A recent article, Working remotely? How to be the best virtual teammate by Dana Manciagli says that working remotely is gaining popularity nowadays. Studies show that those who work remotely are often more productive than those working in the office. However, when it comes to virtual teams, studies show that 82 percent of teams fell short of their goals and 33 percent rated themselves as largely ineffective. Hence how do you balance the reality of increased virtual work with the downsides of teaming virtually?
Here are three tips to become a great virtual teammate, a skill that will certainly serve you well.
1. Build relationships based on trust
Trust is the knot that connects and ties virtual teammates together from different places and time zones. As a virtual teammate you should give that thing called “ the benefit of the doubt” to people you’ve just met—and transform it into real trust. This trust should be based on your consistent behaviour and on your relation to others as co workers.
- Be upfront and clear
Be straightforward and explicit about expectations. Let your teammates in coworking office space or home office across different places and time zones know how often you are available to have call/video chats and conference calls, and what manner of communication you prefer, whether through emails, texts, or voicemails, and what turnaround time they can expect from you.
3. Communicate frequently
Communicate and check in more often than you do on a traditional team. Daily updates and progress reports on your important deliverables may seem redundant, but can go a long way towards positioning you as a star member of whatever team you’re on.
Conclusion
Considering these three tips will help you in positioning yourself to be sought after in any organization. In addition, having a well appointed office is an advantage to be an effective and productive virtual teammate. YourOffice offers you a wide choice of office and workspace solutions: flexible office space, team office space and virtual office packages. You’ll have access to a complete array of office support and concierge services as well as state-of-the-art business technology.
How can you be an effective virtual teammate? We’d be glad to see your thoughts below. You can also visit us on Facebook and Twitter.
