate and are compatible with various devices are key to convenient work. These important collaborative platforms emphasize a central form of communication. So, it is essential to pick the software that is best for your team.

List of Online Collaboration Tools Free

1. Project Management Tools

ProofHub

For project management, ProofHub is an advanced online task collaboration. It allows business owners to run their business, forecast future projects and become increasingly productive at work. Collaborate with teams and clients and use this tool to deliver projects in a timely manner. Assigning different roles and tasks to employees is made easy. Plan project activities easily by setting dependencies on assignments and proofreading of documents.

2. Communication Tools

Skype

Skype is a virtual instant messaging and calling application that can be integrated on any digital device that can connect to the internet. Audio and video calls between multiple users and devices makes Skype a popular communication tool. One employee can be chatting on his or her computer with another employee using a mobile device. Unify your team through group video calls and share your screens with each other to give a detailed presentation. This tool also acts as a phone number and allows users to make free calls locally and internationally.

3. Design Tools

Adobe

Adobe is a UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps and much more– on both Mac and Windows devices. All information is saved as a part of a creative cloud. Designers using Adobe can connect it with their favorite collaborative platforms including Dropbox and Avocode. Designers can switch from interactive to static prototypes at the tip of their fingers.

4. Documentation Tools and File Sharing Tools

Google Docs

Google docs is one of the most popular collaborative platforms. It encourages organization within a team allowing members to share, edit and publish documents, spreadsheets or presentations. Document creation and collaboration here is free and easy to use. Internet connection is not necessary. Enable the offline edit more to use or edit documents that are being shared.

Digital Whiteboard

Digital whiteboards are collaborative platforms that are presented in a two-dimensional display. The purpose of a digital whiteboard is to serve as a central visual that all employees have access to and serves as a collaborative system. Using a digital design, these are not the traditional whiteboards. Digital whiteboards involve the use of a stylus or other tool to create drawings, designs and even writing. These act as electronic whiteboards.

Digital displays connected to a computer are replacing the traditional office whiteboard. This allows people to make notes and display their screen. Rather than having a projector or a dry-erase board, anyone can “walk up” to the board and make notes using a computer or tablet and adding visuals. Latest innovations in the field require a single stylus and you can change the color and tip size of the “pen” to serve as different writing or editing utilities. These boards can be mounted on the wall or put on a mobile stand, just as a traditional whiteboard.

Microsoft Surface Hub

• Surface Hub acts as a super-sized computer in an office. The touchscreen comes with Windows 10 and Office Suite, as well as the whiteboard application.
• Equipped with Microsoft applications for business collaboration such as Skype for Business and Office 365.
• Its whiteboard allows users to draw, add and manipulate visuals freely in an infinitely expandable canvas.
• If the price of Surface Hub is not within the budget, the whiteboard application is now available for all Windows 10 devices. This allows users to turn their laptops or tablets into a miniature whiteboard.

Google Jamboard

• Integrate easily with all of Google’s G-Suite features and applications, such as Docs, Drive and Hangouts.
• Built-in with all the capabilities made available by G-Suite, which includes instantaneous sharing of documents, images and videos.
• This cloud-based platform saves drawings and notes to Google Drive, immediately.
• Tools provided allow users to maneuver drawings with your stylus, laser pointer, or even, a finger.
• These are the “jams,” which Google allows you to save and share with anyone.
• The app is available for both iOS and Android.

To find the perfect collaboration software for a business, first, it is key to identify the team’s distinctive collaboration needs. This can be according to the industry or type of business. Understanding the technological needs of an organization and streamlining communication can better facilitate teamwork. The perfect collaboration software offers features amplify your project management capabilities.

Collaboration is not a process, but the action carried out with the use of technology. With increased digitization, in today’s world, to communicate fluently with optimal collaboration is almost impossible without the appropriate collaboration solution.

The post Sharing A Vision: Collaborative Platforms appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

As anyone who’s tried it already knows, managing remote teams is a lot more difficult than it seems. Sometimes, more traditional managerial skills transfer into the virtual realm effectively. But the demands of virtual collaboration also require a variety of difficult adjustments. These adjustments are possible, however, and a little knowledge will go a long way toward developing effective managerial techniques.

This post is designed to help HR personnel and company managers reach the next level in managing remote teams. Members of the ever-growing remote workforce will also benefit from the tools and techniques we’re about to discuss.

Grasping a Slippery Concept: The Remote Team Defined

First, let’s define exactly what the term ‘remote team’ actually means. Remote teams actually come in an almost endless variety, but they do share a few things in common. For our purposes, a remote team is one that:

• Rarely, if ever, occupies the same physical space
• Is comprised of members who collaborate largely through digital means
• Combines the efforts of members whose collective work is truly interdependent

The key word here is ‘interdependent.’ The concept of interdependence is the hallmark of remote teams and the key to managing them well. In this context, you can think of interdependence as a high octane form of collaboration.  It denotes a work situation where every team member MUST be on the same page if they’re to fulfill their actual purpose and maximize results.

Mining the Enormous Potential of a Remote Workforce

Of course, this level of synchronization doesn’t happen all by itself.  In fact, it requires detailed advance planning, adaptable management techniques, and a versatile array of communication technology.  Putting all this together day in and day out certainly isn’t easy, but it’s exactly what remote team managers sign up for.  Fortunately, facilitating this type of high-level collaboration is also how managers the most impressive results.

Not surprisingly, the seamless virtual collaboration that remote teams need definitely has its plusses and minuses. Executed properly, virtual collaboration can stretch across the globe and achieve incredible results. This is why employing a remote workforce became such a common practice in the first place. In the next section, we’ll look at how to set the stage for seamless virtual collaboration.

Getting a Head Start on Great Virtual Collaboration

Most employees relish the idea of telecommuting instead of driving to the office for work. Unfortunately, far too many of them aren’t prepared to meet the challenges that telecommuting can bring once they get the chance. And even if you’re managing an experienced remote team, they’ll still need time to get used to their new roles.

That’s why you’ll want to set everyone up for success right from the beginning.  Follow these four suggestions to get your remote workforce off to a great start:

1. Arrange a face-to-face meeting as early as possible.

If at all possible, you should gather all your team members in the same physical space before actually getting to work. This will let them get acquainted in a more personal setting and help them establish the trust that every team needs for optimum productivity. It will also help set up the open communication you’ll need later on.

If an in-person meeting isn’t feasible, go with a few introductory video conferences instead. And whether you can get them to share the same physical space or not, regular meetings of one sort or another should be the norm going forward.

2. Clarify as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Ambiguity is the enemy of production, so make sure everyone’s clear on their responsibilities right from the start. But this means more than the simple assignment of tasks. You should also spell out the standard procedures for each type of task, as well as the design of your overall work system.

3. Create and enforce a regular schedule.

A regular work schedule is critical to your virtual team’s success. People love the flexibility that working remotely offers, but your team definitely needs structure to thrive. They also need to be available to collaborate with one another at certain times, so it’s vital to create a firm schedule as soon as possible and make sure everyone follows it.

4. Establish standards of communication.

Communication is paramount to the success of your remote team, but it has to be well-organized to be effective. That’s why communication standards should be a priority. Make sure your team has access to multiple communication channels. Then instruct them on which channels should be used for different kinds of messages.  Lastly, let everyone know the appropriate response time for messages between team members.

5. Encourage collaboration.

Remote employees often feel disconnected, so it’s important to encourage collaboration as soon as you’ve assembled your team. Start with proper introductions and follow up with a  few casual virtual meetings. Then cement this practice by leading them through virtual team building exercises. You’ll realize very quickly that this is the best way to facilitate better communication and establish mutual trust.

Teamwork Apps and More: Choosing the Best Tools For Working Remotely

It’s simple really– your remote team will need great technology if it’s going to succeed. The hard part is deciding what ‘great’ actually means. No manager works with an unlimited budget, so making good tech choices means striking a balance between cost, productivity, and your team’s actual needs.

Usually, this balance means sticking to the basics. Phone calls, emails, and instant messaging tools continue to be popular tools for good reason. If something’s worked for you in the past, stick with it.  Start off by identifying your needs. Then choose the simplest and most accessible tools that meet them.

Depending on the projects you’re assigned, you might need to increase your arsenal a bit. If so, don’t hesitate to explore more sophisticated options. But your choices should always be based upon your team’s abilities and needs.   With these guidelines in mind, let’s have a look at the basic types of tools you might want to consider.

Task Management Software

These are tools that enable you to plan, track, and allocate various tasks. More than simple ‘to-do lists,’ these tools let you divide a project into several subtasks and follow their progress. Perhaps most importantly, task management software is a great way to track the dependencies involved in everyone’s work.  Here are a few of the most popular task management tools.  You can compare a number of task management software suites by clicking right here.

Employee Scheduling Apps

Employee scheduling apps are designed to create, maintain, and manage your team schedule automatically. They can also be used to track vacation and sick time. More advanced scheduling apps can be integrated into payroll systems and allow users to exchange shifts. Humanity, Homebase, Deputy, and TimeForge are some of the most popular examples.

Video Conferencing Tools

No matter how geographically distributed your remote team is, video conferencing technology can still help you bring everyone together. Written communication is great as far as it goes, but we tend to absorb information much better when we have visual cues. By bringing everyone face-to-face (sort of), video conferencing makes this togetherness possible.  The options you have are practically endless, but a little research — along with those wonderful free trial periods– will help you find a platform that’s both affordable and appropriate to your needs.

Fifteen Tips for Managing Remote Teams

So you’ve assembled your team and directed them toward the revved-up collaboration that today’s global market requires. Now all you have to do is keep it going over the long haul.  Here are ten quick tips for managing remote teams and keeping everyone on the same collaborative page:

1. Clarify what you expect from everyone and what they can expect from you

2. Articulate your team’s mission statement and core values

3. Set clear and achievable goals

4. Establish reasonable time frames for every set of tasks

5. Track progress continuously and give counsel as needed

6. Be as available to your team as often as possible

7. Treat everyone with equal respect at all times without ‘buddying up’

8. Offer support, encouragement, and praise frequently

9. Meet with your team regularly, in both the individual and group setting

10. Offer supplementary training and one-on-one coaching

11. Encourage shared leadership by having rotating team members head up various tasks

12. Arrange for ‘water cooler’ time and make participation in it mandatory

13. Give regular performance evaluations and ask for employee feedback

14. Show that you care about their career development by pointing out their strengths and helping improve their problem areas

15. Act purposefully at all times, in a way that modulates your managerial style to fit your team’s mission, values, and vision

But remember– this is just a beginning. The tools we’ve discussed are proven to work but refine your techniques whenever the need arises. The value of this practice will shine through when the inevitable changes occur.

By following these guidelines, you’ll establish the proper collaborative tone and position your team for success. Consistency is key, but stay as flexible and responsive as possible for optimal results. And never forget the importance of constant collaboration. Getting everyone to work toward common goals will put you on the right path, but true collaboration will take you to levels of productivity you never thought possible.

The post Tools and Techniques for Managing Remote Teams appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

A virtual team is a collaboration of people who participate in group projects by making collaborative efforts, and for the purpose of achieving shared goals and objectives using communication technology. These include email, video and voice conferencing, instant messaging, fax, or simple phone calls. Understanding the importance of communication is the first step to implementing helpful virtual team building activities.

The flexibility of remote work is the essence of its productivity. Research shows that remote employees are willing to work for longer hours because they choose their schedules incorporating shorter breaks and less sick leaves. Remote workers of a virtual team can be a huge return on investment if they effectively work with each other.

In a traditional office environment, physical communication will allow employees to relate with their coworkers much easier. Engaging in small-talk about personal time over the weekends with work friends while standing by the copy machine or, maybe, while commencing by the coffee machine. These are essential components of building an office experience and sense of collaboration. However, virtual companies have to devote time to solidify relationships between workers using different tactics. They do not have the ability to schedule seasonal activities such as holiday dinners, intramural sports or movie days.

A Forbes study states that home workers are 13% more productive and have higher job satisfaction than those who work in an office everyday. However, managers of virtual teams may have to consider:

1. Lack of networking between coworkers
2. Lack of trust between coworkers
3. Differences in culture and tradition
4. Lack of consistency in direction

Managers can learn how employees communicate with one another when engaging in virtual team building activities and teach them how to learn to communicate properly. Managers can also prepare a course of training in how to employees should communicate with each other appropriately.

Thinking of Team Building Ideas?

Virtual team building ideas are meant for virtual teams of four employees or more. The purpose of virtual team building activities is the integration of peers. It is important for co-workers to build a working relationship with one another so they can collaborate on projects according to each employee’s unique skill. With these activities, you can recognize who would bring what to the table and how they do so. Using an instant messaging software for communication, co-workers can keep in contact with each other any time of the day.

Logical virtual team managers are always exploring ways to instill team spirit and trust into their teams, which heightens collaboration. Otherwise, leaders will find it challenging to build relationships and cultivate team cooperation.

The unilateral similarity that exists between all the issues listed above that managers of virtual teams face is ineffective communication. The right team of people of the right size, each taking an appropriate role need to communicate to ensure productivity.

With virtual team building activities, remote employees can collaborate and schedule who will work when by having an understanding of who may be a morning person and who works better at night. Deciding who works best with who can also help increase profits for a business.

4 Essentials You Need for a Virtual Team Building Activity:

1. Time Commitment

Set up a schedule in which you devote one day of the week to collaborate. This virtual meeting can help develop a routine and better time-management on top of proper communication. This does not necessarily have to be just for virtual team building activity but also for basic communication.

Create a mandatory scheduled 15 minutes conference call between team members so that they can engage with each other every week. Do not dictate what the subject of the phone call should be– let your employees build a foundation, figure out who they are to the company and learn about each other.

2. The Group Leader

The group facilitator is the democratic leader of communication between co-workers. If two coworkers are having trouble communicating with each other, they can refer to the group leader to improve interaction with one another.

3. Screen-Sharing/ Presentation Tool

This is for co-workers to view each other’s work and to present their own work to one another. It can help bring multiple eyes to one computer screen with audio, similar to a crowd of employees all peaking over a shoulder to see the computer screen to collaborate on a project, in person.

4. Conference Calling Tool

This is for co-workers to call each other or video chat with one another. They can express themselves verbally and a lot can be said from facial expression. Some people wear how they feel on their face. This allows everyone to be impeccable with his/her word.

Introduce a inter-team telephone chat appointments system – timings customized by each individual employee and how they prefer workloads – just for employees to learn about each other and build work relationships.

Team Building Activity Ideas

Team building activity ideas are easy to implement and increase return on investment for your team and for business. By using effective virtual team building activities, you can:

• Develop a level of trust and camaraderie between your co-workers
• Raise the solidity and familiarity among your co-workers
• Learn how your co-workers think and get to know them on both a personal and professional way

Jambar Team Building is a company based in Singapore that organize custom virtual team building activities and team bonding activities. They tailor the activities to the type, how long and the ultimate goal of the activity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoiHzl0BXg1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoqSoFThjrd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Jambar Instagram displays pictures of several companies that have used their service to develop a level of intimacy between coworkers.

Consider Virtual Team Icebreakers

• Introduce Yourself With a Picture.

Give your team members an idea of who you are and where you come from. Each of you has your own unique story and will bring something to your team’s table. Maybe, introduce your virtual team to your pet with a picture.

• Play Trivia.

You can learn how to work together as a team as well as get to know each other. Be a team player.

• Have a Group Session With Non-Work Related Questions.

Set aside a meeting for all of you to answer one question with each of your diverse answers. Create goals for yourself for the week and share them with your colleagues. At the next session, evaluate your takeaway for the week. Have you met your goals?

• Play True and False Statement Games.

Or 21 questions— appropriately. This isn’t a game of truth or dare you play with your friends when you’re 13. Consider this to, still, be a professional environment.

• Meet Up With People Who May Be Close in Proximity.

Try meeting someone in your virtual team face-to-face. Build a contact relationship and get to know your colleague on a more personal level.

Communication Between A Virtual Team

Slack is a interface in which coworkers can communicate with one another. Quick messages and updates can be sent as a memo through a direct message from one employee to another. Or–  an employer to an employee. With Slack, your email is displayed on your profile. With longer messages that need to be directed to someone, shoot him or her an email. If a third party needs to be included on a particular message sent, CC them. Communication between a virtual team is essential. Surprisingly, remote workers are more engaged and are better at communicating between a virtual team of than there is between workers in an office setting.

The task for virtual team leaders is tricky because of the lack of face-to-face interaction, whether verbal or in text. This challenges the camaraderie of the coworkers within a business.

Encouraging communication between employees improves telephone communications and skills since they have to verbally communicate with one another using a telephone to build support, shared ideas, compassion and connections between people. Growth in dexterities and developments becomes sharper since virtual team building activities are tailored for ‘conference’ calls linking many people at once. There is pressure in building verbal skills since the voice is the only medium of communication. Facial expression and hand gestures do not accompany the voice on a telephone call. A voice call can also better a workers ability to listen and interpret. Employees can battle their communication anxieties and nervous tendencies of publicly speaking. They will learn to  speak fluently and effectively to convey a message so that it is delivered to their fellow peers or people working with the company.

The post Virtual Team Building: Break the Ice appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

Companies also benefit when at least some of their staff is working remotely. They gain the advantage of a much larger talent pool, for instance. They can also save on things like utility costs and rents paid on shared physical space.

All in all, there’s certainly a lot to be gained from using a remote workforce. Better yet, both employees and their employers can be the beneficiaries. But you know where we’re going with this, right?

Yep, you guessed it– there’s a potential downside to employees working remotely as well. In other words, a remote workforce is something of a mixed bag. But here’s the real question: how does your company make sure it gets all that it can from its distributed teams?

Well, that’s the exact question we’re going to address in the following sections. Read on to find out everything you need to know about remote teams best practices.

The Challenges of Working Remotely

Let’s have a look at some of the challenges that working remotely presents:

• Remote workers are less accountable than their co-located counterparts
• The virtual workplace lacks the structure of the traditional office
• There is a lot less face-to-face contact in virtual environments
• The remote worker can end up feeling isolated and easily lose focus

This list could go on and on, but the upshot is pretty clear. Unless management takes certain preemptive actions, both morale and productivity can go south pretty quickly. Just the small sample we’ve presented above should make the possible downside of a remote workforce fairly clear.

But don’t worry– there are definitely ways to maximize the productivity of your virtual team. First, let’s have a look at the importance of establishing remote work guidelines.

Remote Work Guidelines Provide Direction and Structure

To avoid the delays, redundancies, and other work lags that can slow down your virtual team, it’s best to have specific remote work guidelines in place. And while you’ll need to stay flexible, it’s still a good idea to establish these guidelines in advance. Otherwise, confusion will reign and productivity will suffer.

Address these four questions when creating remote work guidelines:

1.  What positions are eligible for remote work?

The size of the remote workforce has grown a lot over the past several years.  But companies have discovered that some employees must be co-located to work together effectively.  Examine your standard workflow and operating procedures carefully to discover which positions can (and can’t) be executed properly from home.  

Once this analysis is complete, make the results of it explicit in your hiring practice statement. That way, you can prevent unnecessary inquiries about remote work and save time.

2.  What are your rules for responsiveness?

Here’s a great way to eliminate the frustration of unmet expectations. Make specific rules for employee response time. Decide in advance if co-workers must respond to one another immediately or if a longer time frame will be allowed. With rare exceptions, these should only apply during preset work hours, not twenty-four hours a day.

Many virtual teams get bogged down in ‘communication clutter.’ This is a situation that arises when there are too many messages going across one channel.  Communication clutter inevitably results in irritated staff, wasted time, and buried messages. Make sure everyone knows which channel to us for what type of communication and you can avoid all this.

3.  What security rules does everyone need to follow?

Security issues can be a huge problem in a remote workforce if you’re not careful.  Your company might work on a highly secure network, but nothing is guaranteed once information leaves the office.  

Working in public spaces makes both company and client information very vulnerable. This is why many companies don’t allow remote employees to work in public spaces in the first place.  But whatever you decide, make sure it’s clear in your security policy.

4.  What are the availability requirements for your remote workers?

Flexibility is one of the top advantages to working remotely, but that doesn’t mean it can be a free-for-all.  There are times when certain team members– if not everyone– should work simultaneously.  Or you might need to split people into shifts.  But whatever the case, be very clear right up front about your availability expectations.

Remote work guidelines are essential for virtual teams.  Unmet expectations are a leadership failure, so these guidelines must include specifics on what you expect from your staff and what they should expect in return.

Each person learns differently, works differently, and communicates differently. So these guidelines need to be rigid enough to relay expectations, yet remain fluid enough to take the employee’s individual style and schedule into account.

Six Great Tips For Working Remotely

A remote work scenario can be great for everyone involved, but it doesn’t come easily to everyone.  Managers must put their employees in a position to succeed.  That’s why we’ve compiled this list of tips for working remotely.  Here are six ways to turn your remote workplace a win-win proposition:

1.  Set a firm schedule and stick to it

Structure matters, especially in the virtual workplace.  Many virtual teams fail because members can’t motivate themselves, but it’s up to you to make the most of what you have.  So do your staff a favor and set up a regular work schedule and insist that everyone follow it.

It’s fine to allow a little wiggle room whenever it’s feasible, but consistency is important to productivity.  A set schedule will also facilitate good communication.  You and your staff need to know when someone is reachable.

2.  Allow adequate break time

Everyone needs a little break now and then. And working remotely is no exception to this universal rule.  Even staring at a screen can be mentally and physically taxing.

So let employees schedule 2-3 times per day to get up, walk away from their computer, and rest their eyes on something other than a tablet, phone, or a monitor. This time can be used to go for a short walk, read or write something light-hearted, or even meditate.

3.  Workspaces should NOT be in the bedroom   

Separation of work and sleep space is key. This is about your employee implicitly telling their brain that the bedroom is for sleeping, and the office is for working. Keeping both spaces separate will help optimize your employees’ productivity while on the clock.

4.  Communicate expectations clearly       

Remote workers lack many things that co-located employees take for granted.  They don’t have a boss or a co-worker sitting next to them, for instance.  But as appealing as that they may sound, it can also cause problems.  Things like co-workers and bosses remind people of deadlines and keep them on task.

The absence of these things means you have to go out of your way to communicate your expectations.  Every assignment needs a due date, and there are instructions for every task.  Your team members need to know what these parameters are without having to ask.

5.  Interact with your team as much as you can   

No matter how large (or small) your remote workforce is, personal contact is incredibly important.  This holds true in the virtual setting as well as the physical office.  The only real difference between the two is that the virtual setting requires a little more planning and effort.

Schedule regular phone calls or video chats with your team members.  You should address them both individually and in groups.  The one-on-one time will help the team member feel less isolated and allow time for questions, concerns, and any necessary guidance.

The group sessions will allow for social interaction, check-ins, and project updates.  Employees need to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, and it’s up to you to help make this happen.

6. Use a timesheet app 

You should establish what is expected from your staff in terms of their work schedule right when they’re hired. Whether they are salaried or hourly, the amount of time they are expected to work—and when—needs to be communicated clearly.  

Physical offices have the benefit of a time clock and supervision to make sure employees are where they’re supposed to be.  Virtual offices obviously don’t have these things, so many companies have started to use timesheet apps and other monitoring technology.  

There are many different platforms available, but the right choice depends upon your needs.  Most companies prefer platforms that are reliable and easy to use.  Take a little time to explore your options and you’re sure to find a technology that fits.

Communication is Key to Remote Teams Best Practices

If you haven’t already noticed, good communication is a pretty big deal in the virtual workplace.  This is true for any team in any environment, but you have to put in a little extra effort when a team doesn’t work face to face on a daily basis.  

Always remember– things like tone and a sense of urgency do not translate well via written communication.  If you send an important message to an employee, don’t just assume they’ve received it and are already on task.  Instead, require confirmation that the message was received in every instance.

Keep your lines of communication open with regularly scheduled video conferences.  These conferences should happen at least once a week.  You can use them for a number of different work and non-work related purposes, but fun group activities are a productive and stress-free way for employees to sharpen their communication skills.

No one likes an inbox cluttered with unnecessary questions or comments, but employees should feel free to reach out with questions or concerns no matter how busy you are.  You should also reach out to your individual staff frequently, either over the phone or during a brief video chat.  

Communication in the virtual workplace isn’t easy, but it’s the only way to facilitate all the practices we’ve outlined above.  By combining good communication, firm guidelines, and simple common sense, you can help deliver a remote work experience that’s rewarding for everyone involved.

The post Creating The Best Practices For Working Remotely appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

But if talented people aren’t enough to create a successful virtual team, what else is required?  Well, the short (but not particularly helpful) answer is lots of things. To tell the truth, it would be impossible to compile even a partial list of everything a virtual team needs to succeed. The main reason such a list would be impossible to make is that every virtual team is different. They’re as different as the people who comprise them, and every one of them has a different set of needs.

So what’s the solution? If every virtual team has a different set of needs, how are the managers and HR departments of global companies supposed to fulfill them?  Well, that’s the exact question we’re here to answer.  In the following sections, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the importance of company culture.  You’ll see how important a positive work environment is when working in a virtual team, as well as how to create a company culture that works.

We’ll begin by talking about what a company or team culture actually is.  As you read on, keep in mind that for our purposes that the terms company, corporate, team, and organizational culture are more or less interchangeable.

So What Exactly is Corporate Culture?

There’s actually a very good reason that so many people talk about corporate culture without being able to explain what it means.  Think about the concept of culture in general for a moment and this reason should become apparent.

Culture is everywhere we look.  It’s online, in our homes, and in all the media we use to inform or entertain ourselves.  It’s in our political climate and our personal relationships.  It’s in our concepts of beauty, morality, and history as well.  In fact, there are some philosopher types who think pretty much everything we do involves culture in one way or another.

To put it more simply, it’s difficult to define culture because we’re so bound up in it.  This might sound silly, but asking someone to explain their culture is kind of like asking a fish to tell you what water is.  And this same difficulty applies to define workplace culture as well.  But as you’ll see in the following section, you can definitely get a firm grasp on the essentials of company culture.

But remember– This is not an academic exercise. Broadly speaking, exploring your company culture serves three very practical purposes:

1. Using the general characteristics of organizational culture as a lens to get a closer look at your own

2. Assessing your current team culture

3. Beginning to tweak certain aspects of your culture to build a successful virtual team

With these in mind, let’s have a look at the general characteristics of organizational culture.

Five Elements of Team Culture

How to Create Company Culture?

There are many ways to categorize the various elements that make up a culture. Here, we’ll be using a five-part division that will allow you to recognize and assess your corporate culture. Here are the five factors to consider:

1.  Physical Environment of The Workspace

It might seem odd to talk about the physical environment of a virtual workplace, but use your imagination a little and you’ll see how the term actually does apply. Since your virtual team is made up of remote members, you should encourage them to arrange their workspace in a professional and well-organized manner. Just what this means will be different for each member, but most people work best in a tidy, comfortable environment that gives them easy access to the resources they need to perform their daily work. Personalizing their workspace won’t hurt either.

There are things you can do on your end as well. Obviously, you’ll be using a variety of communication technologies to bring people together. You’ll also need various software platforms for your people’s necessary collaborative work. For communication technology, the keys are simplicity and ease of access. You’ll also want to ensure that your team members feel equally included during group meetings, etc.

You should use a similar approach to work platforms as well. Simplicity and easy access are important here too. Another way to improve the virtual environment is to ensure that there is an equal allocation of space within these platforms.

2.  The Character of Your Team Members

You’ll be working with a number of distinct personalities, so it’s critical that you understand the individual characteristics that inform interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Here’s an incomplete but useful list of these character traits:

• value and belief systems
• personal background and life/work experience
• non-work related interests
• training and level of competence
• emotional intelligence and adaptability

Although your people will be working from remote locations, these character traits will still factor into their ability to work together efficiently. Maximizing efficiency begins with understanding your people.  Assessing these character traits will also help you combine the right mix of people into subgroups and make good hiring decisions.

3.  Communication Style  

Good communication is absolutely essential to a successful virtual team. In order to assess and improve the communication within your virtual team, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do your virtual team members communicate with one another?  Do they have specific channels to use for different kinds of communication?
• In what ways do you share information with your team members?  Do they receive pertinent information promptly?
• Do managers communicate with team members directly?  How often?
• How much one-on-one communication is there between managers and virtual team members?
•  How frequently does your management team acknowledge the accomplishments of individual members and the team as a whole?
• Have you provided your team with a forum for non-work related social interaction?

Answer these questions and you’ll have an excellent grasp of your virtual team’s communication style. They’ll also help you establish communication standards and increase morale.  Clarity, mutual respect, and precision should be your governing principles here.

4.  Shared Values and Goals  

This is another area where familiarity with your team members will improve your company culture and increase productivity. Your people will always have different value systems, but it’s still important to have areas of overlap in the workplace. There is an intimate relationship between value systems and motivation, so it’s a good idea to establish meaningful connections between individual beliefs and your team’s overall vision.

Here’s what you can do to establish these connections.  The first thing is to ensure that your team values are clear and accessible.  You’ll also need to see to it that everyone is familiar with your company’s mission statement.  Hint: if you don’t have an explicit mission statement, get busy on creating one right away.

The next step involves integrating the respective value systems of your team members into a coherent whole. It’s difficult to know how this process will play out in advance, but this is where understanding the character of your people plays a very important role. By combining their input with the qualities your company already values, you can create a ‘statement of team values’ for everyone to use as a reference point. And while certain compromises might be required, making these values explicit is the best way to point out the necessary adjustments.

Virtual team members should always be aware of their short and long-term goals. This awareness will help them self-assess their attitudes, habits, and performance. Making your staff aware of company goals will also help you keep them accountable and assist you in the evaluation process.

5.  Management Style

Management style is a huge factor in the creation of a positive workplace culture. In fact, the relationships that exist between managers and the members of their virtual teams might be the most determining factor of your company culture. The reason for this is fairly simple– the way your management team interacts with their staff sets a precedent that everyone else is likely to follow.

Even if they’re not aware of it, employees take their cues from management’s behavior. This ensures that managers can (and inevitably will) have a profound impact on their office dynamic. This impact can be positive or negative, depending on the type of example an individual manager sets.  As long as the manager acts in a way that transmits positivity, focus, and respect, the influence they exert will be a net gain. But if they fail on any of these fronts, both morale and productivity are bound to suffer.

Here are three ways to ensure that your team managers contribute to your company culture in a positive way:

Help your managers recognize their management style and modify as necessary

Describe the managerial techniques that best embody your company’s mission

Track the ways in which your managers do (or don’t) embody your company’s mission and help them address any areas of deficiency

Importance of Company Culture to a Successful Virtual Team

The importance of a positive company culture to a successful virtual team cannot be overestimated. Your workplace culture defines you in the minds of your staff and your customers both. It establishes boundaries, sets expectations, and is an all-encompassing way to motivate your people.Just as importantly, a positive workplace culture will give your company the reputation it needs to attract and retain the very best employees. By putting the best people in the best conditions will ensure your success for years into the future.

Creating a positive team culture does require planning, consistent effort, and a fair amount of time. This is something you’ll need to bear in mind at all times. Fortunately, the process gets easier as you go along. You see, a positive workplace culture that builds on itself once you set it in motion. Now that you understand how to start building the culture your company deserves, all that remains is to take action.

The post Company Culture and a Successful Virtual Team appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

There was a time when an occasional video conference and a few mass emails sufficed to bring people from different locations together, but those days are long gone. As most HR departments and managers have already learned, today’s global companies have to go much further.

That’s why we’re presenting this comprehensive guide to managing virtual teams effectively. A remote workforce is now the rule and not the exception, and this sea change has forced companies to navigate previously uncharted territory. This guide provides HR departments and management teams with a blueprint for doing just that. By examining a wide variety of the complexities involved in managing virtual teams, this guide will give company leaders the tools that they need for long-term success.

What is a Virtual Team?

A rich understanding of the relatively new term ‘virtual team‘ is essential to managing a remote workforce. Typically, the term refers to a group of employees who collaborate on projects from different geographic locations. Unlike traditional work groups, virtual teams might never meet in person. Instead, they rely on a variety of digital technologies to communicate, exchange ideas, and work toward common goals.

Virtual teams differ from traditional teams in other ways as well.  Contrasting traditional and virtual teams will go a long way toward helping HR departments and management teams understand this constantly evolving term. But first, let’s have a look at the types of virtual teams and the different ways they work to achieve their goals.

Types of Virtual Teams

Broadly speaking, there are two distinct types of virtual teams:

• Localized Virtual Teams: These are teams whose members usually work for the same company.  The size of these companies varies, as does their employees’ degree of geographic distribution. But the word ‘local’ can be a little misleading.  While some localized virtual teams might work in the same city or building, others may collaborate from locations all over the world.  Whatever the case, companies use various forms of telecommunication to cross physical and geographic barriers and maximize productivity.
• Globalized Virtual Teams: Globalized virtual team members usually work from remote locations all over the world.  The key difference between global virtual teams and local ones is that members often work for different companies. This collective effort allows these companies to pool their resources to work toward shared goals.

Virtual teams can (and often are) divided into further subgroups, but the local vs. global distinction makes for an excellent starting point.  It’s important, however, to understand that virtual teams aren’t only distributed across geographical locations. In fact, there are several criteria by which virtual teams can be divided into further subgroups. The simplest way to understand these criteria is by looking at a quick list of the typical subgroups and their functions.

Further Divisions of Virtual Teams

Here are six of the most common subtypes of virtual teams:

• Management teams: These are groups that work for the same company and collaborate on a regular basis. The membership of virtual management teams is relatively stable.
• Production teams: Production teams have a firmly defined membership and collaborate on regularly occurring and continuous tasks, usually within a specific company department.
• Project Development teams: These teams carry out specific company projects for a finite period of time. The projects or products these teams work on are variable and membership is usually quite fluid.
• Service Teams: These are customer or user support teams.  They provide internal or external support for a given set of products or services, usually on an around the clock basis.
• Parallel Teams: These teams are usually short-lived and have a well-defined membership.  Typically, they work in conjunction with other teams, reviewing processes and making recommendations for improvements in quality or efficiency.
• Network Teams: One of the most common types of virtual teams. Networked teams are comprised of members who collaborate to achieve a specific shared goal.  The membership of networked teams is often widely distributed and very fluid.

As you can see by these fine-grained divisions, companies typically form virtual teams around a specific purpose. This presents a stark contrast to more traditional workgroups, which usually have a fairly stable membership and perform multiple functions within a company. A closer look at these divisions demonstrates how effective virtual teams can be in terms of the division of labor. Instead of asking team members to play constantly changing roles, managers can form (and dissolve) virtual teams according to the members’ area of specialization.

This leads naturally to the advantages and disadvantages that are inherent to virtual teams and the employ of a remote workforce in general. We’ll explore these in the following sections.

Pros and Cons of a Remote Workforce

Like any organizational structure, a remote workforce has both advantages and disadvantages for companies that utilize them. Understanding these will assist HR departments and management teams to organize and run their remote staff in optimal ways. Here are a few of the most significant advantages of working with and managing virtual teams.

• Physical cost savings: This is perhaps the most significant advantage of using a remote workforce. Companies that employ virtual teams can eliminate large expenditures in a variety of traditionally costly areas. These areas include travel expenses, real estate costs, and utility bills. Additionally, the lower wages paid in certain geographic areas allows companies to reduce their overall salary costs.
• Wider Talent Pool: With virtual teams, companies can utilize talent from all over the globe. This allows them to gather the various forms of expertise necessary to a given project in a single virtual space. Once this happens, there is a marked increase in information sharing and innovation. Collecting this level of talent in one place also helps companies implement best practices more easily.
• Higher Productivity: By assembling a virtual team, HR departments allow members to sharpen their focus and stay on task. And because many virtual teams have decision-making power, they don’t have to navigate the difficult waters of complex bureaucracies before taking action. Taken together, these factors lead to increased productivity and higher profits.
• More Rapid Product Development: The geographic distribution of virtual teams means that members often work in different time zones. This allows teams to work on projects around the clock and speeds up product development significantly.  With this faster project development, companies can bring their products to market much more quickly and respond to changing market demands in real time.
• Improved Opportunities and Employee Retention: For a variety of reasons, remote jobs are appealing to many talented people. Usually, these talented employees are restricted in terms of mobility for one reason or another or are reluctant to relocate.  Companies that rely on a remote workforce can retain these talented people by allowing them to stay closer to home without barring them from advancement opportunities. Employee retention is a huge factor in a company’s success, and those who rely on a remote workforce can maximize the benefits of keeping good people.

Disadvantages of a Remote Workforce

In order to maximize the benefits of their remote workforce, HR departments must understand the inherent disadvantages of operating and managing virtual teams. This is because it allows them to adopt optimal hiring practices and organizational strategies.  Similarly, management teams need to recognize these disadvantages as well. Here are a few of the most salient disadvantages of relying on a remote workforce:

• Technology costs: Managing virtual teams effectively requires the use of highly advanced communication technologies. These technologies are constantly changing and can include anything from specialized intranet systems, instant messaging applications, and advanced modes of video conferencing.  The upfront cost of these technologies can be very high, not to mention the expense of maintaining and upgrading them.
• Conflicts and Poor Collaboration: Face to face encounters are an important factor in communication. Therefore, it’s not surprising that virtual teams can run into problems in this area. The wide geographic distribution of a remote workforce often exacerbates these difficulties. Among other things, this is due to cultural differences and certain language barriers. But whatever the reasons, these breakdowns in communication and lead to counterproductive conflicts and mistrust. These conflicts clearly run counter to the purpose of working on virtual teams, so it’s imperative that HR personnel and managers work to preempt them as much as possible.
• Social Isolation of Team Members: Working on a virtual team can lead to feelings of social isolation, which can decrease morale and overall productivity. Studies have shown that non-work related contact with co-workers can improve the quality of collaborative efforts, so managers should create opportunities for these types of interaction as often as possible.
• Reduced Team Cohesiveness: For a variety of reasons, virtual teams often become more fragmented than their space-sharing counterparts. This can lead to redundancies, inefficiency, and unresponsiveness. This lack of cohesion can be especially problematic when an emergency or crisis arises. It’s not as though you can easily call an impromptu meeting when your staff works in five different time zones, so this is another situation that managers must plan for in advance.

Fortunately, these potential difficulties can be overcome. With proper hiring practices, effective communication, and specialized management techniques, the downsides of virtual teams can be greatly diminished. In the next section, we’ll have a look at how to communicate effectively in the virtual workplace.

Communication is Everything

Communication is key to every company’s success and this includes those who rely on a remote workforce. In fact, clear communication is even more important when you’re managing employees who are spread out all over the world. There are several reasons for this increased importance:

• Virtual team members tend to communicate with one another less frequently
• Virtual communication is less nuanced than face-to-face interaction
• Virtual communication doesn’t provide context clues or convey body language
• Gauging employees’ emotional states and degrees of engagement is more difficult in virtual settings

Although this list is far from exhaustive, it should still give you a good idea of the communication difficulties that are inherent in virtual settings. More importantly, it should motivate you to put mechanisms in place to reduce or eliminate these difficulties before they arise. Let’s have a look at some ideas that have worked for other remote companies.

Improving Communication Within Remote Companies

Here are six strategies you can implement to facilitate good communication within your remote workforce:

1. Formulate a set of guiding principles to start everyone off on the same page.

These principles should show everyone how the team will operate and clarify the team’s goals. And while it’s important that everyone understand their individual roles, this document should clarify processes and tasks as well. In short, your guiding principles should leave as little as possible to chance.

2. Establish a ‘communication charter’ and stick to it.

Consistency and discipline are crucial to good communication, especially in virtual settings. A pre-established agreement on how the team will communicate is the best way to bring these qualities about. The exact nature of the charter will depend on your team’s specific needs, but it should instruct everyone on what mode of communication they should use in varying scenarios.

3. Utilize the communication technologies that best fit your needs. 

Today’s virtual teams have a staggering array of technologies available to them, including email systems, dedicated chat platforms, and web/video conferencing.  Every company’s communication needs differ, so choose from these options wisely. Go with simplicity, reliability, and ease of access over bells, whistles, and other features you may never use.

4. Bring the team as close together as possible as early as possible.

If at all possible, it’s best for your virtual team to be in the same physical space at some point early on. This will give them time to get to know one another in a non-work environment and help clear any clogged lines of communication beforehand. If sharing a physical space isn’t feasible, then invest in virtual team building workshops that focus on building relationships and trust.

5. Schedule regular tele-meetings that all members attend.

Regular meetings will go a long way to maintaining your virtual team’s cohesion and maximizing productivity. You can use this time to problem solve, exchange ideas, and explore alternate strategies. These meetings are also a great way for your team members to reconnect and to assess group performance.

6.   Meet with individual team members often.

One on one interactions between managers and team members are essential to any successful team, so don’t forget to schedule meetings with your individual staff.  It goes without saying that you can use these meetings for performance reviews and feedback, but the best virtual team leaders also utilize one on one time to get to know their people and keep them connected to the larger plan.

These guidelines are merely a start, but by following a particularized version of them, your team will be in a great position to communicate at optimal levels. They’ll also keep your team’s communication open and inclusive, two qualities that help spark innovation and improve collaboration. Good communication also plays a huge role in creating a positive workplace culture, something every virtual team needs to reach its potential.  Next, we’ll find out what a positive workplace culture looks like in the virtual setting.

Remote Companies and Workplace Culture

With remote positions becoming more and more common, there is an increasing need for employers to establish positive workplace cultures in the virtual setting. While companies with co-located teams can pretend– at least for a while– that a positive work environment will happen all by itself, virtual team leaders can’t afford such simplistic delusions. Virtual team managers– in conjunction with HR departments– must make a pointed effort to develop and maintain a workplace culture that fosters success.

The question is how to go about it.  How can an employer possibly create a positive culture when their team members are separated by thousands of miles and might never meet in person? Although it’s not easy, it’s definitely something that can be accomplished.  The specific elements of a given workplace culture vary depending on your company’s makeup, but here are four things to keep in mind when trying to build a productive virtual work environment.

1. Workplace Culture is About a Mindset

It’s important to understand that workplace culture is pervasive. This means that it’s active throughout your virtual setting, but not localized in any particular area. For comparison, think about a more traditional office setting.

Though many have tried simplistic tactics like this, you can’t just institute ‘Casual Fridays,’ or stick a fancy espresso machine in the break room and call that a workplace culture. Company culture is a concept that runs much deeper than that in every setting, virtual offices included.

To put it briefly, workplace culture is something you have to take seriously and be intentional about. Building a productive work environment takes time, patience, and responsiveness. The particulars are sometimes difficult to know in advance, but if you take this fine-grained approach, they’ll be that much more likely to fall into place.

2. Workplace Culture is About Values

Sometimes, even the most carefully assembled virtual teams don’t perform up to expectations. You have talented people, top-notch technology, and streamlined processes, but something just isn’t right. After assessing the individual components of your team, you realize that they’re just not on the same page somehow. They’re working at cross purposes with one another, missing important deadlines, and going in every direction at once.

This situation can seem very mysterious, but it often boils down to lack of direction. In other words, less than optimal team productivity often stems from a lack of shared values.  Shared values are a great way to lead a team in the right direction, largely because they lend meaning and purpose to your staff’s daily work. Sounds great, right?  Imagine how effective your team could be if they valued the same things and were invested in your company’s vision.

Well, imagination won’t be necessary if your company’s values are spelled out explicitly and you can get everyone to ‘buy in.’ It’s at this point that you have to ask yourself some tough questions. Does your company operate on the basis of explicit corporate values?  And if so, what are they? Are the well-defined and transparent? Lastly, does your staff understand and share these values?

If the answers to these questions are unsatisfying, then your path is clear.  It’s time to work with your virtual team members to formulate company values that are clear, authentic, and capable of being put into action. Every company will end up with different results, but the goal is to spell out a half dozen (or so) principles that fuel and act as a barometer for your daily work. And because these values are the result of a collaborative process, it will be that much more likely that everyone will buy in.

3.  Workplace Culture is About How You Work

Again, your virtual workplace culture is operative in everything you do, whether you realize it or not. It’s present in how your team members communicate with one another. It’s in the way you speak to your customers, vendors, and other associated entities as well.

Put simply, workplace culture is largely defined by the relationships that exist within your organization.  Fostering good relationships can be a bit tricky in the virtual workplace, but it’s still management’s responsibility to facilitate them.  Making space for these relationships begins with knowing your people. You can’t fulfill someone’s personal or professional needs until you know what they are, so take the time to get to know your people individually.

Equipped with this more intimate knowledge, you’ll be in a much better position to establish trust between you and your staff.  And once you bring them into frequent contact with one another, this trust will spread and grow between your individual team members.  And as a result of this trust, team members will become much more invested in your company’s success.  They’ll start to understand that their own success depends upon the achievements of the group.

4.  Workplace Culture is About Inclusion

When managing people in remote positions, you have to work diligently to make sure everyone feels appreciated, respected, and included.  To a certain extent, this positive vibe will arise naturally from already established components of workplace culture.  We’ve already mentioned the positive effects of collaborating on company values and facilitating good relationships.  But for optimal levels of morale and productivity, remote managers have to go even further to make everyone feel at home.

People work better when they feel included.  It helps them to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves and gives their work life meaning.  One great way to increase your staff’s feelings of inclusion is simply by paying attention. Pay close attention when they tell you who they are and what their goals are.  Listen when they vent their frustrations or share their ideas.  Ask questions and listen carefully to the answers.

It also helps to ask for them to participate in important company decisions. This lets them feel like they’re in control of their work destiny and that their experience matters. Obviously, there are times when you have to act unilaterally, but take your employees ideas into consideration as often as you can.

To sum up, your virtual office has a culture whether you’re aware of it or not. But it’s not a good sign if you don’t know what that culture consists of.  In fact, this lack of awareness practically guarantees that your workplace culture is less than ideal.  A positive workplace culture can only happen by design and through consistent effort. And this is as true in the virtual workplace as it is in more traditional settings.

Building Your Virtual Team

Now that we’ve explored the most general characteristics of the growing remote workforce, it’s time to look at some specifics. And that means we’re going to be talking about human beings. Despite the marvelous new communication technologies remote companies require, a company is only as good as the people who work for it. And although character traits like honesty, integrity, dedication, will always be highly prized, finding ‘the right people’ for your remote workforce uses a very different yardstick.

In the following sections, we’ll discuss the specific challenges remote companies face when building their virtual teams. We’ll also suggest methods that can meet these challenges into 2019 and beyond.

Finding the Right People

Not everyone is cut out for working on a virtual team. Although some employees thrive on the independence and flexibility virtual work offers, others will shut down because of isolation, aimlessness, or discomfort with certain technologies. Due to a variety of unfortunate circumstances, some of this latter type end up doing virtual work despite their lack of fitness for it. It may or may not be possible to replace these people, but improvement is always possible.

In some cases, you might be fortunate enough to build your team from the ground up. But whatever your constraints are, it’s imperative that you control team membership as much as you can. Before you can exert this control in a productive way, you’ll need to know what qualities your people should embody and what talents play well in the virtual setting. Here are five keys to building the ideal team:

1. Team members must have excellent communication skills. This means they have to be precise in a variety of media and willing to adapt to others’ communication styles when the need arises. Communication is always a two-way street, but the best virtual team members assume more than their share of responsibility.
2. To be an effective part of a virtual team, an employee has to be well disciplined and a self-starter. If an employee needs a great deal of supervision or oversight, they probably won’t mesh well with a virtual team. Too much of the team’s success hinges on meeting deadlines, so there just isn’t room for employees who can’t stay focused on their own.
3. The ideal virtual team member has a high emotional IQ. Forming highly productive relationships is difficult even in a face-to-face setting, but it’s even more so when staff members don’t share the same physical space. Therefore, finding flexible, mature people is crucial to the success of your virtual team. Although every team has different needs, it’s usually best to look for people who work well under pressure, resolve conflicts generously, and demonstrate sensitivity to varying needs.
4. By definition, virtual teams rely on a variety of advanced technologies to do their daily work. Obviously, this means that you’ll want to choose people who have a certain level of technical proficiency, especially with the tools your team will be using most often.  Make sure to assess prospective team members’ technological competence before making any decisions. But keep in mind that someone who’s teachable can be just as valuable as an employee that has advanced tech knowledge right from the start.
5. Keep your team as small as possible without making it impossible to achieve your goals. Smaller teams tend to be more motivated and productive than larger ones, especially in the virtual setting. As the size of your team increases, the already difficult task of communication becomes even harder, and it’s much easier to build positive relationships within a smaller group.

If you inherit an already existing team, you’ll need to make adjustments wherever you can. Although a small number of employees simply refuse to change, most will respond to positive leadership in kind. These five keys will also prove to be helpful when you have the luxury of building your team from scratch, a topic we’ll address in the next section.

Building Your Virtual Team From Scratch

Sometimes, managers are asked to head up product development teams, improve upon an outmoded process, or to solve a much more specific problem. And some of these managers are given more or less free rein when it comes to choosing their team members. The guidelines listed above will be helpful in this regard, but here are three tangible ways to build your ideal virtual team from scratch.

1. Research the technical skills and personal characteristics you’ll need beforehand.

We already know that some employees are a better fit for virtual teams than others. The general guidelines above outline the types of people that tend to do well in such groups. But while they’re an excellent way to begin, consulting with colleagues inside and outside your industry will also be greatly beneficial. You can also access written reports about selecting a virtual team to beef up your knowledge. These sources will give you insights that are specific to the type of team you need to create.

After gathering this information, use it to draw up a very specific list of the skills, training, and personal qualities your team members will need to maximize your chance of success. You can then use this list as an assessment tool for prospective members.

2. Locate prospective team members who possess these desired skills and personality traits.

This is where experience and networking skills come to the fore. Remember– you’re looking for the best possible people for a very specific type of project. So this is the time to bring every resource you have to the table and locate the best people out there.

Use the network you’ve developed over the years to search for people who meet the requirements on your list.  You’ll need to search both inside and outside your company to locate the very best, but do keep in mind that some geographic restrictions may still apply.

3. Begin recruiting your remote team.

By this time, you should have a fairly sizable list of appealing candidates. The way you approach these candidates will depend on the situation. You’ll contact many of your prospects directly, but it’s probably better to work through a fellow supervisor or other colleague if you’re considering someone who works for your company already.

If the candidate is someone outside your organization or someone you’ve never worked with before, your first contact should be as personal as possible– an in-person meeting if possible, or at least a phone call instead of an email.  This will accomplish multiple goals at once. First, it will show that you value meeting them. Second, it will better demonstrate the importance of your project and the opportunity you’re presenting them with.  Lastly, a more personal encounter will give you a much better feel for how they might fit your needs and vice versa.

There’s another important thing to keep in mind as well. The prospects you’re sizing up will be sizing you up as well.  If they’ve satisfied the criteria you’ve drawn up, you can bet they have other attractive remote employment opportunities as well. This means that you should come prepared. You should be able to answer any questions they have quickly and firmly. This includes information on compensation packages, expectations, and the kind of teammates your prospect can expect to be working with.

Choose Technology Wisely

As we’ve already said, people are still the key drivers of your company’s success. But let’s face it– even more traditional teams need access to advanced yet accessible technology. And it should go without saying that the right tech is even more important in the virtual setting. Here are a few guidelines to follow when considering your team’s tech options.

Consider your needs in advance: If you’ve been selected to head up a virtual team, you probably have a pretty good idea what tasks you’ll need to perform. Prepare a list of these tasks while forming your team, making sure to consider any possible subtasks.  Then, write down the technology you’ll need to perform each of these tasks. You can call this your ‘wish list.’ Once you’ve completed the wish list, compare it to the resources you already have and decide what gaps need to be filled, if any.   

Stick with what’s worked in the past: There’s a reason we continue to use phone calls and emails so frequently, despite the fact that neither technology has changed much over the past several years. And this reason is quite simple– we rely so much on this pair of technologies because they work.  There’s no need to fix what isn’t broken, so default to using email or the phone as much as you can.

Aim for the communication hat trick: Other than the fact they haven’t changed much, what qualities do telephone and email systems have in common? The answer is that they’re all simple to use, reliable, and easily accessible.  Hopefully, you see the lesson here. Look for these three qualities in every piece of technology you consider.

Create a mesh between your technology and your team’s level of competence:  If you do end up needing to make significant additions to your stash of fancy technology, make sure your team is able to use it efficiently.  If everyone’s already up to speed with the added technology, great.  If not, some negotiation is in order. In this scenario, you essentially have two choices: 1)settle for a lesser piece of technology, or 2)get your people up to speed with appropriate training and practice. Most likely, you’ll do a little of both.  But either way, try to create a mesh between your technology and what your people know how to use.

Steer clear of feature-creep:  Let’s face it– most new versions of a given technology offer little beyond what is called ‘feature-creep,’ a largely meaningless drift towards slick features don’t add much (if anything) in the way of real value. Unless something truly earth-shattering comes along, let your people spend their time working on company stuff instead of endlessly navigating what amount to technological baubles.

As you probably noticed, no specific brands or platforms are mentioned above. Why? Because any suggestion we offer would be surpassed by three upgraded versions by the time this post gets uploaded. Perhaps more importantly, your tech choices should revolve on the tasks involved in your daily work– from the ground up and not the other way around. The gadgets are out there, but you’re the only one equipped to choose between them.

Managing Virtual Teams

No matter how spread out your employees are, managing virtual teams comes with a specific group of challenges. How do you maintain proper accountability if you don’t see your staff on a regular basis? How do you get them to follow protocols or keep them focused on shared goals? And this is just to name a few. The reality is that there are a host of barriers the effective virtual team manager must overcome to achieve long-term success.

But not to worry– it’s not an impossible task. Companies adapt their managerial styles to a remote workforce successfully all the time, and there’s no reason you can’t do so as well.  We’ve covered a lot of important ground already.  We’ve discussed the ideal composition of virtual teams, suggested ways of improved virtual communication, and emphasized the importance of workplace culture.

But managing virtual teams involves an almost dizzying array of complexities, and there’s a lot left to learn about this newly emerging set of practices. And needless to say, you’ll want to be as prepared as you possibly can for what might be the most substantial hurdle your company will face in the next several years. Toward that end, we’ve compiled the following ten tips for managing virtual teams effectively.

1. Clarify expectations

Everyone on your team needs to know what is expected of them, both at the individual and group level. Each person needs to understand the role they play on the team across a range of project types, as well as who they should ask for what.  Additionally, everyone should know what to expect from one another and from you.

This includes company protocol for common situations and for professional conduct. Be clear and very detailed right up front. It’s also wise to allow your staff some degree of input regarding these matters, especially after they’ve collaborated with one another on a sufficient number of projects.

Perhaps most importantly in this regard– be present and available. Your team is certain to follow the examples you set, so it’s crucial that you demonstrate your commitment to the group’s success by responding to their questions and concerns in a prompt, thorough manner.

2. Utilize well-defined work systems

Everybody has a different way of going about their daily work. This is natural enough, but vastly different methods can slow projects down significantly. You can counter this tendency right off the bat by establishing clear standards and defining work systems in a way that is easily repeated.

In addition to reducing conflicts and lag time, well-defined work systems reduce confusion and help people with time budgeting. Of course, these systems should not be so rigid that they curtail creativity or force a round peg into a square hole. Instead, strive for a balance between maximum efficiency and productive freedom.

3. Ask for detailed deliverables

Micro-managing virtual teams is always a bad idea, but your team does need to have a clear idea of what the final deliverables should be. Therefore, the tasks you assign should always come with detailed descriptions of the end results that you want, as well as examples of similar projects. This balanced approach avoids the confusion that so often comes with excessive instructions while allowing your team the freedom to complete the task in the most efficient way possible.

4. Meet regularly

Just like co-located teams, your remote staff will benefit greatly from regularly scheduled meetings. These meetings should be scheduled at the same time every week, if possible. Attendance should be mandatory, and team members should be required to dress professionally, just as they would in a more traditional setting.  In addition to keeping team members on the same page, these weekly briefings will help create some semblance of the routine that virtual teams typically lack.

Video conferences are ideal for these regular meetings because they increase efficiency and duplicate the ‘togetherness’ that co-located teams experience routinely.  The actual content of these meetings will depend upon your team’s specific needs, but many companies use them as individual and group ‘check-ins.’ They also provide an excellent forum for group discussions and for conveying general information.

These meetings don’t need to last very long, but everyone should be afforded ample time to participate. All in all, regularly scheduled meetings have a very salutary effect on virtual teams. Their importance cannot be overemphasized.

5. Facilitate ‘water cooler’ time

Non-work related social interaction between co-workers is crucial to building trust, camaraderie, and productive relationships. Traditionally, much of this interaction has occurred in the employee break room or while ‘standing around the water cooler.’ Obviously, virtual teams don’t have the luxury of sharing the same physical space, but you can still provide a suitable forum for the kind of non-work interaction your people need to bond with one another and keep up morale.

One way to facilitate ‘water cooler’ time is to reserve a channel on your company chat platform for it. Typically, these chats will be casual, free-form conversations about sports, current events, movies, etc. But while you should be as hands-off as possible during these interactions, you will want to establish a few rules of decorum and content.

6. Encourage and reward resistance

This might seem strange at first glance, but the dissenting voice is often the most effective engine of progress. Yes, you want everyone to stay more or less on the same page, but disagreement often leads to the best ideas. Unfortunately, pushing back against one’s teammates is difficult enough in person, much less during a video conference or while talking on the phone.

That’s why it’s important for you to be quick to praise people for speaking their mind in group settings. You never know where the next great idea is going to come from, so go out of your way to create an environment that encourages expressiveness and dissent.

7. Encourage shared leadership

Keeping your virtual team members engaged with their work is hugely important. There are many ways to accomplish this, but creating leadership opportunities is definitely one of the most effective. Create useful projects and let one or more team members spearhead them. You should also allow this temporary leadership to make progress reports to the rest of the team. This will increase job ownership and engagement, as well as bring out the best in everyone.

8. Have a Recognition Program

Feelings of isolation and anonymity are a constant threat to the well-being of your virtual team, so it’s very important for managers to go out of their way to acknowledge their staff’s achievements. While this sort of validation should be woven into your daily operations, recognition programs are an excellent way to reinforce this routine practice and provide extra motivation.

There are many ways to institute a recognition program, but they should always have clear and achievable goals. The guidelines for your recognition program should be accessible to everyone at all times. They should also spell out the behaviors you want to encourage, as well as the rewards staff members receive for executing them.

9. Operate as a transparent meritocracy

Just like in any other enterprise, your virtual team members need to believe that their efforts and achievements will be rewarded. They also need to believe that these rewards will be based on skill levels and achievement. In other words, your virtual team should operate as a meritocracy.

But remember– perception is everything when it comes the workplace dynamic. That’s why it’s crucial that your reward system– your meritocracy– should be easy to understand and completely transparent. A transparent meritocracy will help keep everyone engaged, motivated, and better equipped to track individual and group progress.

10.  Maintain access to a variety of communication tools

As we’ve said many times, clear communication is crucial to a successful virtual team. Establishing multiple channels of communication is one of the best ways to achieve this necessary clarity. Your virtual team members should have easy access to several communication tools.  They should also know which tool to use for their various communication needs. The exact set-up is up to you, but this is another area where staff input can be very helpful.

Having access to multiple communication tools is beneficial in several ways. First, it gives your team a way to convey urgent messages to the right person in a timely fashion. It also helps streamline work processes and reduces the ‘virtual clutter’ that can accrue when people use a single tool for multiple purposes. Last but not least, multiple communication tools help to create a feeling of togetherness.

This list could probably go on forever, but these tips provide an excellent starting point for both new and already established teams. By combining these tangible tips with the general information this guide has presented, you and your virtual team can build an excellent foundation for future success.

Your Remote Workforce Going Forward

It’s not a saying yet, but perhaps it should be– office walls ain’t what they used to be. Saying or not, the truth remains clear. The traditional workplace– bounded by four solid walls and containing all relevant personnel in one space– is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Certainly, office walls don’t signify the same type of boundaries that they did in the past. In fact, you might even say the traditional office itself has become a barrier that modern day companies must overcome to be successful.

This is where a strong remote workforce comes into play. In the coming years, the economy will become even more globalized, not less. And as this expansion continues, an increasing number of companies will be searching every nook and cranny in the world for cheap, high-end talent. To put it bluntly, it’s a virtual guarantee that your company will face intense and nonstop competition for customers and talent alike in the coming years.

As you can see, further economic globalization is a sink or swim proposition for even the smallest of companies. Those companies who can continue to adapt with the times will have a chance to endure, while those who can’t (or won’t) will fall by the wayside.  If your company is to remain afloat, building a great remote workforce is an absolute requirement.

But your work certainly doesn’t stop there. Assembling a talented and effective team is only the beginning. Once that work is (temporarily) finished, the challenge of organizing and managing your virtual team begins. There’s little question that managing virtual teams will be one of the most significant challenges your company will face. This guide has presented a dual purpose blueprint. You can use it to assemble and manage the ideal teams, teams that will carry your company toward success into the next few years and beyond.

The post Managing Virtual Teams: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.

Job opportunities have evolved with the growth of the internet and technology. With increased digitization, it isn’t necessary for you to physically be somewhere to complete a task. People are coming to realize that they can be very successful doing remote work.

The growing virtual space has given appeal to the concept of digital nomadism for the new working generation. The need for digital content and the growth of online lead generation are verticals that allow people to work from remote locations.

Who Are Digital Nomads?

A nomad is someone who travels from place to place while finding means to live.

The concept of living a digital nomads lifestyle is not having to be situated in a typical fixed office setting and living life in accordance with one’s own routine and traveling. If you’re a wanderlust, why not get paid while living as one? Digital nomads are location-independent and choose not to be tied down by expensive apartment lease agreements, gym memberships and other subscriptions which restrict many from the freedom to travel. In a sense, is it not better to avoid signing your life away in a contract?

A digital nomad is paid to work a remote job, while doing what he or she loves to do: travel.

This is appealing to those who value job satisfaction. The nomadic lifestyle attracts workers by offering increased flexibility. People create their own job descriptions and stretch their incomes by staying in locations with a low cost of living while serving markets with higher wages.

Elise Darma is a very successful digital nomad.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl3WZ-ChOLO/

Elise teaches a masterclass on how to grow your instagram following and has been acknowledged by Forbes and Entrepreneur. She is what she calls herself, a “travelpreneur”, and encourages those interested in starting or expanding their business to translate their skills into a freelance business.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlLkih7hCjQ/

While her instagram displays extraordinary pictures of her travels from vibrant clearwater beaches in Bali to coastal towns in Italy, Elise has mastered the lifestyle of digital nomadism as she takes her work with her to different corners of the world helping business owners with growth, monetization and branding of their business.

Need For Digital Nomads

Internet revolution has brought about new industries and professions that allow people to be successful working remotely.

These industries include:

• Website design and development
  • Though this job position usually requires schooling or some type of training in UI/UX web design and HTML/CSS development, someone with the technical abilities, can work as a designer or developer for an agency or have freelance clients from a remote location.
• Graphic design
  • Communicate visually by creating concepts to improve the aesthetic quality of a website. Virtual art can be created using a software or by hand. Captivate consumers with your freelance work, maybe from your personalized stock images of your experiences traveling the world.
• Pay-Per-Click management
  • With the right training, you can manage website owners in how they advertise on the internet. PPC management can increase traffic to brands by directing consumers to websites. All you need is knowledge of how to oversee trends of a company’s ad spend.
• Ecommerce management
  • Ecommerce is the electronic transfer of products through the internet. Managing a company’s ecommerce functionality can also be done online and remotely by overseeing the different departments to facilitate operations of the company.
• Blogging
  • Whether on social media or simply asked to write reviews for a website, tell readers what you think about a particular product or experience you have been asked to research (or on your own volition). This can be your chance to get paid to experience new things! People who love to travel love this work.
• SEO specialists
  • Help optimize websites for search engines based on keywords. You can do this remotely, read about the company and tell them what keywords they should incorporate into their website and which one’s aren’t necessarily beneficial.

Less obvious professions it’s brought forth:

• Digital marketing analytics
  • Measure and analyze a company’s marketing performance by overseeing customers’ trends and performances. This can be communicated through ROI’s and electronically.
• Tracking and reporting
  • This ties in with digital marketing analytics. Performance tracking and reporting analytics helps optimize decision making for companies. Again, this is information you process online and can be done remotely so long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
• Project management
  • The project manager is the overseer for all projects, files and communication between the team. This requires a good communicator. If you can set a good system for communication for a company, you can manage a company’s project online.

The internet has created this conveniency which allows people to complete important jobs and to make money with just a computer and wi-fi connectivity.

Social Media Influence

The internet provides us the pathway to connect with people around the world, while social media gives us the motivation to connect with the world.

Brands had a tough time communicating to their target audience before the rise of social media marketing. With platforms like instagram and facebook allowing users to sign on at any time of the day and all over the world, people can communicate with each other instantaneously. All they need to post online is an idea, internet connection, and a device that connects to the internet.

Social media influencers are now brands in themselves. Users take a social media influencer’s words and make decisions based on their trusted reviews and promotions of a particular product or service. They build a following for capturing the attention of some specific niche audience and then capitalize on it by promoting products online. Bloggers specifically travel to post more glamorous photos of themselves with a particular product or using a service, increasing their audience size.

Here’s how you can get started on becoming a social media influencer.

You can also become a social media manager, which is a job title that did not exist about 15 years ago, but every big brand spends top dollar on today. A social media manager and/or consultant can work with a brand to make money using social media no matter where they are located.

Digital Nomad Jobs & How To Get One

There are a few simple requirements to live like digital nomads. These include identifying your skill and being able to communicate your work. Communication is key! For this, you will need a laptop and consistent internet connection. If you’re interested in remote work, there are websites that list remote jobs. You can search for freelance work according to your field and your skill. You can find freelance gigs anywhere from:

• Copywriters
• Transcribers
• Publishers
• Photographers
• Accountants
• Virtual assistants.
• Editors
• English Teachers

Sign up for a digital nomad job

Looking to do freelance work?

This freelancing guide shows you how business owners and independent contractors work to succeed.

• Fiverr 

Create your profile detailing your skills and the services you provide. People will read your profile and contact you according to your specialty and flexibility.

• Grateful Gypsies 

Websites like Grateful Gypsies can teach you how to begin your successful digital nomadic journey. Learn to be an online ESL teacher and become TEFL certified! Then, share your experience as you post pictures and travel tips from your adventures from your favorite stays.

• VIPKID 

Another lucrative platform for you to pursue remote work is VIPKID. VIPKID allows you to teach English online which offers students in China an American elementary school education. It has grown exponentially in the last year. Kobe Bryant is an investor!

Benefits of Digital Nomads Jobs

Why become a digital nomad?

• Expand your creativity

  • Working in different places allows you to come up with different ideas. Sitting in the same cubicle every day can become mundane and restricts you from learning new things.

• Travel the world

  • Exploring new locations can motivate you to work and experience more.

• Become adaptable

  • Engaging with different people of different backgrounds and cultures brings you out of your comfort zone.

• Flexible hours

  • With a job in which you can create your own job description, you can set aside time to do the things you love.

• Experience new things

  • When done with your work, explore your surroundings!

A study mentioned in Forbes details full-time digital nomads, 54%, and part-time digital nomads, 46%, with a good portion living the nomad lifestyle for only a part of the year. You can even choose the hours you wish to be working as a digital nomad. This allows you to be fluid enough to work even past what would conventionally be your retirement age.

Join a digital nomad community

Digital nomad communities like Nomadlist and LocationIndie can teach you how to be a successful digital nomad. Traveling professionals can answer your questions, insecurities and provide tips on how to better your experiences and how to work effectively en route to places you wish to visit. You can also just meet new people which would open many more opportunities for partnerships as well as friendships.

A Quick Guide To Hire Freelancers

There are websites where people post the freelance services they offer.

People realize that they do not necessarily need to have expensive and dedicated office spaces available for all their staff. So, managers of virtual teams can work from remote locations, and collaborate as a virtual team without possibly ever having to see each other face-to-face.

These websites are for employers looking for work on a per project basis with quality assurance based on reviews.

• Upwork 
  • Read the freelancer’s profile. Profiles allow you to view work experience and samples reading freelancer’s reviews. Hire a freelancer within 7 days for a long-term or short-term project by filling out an offer form.
• Fiverr 
  • Freelance Services Marketplace for The Lean Entrepreneur.
• Angie’s List 
  • Angie’s List offers a range of membership plans to help find the information you need about a freelancer or company. Angie’s List reviews stress accountability.

Boss Magazine tells you why you should consider hiring freelancers. Companies can source the right fit of talent from the most cost-effective locations globally, which also enables them to hand over work from one person to another remotely.

The demand for digital nomad jobs is rising. Not to worry – the supply is increasing just as fast.

The rise of digital nomadism gives future generations the ability to dictate success on their own terms. Wouldn’t you want to be paid doing what you want, when you want, where you want to – and all on your own terms?

The post The Digital Nomads Lifestyle: Worth It? appeared first on Time Clock Wizard.