The Modern Way to Business Success; Global Virtual Teams

The Modern Way to Business Success; Global Virtual Teams

If you’re running a business today, you know what the terminology “virtual team” means. Every good company has taken advantage of it and understands the many opportunities it entails.

Massive overhead cost reduction, time-saving, better productivity and flexible working arrangement—these are just some of the few attractive benefits of working with virtual assistant.

Most recently, 80% of global corporate work policy swiftly transitioned to virtual collaboration.

Thus, with the incessant rise of remote work and virtual assistants, their impeccable bearing in the future is quite inevitable.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, it’s not wise anymore to juggle multiple tasks at once, the road to business success is leaning towards working smart. What better way to practice such office virtue than building your own highly skilled global virtual teams to boost your back-end operations.

So, if you’re excited about a futuristic approach to your workplace, this post will teach you how to build an effective global team of virtual assistants; the layers and the edges.

Global Team Building: Virtual Remote Teams

As the name implies, virtual remote teams are people working remotely together towards the achievement of a shared present goal.

So, imagine if you have virtual teams consisting of virtual assistants for market research, digital marketing and content curation, you’re building a global team around the best and low-cost world-class talent.

But despite the appeal, priming virtual teams to effectively work together can be a real challenge. Thus, it begs the question, how do you lead global virtual talent?


How Can Global Virtual Remote Teams Learn to Work Effectively Together?

When it comes to leading a virtual team, one must be ready to take on remote roles. This simply means, adhering to the different offshore office setting must-haves: communication, leadership, culture, trust and working style.

By following the practices below, you will be able to maximize the full potential of the global virtual teams you want to lead.

  • Set Goals and Expectations

    It’s hard to work together when not everyone is on the same page, right?

    Global virtual teams can perform to the highest level and avoid misunderstanding altogether when they’re fully aware of the company’s goals and expectations.

    How to make everything crystal clear?

    By setting goals that can be tracked such as a quota, remote workers can take responsibility for the quality and quantity of their work. Furthermore, by introducing a goal-tracking system that employees can use to assess their outputs, your virtual team will gain confidence and a sense of pride as they tally for the day and meet their goals.

  • Be Wary of Time Zones

    While global remote teams present amazing opportunities and diversity, working across varying time zones can be a headache. If not managed right, this glitch can make virtual teams feel separated and disengaged.

    To remedy any sort of detachment, meetings/events can be rotated through different time zones to allow everyone convenience and real-time connection. Or time zone buffers could also be given when asking for feedback or setting deadlines.

  • Strong Communication

    Communication is a very powerful tool in terms of making the operation flow. When left unchecked, ineffective communication leads to incoherence and even worse, impels superstar players to make haste for the greener pastures.

    Effective communication allows information to be shared. If a team member can’t be in a meeting, you can write a summary, record it and share it.

    Every relevant member within the global virtual teams needs to have access to these company materials/documents, making sure they’re not only limited to those people online at the time of the meeting.

    The focus should be calibrated to provide inclusion for everyone, whatever geographic region and time stretch they’re in. Incorporating strong communication practices enhance efficiency and work value among virtual assistants.


How to do Team Building with Remote Teams?

Remote or traditional, team building is a pillar of team chemistry. Not only does team bonding increase productivity, it also boosts workplace morale.

In a remote setting though, where remote workers may be plagued with loneliness or the feeling of being unsupported, team building is a reminder that someone has their back.

How exactly can online team building be gauged? Scroll down and we’ll give you some quick insights on how to work around remote teams.

  • Make Use of Technology

    What better tool to bridge the distance between people hailing from all parts of the world than technology?

    For companies ready to embrace remote work, seeing co-workers face-to-face, at least in the virtual sense, with the use of different platforms such as Slack, Google Meet or even social media can make a whole lot of difference in promoting frequent, direct and spontaneous communication between remote team members.

  • Host Regular Meetings/Social Events

    Okay, it’s one thing to make use of technology to connect with people, and it’s another thing altogether to do it on a regular basis.

    If you want to build a strong team camaraderie around your skilled global virtual teams, then you must adhere to having at least once a week scheduled online meet-ups which includes both team and one-on-one meetings.

    But what is team building without the much-needed social events?

    Yes, even from a remote location, you can make use of videoconference and have a regular social virtual event.

    In one of these happenings, remote teams can have personal discussions, and share photos and events with colleagues. They can even host online game shows like virtual teams’ scavenger hunts, online bingo or a virtual team edition of “Never Have I Ever.” Take your pick!

  • Take Online Quizzes

    If you want to build global virtual teams, one of the first steps that you should take is to know where each member is coming from. Then, you can relate that to how they work and communicate.

    We suggest giving your team a personality quiz such as the DISC assessment. Then, you can share the results with other team members via videoconference.

    This is not only good team training, but also a way of team building by educating colleagues about each other. Through awareness, potential conflict can be avoided or decreased, and even better, with much enhanced emotional intelligence.

  • Leverage Virtual Buddies

    Who says that a mentorship program is not efficient in virtual spaces? We’re telling you that’s just very wrong.

    It does exist, in the same way it happens in the traditional workplace but minus the physical proximity.

    Mentors and mentees can work together and can have the opportunity to ask questions and coach simultaneously.

    This is very helpful in building global virtual teams especially if there are new members or if there’s a change in job titles or teams. By having a familiar face to converse with, a workplace buddy can guide the transition and consequently, improve an employee’s connection to a company leading up to better engagement.


How Do I Create a Virtual Assistant Team?

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

That old adage is a testament that great things take time which also rings true when building a virtual assistant team.

Therefore, if you want to create the best virtual assistant team, then you must, by all means follow through these 6 simple steps.

  • Set Goals

    What’s the goal? What do you want to achieve with the help of your talented virtual assistants?

  • Determine the Roles of Each Member

    When you know what role to fill, it’s easier for you to determine the soft and hard skills that you need.

  • Identify the Skills and Qualities

    Not everything is easy to learn, hence, it’s better to find the right person with the qualities and skills to match.

  • Provide Training

    There’s always room for improvement. No matter how long you’ve been doing your job, there’s still something you don’t know about.

  • Encourage Collaboration

    A team player mindset is like having someone ready to step in when needed. Collaborating with others not only speeds things up, it also improves camaraderie and teamwork.

  • Open Communicatio

    To make sure everyone is on the same page, it’s pivotal to have open communication channels.


Here We Go! Global Virtual Teams

The truth is, nothing’s ever going to replace face-to-face interaction. However, the modern approach to business that paves the way for remote teams is now our reality.

In fact, it is the strongest suit for better opportunities and endless possibilities. With that, virtual assistants are necessary workplace extensions.

Thus, to effectively lead the best virtual teams for your remote workplace management, you must be able to determine the right approach, understand its provisions and address the carry-on challenges of its implementation.

Harness your offshore angels by making them feel valued, involved and understood; Go for global virtual teams!

Latest Articles