COVID-19 triggered several actions that have been adopted by many organizations globally. Remote working has become the refuge for many organizations and businesses that want to stay afloat in these tough moments. However, productivity and collaboration have been seen as major challenges for many organizations. Many leaders have thought of ways to enhance the productivity and collaboration of their staff members working remotely. Notably, remote working has been in existence even pre-Covid-19 times; some organizations had capitalized on this feature to help employees overcome the geographical barriers. Besides, tech experts had predicted that remote working would become a new normal for many as the technology was evolving gradually. Although the prediction has come to be, nobody anticipated that it would be this sooner after the pandemic ravaged many parts of the world, affecting businesses globally.
The paradigm shifts and teams working from home have brought several challenges that require solutions to enhance collaboration and productivity. As many countries restricted movements, the world had to learn virtually using digital tools to meet its goals. Virtual or remote collaboration is a platform where employees and teams communicate, share files, ideas and communicate in a robust and real-time manner without physical interactions. Organizations can enhance the efficiency of their team working from home while fostering a collaborative culture. Here are ways to enhance virtual collaboration for better performances.
Communication
Businesses succeed when teams can communicate and share their ideas without the fear of intimidation. Effective communication is a critical facet in remote collaboration, translating to better performance. As a leader, you must understand how your team communicates since this will give you an insight into where the organization is headed. You will need to create an environment suitable for all members and take them through the platform to familiarize themselves before the collaborative meeting is critical. Effective communication in a remote working environment demands that you follow some guidelines as highlighted here;
- Communication clarity
- Avoiding useless information
- Use of proper virtual communication tools
Goals and Objectives
Among the driving forces for many firms is their set of goals and objectives, communicated to the staff by team leaders or managers. While you send your team to work remotely, you must understand their roles and targets that must be met hence boosting productivity. Although you might invest in the best collaborative tools, this will be useless unless you clearly explain the goals and objectives to the team working remotely.
Support
Virtual or in-personal collaboration becomes sweet when team members can watch each other’s back. It would be best if you created a culture of team support as a differentiating value, which yields better results. Leaders need to motivate their employees through incentives and appreciation programs, which have been the secret for many successful firms.