Growing Your Virtual Teams: An Essential Reality

By: Jon Dwoskin

Virtual teams have really caught on this past year, but many might be surprised to learn that the trend actually predates the pandemic. According to this HubSpot study, participation in virtual teams grew by 25% between 2010 and 2018 — long before we had ever heard of Covid-19 and thought of a worldwide pandemic as something only seen in the movies.

As a solopreneur business coach, I have always depended on a virtual team. Since I have no office to go to, I either work out of my house, a client’s office, or, in the good old pre-pandemic days, a coffee shop. And while I don’t see them very often (if at all), I rely tremendously on my virtual team, which consists of the following roles:

• Web Designer: This person handles everything for my website, which I continually refine and update with news, blogs and coaching opportunities.

• Social Media Guru: I post across all platforms nearly every day, and this person keeps it all together to ensure my messages come across in a creative and effective manner.

• Virtual Assistant: This person helps with everything from research to scheduling podcast guests to keeping my calendar updated to giving me reminders — and handling a zillion random tasks in between.

• Writers and Editors: I generate a lot of content so I depend on these freelancers to transform my notes, phone calls, corporate presentations and sometimes even stream-of-consciousness musings into proficient pieces. I love to write but I’m not a writer, so I use these pros to present my ideas succinctly and in my voice.

• Bookkeeper: The last thing any business owner wants to do is chase clients for payment. My virtual bookkeeper not only does my invoicing and keeps my accounts straight, but can nag clients who are late with invoices.

I even see my personal trainer, my business coach and my therapist all virtually.

Be like Frank.

I’ll always remember the advice from my business coach years ago: Be like Frank Sinatra — he just shows up, sings and gets off the stage. He didn’t worry about the ticket sales, the programs or having the right kind of mic. He had a team in place to do all that so he could concentrate on delivering his incredible voice. They didn’t call him the Chairman of the Board for nothing.

I’m no Frank Sinatra, but I rely on my virtual team to give me the time and space to concentrate on the big picture, so I can spend at least 160 hours each month directly on clients, not dealing with minutia.

The meetings matter.

Creating a virtual team is an idea whose time has come. According to a 2020 study by Vermont researchers, 64% of organizations say their shift to virtual teamwork will likely be permanent because of Covid-19. However, they point out, effective communication is key to making it work. They suggest simple strategies like asking, “Do you understand what I am saying?” to keep everyone on the same page and spending a few minutes during each virtual meeting on team building to reinforce trust.

I do the same. I regularly hold Zoom meetings or conference calls with pertinent team members. When I have an idea, I send an email to those who can execute it. Everybody knows what to do and when to do it, and we all use Dropbox to share files and access each other’s work.

Increased flexibility, autonomy and productivity.

My team loves the flexibility and autonomy of working virtually, and they’re not alone. In 2019, Staples found that 90% of employees say that flexible work schedules and arrangements would increase their morale, and 67% would consider leaving if their work arrangements became less flexible. A study from 2020 shows that employers say remote work means increased productivity (52%), higher efficiency (48%) and improved morale (44%).

It’s a trend that’s been a long time coming; Stanford Graduate School of Business researchers found that remote employees not only outperformed the control group by 13%, but they also had half as much turnover. Employees working from home were more likely to put in a full day of work and were able to concentrate better, researchers found. And this was in 2017 — long before any of us had heard of the coronavirus or social distancing.

Conclusion.

Are you clinging to outdated methods of working? As this past year showed, being nimble and adaptable is crucial for today’s businesses. None of us knows what the next upheaval will be, but we can be sure that it’s probably heading right toward us.

THINK BIG! Jon Dwoskin

By: Jon Dwoskin