Telecommuting, or remote working, is here to stay. In fact, over the last 20 years or so the numbers of remote workers or telecommuters have been steadily increasing. Nowadays up to 37 percent of employees are working remotely. This trend has been driven by improvements in technology as well as an increased desire for a better work-life balance. If your company hasn’t already done so, then you will need to consider how best to introduce remote working in your company. In this article, we look at some of the potential dangers and how to avoid them.
Telecommuting and Communication
Keeping open the lines of communication with telecommuters can be a challenge. In a virtual environment, it’s necessary to give remote workers the opportunity to chat with colleagues. This needs to be both on a formal and informal basis. Social interaction and building personal relationships is, after all, important to all of us and even more so the remote worker.
Relying solely on email is not a good idea either. So much of our communication is actually non-verbal and our tone of voice and facial expressions can convey a thousand messages that words alone can’t. These types of cues are absent in an email and, therefore, the potential for misinterpretation or misunderstanding is much greater. Try exploring other alternatives such as video conferencing, online chat rooms or collaboration tools.
It’s also important that telecommuters still feel as though they are part of a team. Remote workers need to be kept up to speed on how the company is doing and all the latest news and updates.
To maintain productivity, morale and engagement, a telecommuter needs to feel supported, involved and included.
Performance Management
Almost by definition, it’s very hard to maintain an oversight of the remote worker’s performance. For a telecommuting program to be successful, your company will need to clearly establish goals, reporting procedures and ways to track performance. The good news is that research has shown that telecommuters tend to be more productive than office-based staff. In fact, they are able to achieve nearly an extra day’s worth of tasks over a week. What’s more, remote workers also resign half as often as their office counterparts.
Working remotely, therefore, doesn’t mean that your telecommuter is lounging in bed until 10 am and only briefly logging into the email system, mainly for the sake of appearances! What it does mean though is that you as an employer need to set clear boundaries and expectations in place. It also means that your managers need to proactively manage any remote workers. The vast majority of employees will have team and individual goals and targets as well as clear indicators for success. With the remote worker, managers need to be more proactive in regularly checking with staff to see how they’re doing and to quickly identify any factors that might be holding them back.
Match Digital Workplace Solutions With A Pain Point
It may seem obvious but it’s surprising how many companies overlook this simple fact: all digital workplace solutions need to address an organizational pain point. Most companies will have at least one example (and sometimes several) of a failed technological solution that simply never gained traction within the workplace. And usually, the reason for this is that the solution wasn’t closely aligned with strategic objectives. In essence, it failed to answer an organizational need. And without that driving force, the technology simply never got off the ground.
So the key lesson here is that the starting point for considering the deployment of any digital workplace solution has to be a need within the organization. Don’t let yourself get transfixed by the all-singing and all-dancing presentation from the provider. It may well be the most amazing app ever, but if doesn’t address a pain point in your business, then quite simply it’s not worth the investment.
Don’t Implement Changes Unless They Are Needed
If your current systems are working perfectly well, then ask yourself this: what’s to be gained from changing? There is a temptation to see new technology as being an end in itself, but unless it’s going to save time or somehow make achieving a work task easier, then by the time you’ve factored in the implementation expenses, plus the costs of training staff members in how to get the most out of the new technology, the cost savings don’t seem as great as perhaps they first did. All you’ve ended up with is just a fancier version of something that was already working well.
What’s more, it’s important to try and avoid initiative overload for staff members. The last thing you want to hear is that cynical, collective groan from employees when you announce the implementation of a new app. The truth is that employees don’t need another app to log on to or platform to check unless it’s going to make a real difference to their everyday working lives.
So make sure that you also examine each potential platform from the perspective of the end user and the value it adds to their experience.
Beware Of Shadow IT
There’s no doubt that shadow IT is a reality in most organizations. The truth is that many employees are sourcing their own solutions to those organizational pain points. It’s so easy now to identify solutions and download tools directly from the internet that many staff members will have done just that if they perceive that your company’s platforms fail to meet their needs or expectations. Aside from the lack of central oversight, this practice can also result in compromised security, issues with compliance and compatibility, as well as a lack of ownership and knowledge by business owners and managers.
Shadow IT is certainly a challenge in the digital workplace, and so business owners and managers need to set up processes and procedures for central oversight when it comes to procurement of new technologies. The HR department may well have a need for a hr portal solution, but is it compatible with your payroll system? And what if the marketing department goes ahead and implements a project management tool that is different from the one used by the Research and Development team? How will that affect joint working and collaboration between the teams? And while a certain amount of flexibility may well be required to meet the needs of different teams, a degree of central prescription is also required in the interests of the organization as a whole.
Troubleshooting Issues
Telecommuters will be more dependent than office-based staff on technology so when those tools of the trade encounter issues, this is a major headache for both the worker and the main office. It’s a good idea to have dedicated staff on hand that remote workers can reach out to when they encounter issues or problems. It may be something simple like the printer getting jammed, or something more serious like a laptop dying or the remote desktop connection going down. Whatever the case may be, in much the same way as you would in the actual office, picking up the phone and consulting with an IT colleague on ways to tackle the problem is enormously helpful. It also helps to promote that sense of being part of a wider, supportive team.
Security
Another perceived obstacle in relation to telecommunicating is the concern that allowing access to company systems, information and data is potentially going to compromise security. The Hillary Clinton email scandal involving sensitive government emails being sent and received via a private server exposed some of the vulnerabilities in allowing workers to use their home kits. That’s why a great many companies insist on remote workers deploying essential security requirements including full disk encryption, malicious software protection, VPN, firewalls, content filtering as well as strong authentication and authorization measures.
Hiring The Right Personnel
One of the great advantages of telecommuting is that it gives you the opportunity to hire the best candidate, regardless of where they are actually based. Remote working isn’t for everyone though. Some people just can’t help but find themselves distracted by the washing up, or the TV or their mom dropping in for coffee all the time. Make sure that you recruit only those people who are open to working virtually and those who are open to working with other telecommuting team members. Why not test it out first with a trial run before committing yourself or the team.
Why Is Conflict More Likely To Occur In Virtual Teams?
Communication is at the heart of successful relationships in the workplace.
However, when working remotely, most communication is written. Body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice are missing from electronic communication. The absence of these vital cues we take for granted in the workplace can easily lead to communication breakdowns.
In this environment, a short and to the point message from a colleague could come across as rude or aggressive. Most likely, that wasn’t the intention of the sender. Nevertheless, without those other cues, the recipient has interpreted it the wrong way. Hurt, resentment, and anger can easily set in.
Furthermore, people tend to be less inhibited about what they say on digital platforms. Check out some of the comments on social media, and you will see trolling is a widespread problem. This tendency to say things online that you wouldn’t if communicating face to face is also apparent in professional settings. Dubbed by psychologists as the online disinhibition effect, virtual teams managers should keep a watchful eye out.
And another important aspect of home working is that employees are in isolation. There are no casual conversations around the water cooler. And there’s no everyday banter as you bump into colleagues in the elevator. These informal encounters help build a sense of camaraderie and team spirit. You know your co-workers well and are less likely to take offense at a miscommunication.
As distributed teams of workers become commonplace, disconnection could become more of an issue. Your employees may be working in different cities or states. And there’s less opportunity to get together in person. Managers, therefore, have to work harder at building a sense of team spirit.
Let’s fix it!
Conflict resolution within remote teams is a difficult task for any manager. But when the dispute involves employees who are working remotely, it’s an even bigger challenge.
And yet, home working is undoubtedly here to stay. The pandemic has simply fast-tracked what was already happening. Remote team management involves learning a whole new skill set. And one essential skill is how to handle remote team conflict.
Just like back in the workplace, disagreements between home workers can and do arise from time to time. It could be driven by team members not pulling their weight. Perhaps it’s a personality clash or differing opinions about the best way forward in a project.
The fact is virtual teams are more prone to breakdowns in internal communications. Messages can be misinterpreted in the absence of visual and verbal cues. Plus, there is also less opportunity to build rapport and develop team spirit.
Managers should learn how to identify internal conflict and find ways to resolve issues. And they need to do so fast.
Several surveys confirm that workers have embraced the remote work experiment. PwC, for example, recently reported that 83 percent of workers want to continue home working in some form post-pandemic.
Here we look at why virtual teams are prone to internal conflict. And we share ten tips to help you overcome remote team conflict.
Handling Conflict In Virtual Team: 10 Tips To Overcome Conflict In Remote Teams
1. Lead From The Front
As a manager, it’s important to lead from the front and model the correct behavior. After all, the approach you take to conflict resolution sets the tone and expectations for the team.
Deal with any disagreements swiftly. Always have your virtual door open, so staff feel able to come to you with any concerns. Keep in regular contact with employees so you can swiftly identify and tackle any festering grievances.
2. Encourage Clear Communications
Often it’s communication or the lack of it, that’s at the heart of internal conflict. Whether it’s misaligned priorities or misunderstood expectations, poor messaging is usually the root of the problem.
Identify any gaps in communications. And set clear expectations for staff. In addition, make sure project teams have defined roles and responsibilities. Develop guidelines on how information is shared between employees or project teams. Use the social intranet, instant messaging, or stand-up calls to ensure open communication between employees.
Taking these steps will minimize the potential for confusion and misunderstanding.
3. Hold Regular Team Meetings
When it’s not possible to meet in person, then video conferencing is a vital alternative. Regular virtual team meetings help to build strong, connected teams. They also allow workers to get to know each other on a personal level. Employees develop a feel for how their colleagues think and operate as well as their sense of humor.
Team meetings don’t have to be too long. Since the pandemic started, a common complaint is that remote workers are required to attend more meetings than ever! ‘Zoom fatigue’ is now a real phenomenon. However, a quick 15-minute stand-up call on a Monday goes a long way to building team spirit. Conflict is less likely to occur in a team where members relate to each other as people and not just co-workers.
4. Tackle Any Issues Head-On
Tempting though it may be, don’t put off getting involved. Once an issue is brought to your attention, deal with it sooner rather than later. Unresolved issues have a habit of developing into much bigger problems.
And when conflict breaks out, the best approach is usually to pick up the phone or make a video call. That way, you won’t fall into the same trap of misinterpreting communications. And you will be able to pick up on non-verbal cues and body language. Employees need to know their concerns are being heard. So, use your active listening skills, and let them vent before moving on to mediation and resolution.
5. Look For Changes In Behavior
Most of us shy away from confrontation. We may prefer to keep quiet, thinking that perhaps we might have overreacted. However, sometimes that can quickly escalate to an explosive situation. Resolving any conflict as soon as possible is always the best policy.
To that end, keep a watch on changes in the behavior of your staff. Possible red flags include a worker removing themselves from team chats. Or an employee going out of their way to exclude a colleague from specific discussions. It may even be apparent in team meetings that some staff are not interacting as they usually would. These are all possible indications of an underlying problem.
6. Regularly Check In With Employees
Check in with staff often. Use your regular one-on-one meetings as a forum for staff to air any grievances and concerns. This could be about the challenges of remote working generally and not just possible internal conflict.
And if you sense there is some disagreement, then try asking the employee about it. This approach builds trust between you and your staff. And it will encourage open and honest communication.
7. Have A Plan For Managing Conflict
There will inevitably be internal disagreements from time to time. However, it’s how you handle them that’s the real issue. Having a plan in place for managing conflict provides transparency. Staff members can feel confident in coming forward, knowing there is a resolution process in place.
The following three-step plan is a simple and effective way to manage conflict.
- Step 1: Identify the problem. Take the time to speak to all parties involved and let them explain what the issues are.
- Step 2: Get all parties together in a virtual summit. If possible, use an official mediator or someone trained in mediation to oversee the summit. Allow individuals to talk about their problems and voice their concerns. All sides should be encouraged to listen. The mediator should then lead a discussion on possible areas of compromise or ways forward.
- Step 3: Confirm the outcomes of the summit in writing. The parties should all agree and sign-up to the resolution. And if a follow-up meeting is required, then set a date and make sure it’s in everyone’s diaries.
It’s important to note that it’s not always possible to resolve every disagreement. For example, you cannot force employees to like each other. However, you can find ways for them to work together despite the clash in personalities.
8. Celebrate Team Achievements Collectively
A positive team environment minimizes the possibility of internal conflict breaking out in the first place. Therefore, it’s vital to celebrate team milestones and achievements as a group. Remote team collaboration will be strengthened by public recognition for a job well done.
It’s a motivating, morale booster that also promotes camaraderie and fellowship. And it’s a great way to relieve tensions. Employees that feel part of something bigger are more likely to succeed as a team.
And while you are at it, why not celebrate the achievements of staff outside work too? Whether it’s the birth of a grandchild, a fundraising marathon runner, or a significant birthday, celebratory shout-outs bring people together. And they also build those critical personal connections between your team.
9. Set-Up Team Building Opportunities
Look for opportunities to bring the virtual team together in an informal way. Of course, it’s harder to do so when working remotely, but it’s essential to make an effort.
Some companies have set up virtual quizzes, shared coffees, or bake-offs. Others have encouraged team bonding with shared professional development webinars. And peer-to-peer learning is another possibility. Teams take turns to showcase their work and current projects with colleagues from different departments. In a live video-session, colleagues can ask questions of their co-workers for an interactive, collaborative session.
These team-building opportunities help to break down individual silos and foster a sense of being in this together.
10. Create Platforms For Informal Connection
Managers should also enable staff to connect with colleagues daily informally. What’s needed is a virtual water cooler where workers can have casual conversations and be social. It’s easy for conflict to rear its ugly head if your colleague is just a faceless email address.
Many businesses find instant messaging via the intranet a useful informal communication platform. Colleagues can get together to discuss non-work topics as well as professional issues. It mimics the communication apps that we use in our personal lives, such as WhatsApp and Messenger.
Set up a #timeout or #virtualwatercooler channel so staff understand its purpose as an informal platform. Workers can use the channel to seek advice on hardware or software problems, share tips on successful home working, or simply chat about the latest Netflix series.
It’s important not to underestimate the value of these conversations for workers that are isolated at home. Not only do they help relieve sources of conflict, but they are also powerful tools in safeguarding employees’ mental health and wellbeing.
Distributed Teams Best Practices: Tips For Managers
You want even more advice? Hold on, we’ve assembled another list of key lessons we have learned at MyHub about management best practices for distributed teams.
1. Hire The Right People
It may sound obvious but not everyone is suited to remote working. It’s essential to hire the right people who respect the opportunity and the team they work with. This is where trust and transparency is key.
Try to source candidates who have a proven track record of freelancing or remote working. One way to weed out unsuitable candidates is to use dedicated sites to advertise like https://weworkremotely.com/. They have a massive pool of talent registered looking for roles. And it’s low cost and doesn’t require engaging an external recruiter.
2. Pay Market Rates
A distributed team business model may well save you overheads, but don’t use it purely as a cost-saving exercise. Pay market rates and ensure you remunerate based on the value to the business on a like-for-like basis regardless of where they work in the world.
3. Make Onboarding A Priority
Once you have found the right team member, you need to ensure they are inducted into the business. Effective onboarding is even more important in distributed teams. It’s easy to set the new staff member up on your systems and just leave them to get on with it. However, for a remote worker, it’s vital they are made to feel welcome from the get-go. Ensure your new team member has access to all the tools, systems and support they need so they can quickly be up and running. Consider buddying up the new hire with a colleague who can act as a friendly mentor in those crucial first few weeks.
4. Set Clear Productivity Measures
Make sure you have good measurements for productivity. It’s much easier with software engineers and support staff as you can measure the inputs and outputs; however, it’s important to make sure all roles understand the outputs required. Set clear and measurable expectations from the start with KPIs and deadlines.
Furthermore, it’s important to focus on outcomes rather than hours spent online. When you don’t share an office with someone, it’s not possible to monitor when they start and finish work. Plus, you won’t be able to see if they are distracted by social media or are watching the box set of Boardwalk Empire.
It’s time to switch your mindset and instead focus on evaluating outputs. If your employee is delivering tasks on time and to the required standard, then does the rest really matter?
5. Check In Daily
At MyHub we use daily stand-up calls as a way of sharing ideas and keeping updated on progress and actions. These daily calls take just a few minutes but ensure we communicate and stay connected. Plus, you can provide ongoing support and discuss any minor issues and roadblocks as early as possible.
However, it’s important not to be too task-focused when you’re talking to team members. It’s easy to just jump straight into the task or issue. However, you also need to spend time just chatting to people and building relationships as you would in an office environment. One of the biggest things remote workers miss is the casual banter that is part and parcel of the office environment. So, creating opportunities for informal conversation is important.
6. Set Up Good Communication Tools
You must have simple-to-use, easily accessible, and effective communication tools in place. Your team members need to be able to talk to each other, share knowledge and manage tasks and projects.
As well as video or audio-conferencing tools, you will also need collaboration software so staff can share insights or create and edit documents. And it almost goes without saying but cloud storage is, of course, essential. The 24/7 nature of the cloud means your team can access documents and data regardless of geography or time zones.
7. Respect Time Boundaries
The team at MyHub work in several different countries: from New Zealand to the US, Japan, and Germany. We have learned it’s important to be mindful of time boundaries and different time zones. What may be part of the normal working day for you could be late at night for your team members. In our connected world with the constant ping of notifications on our devices, it can be hard to switch off from work. If your business requires staff to start earlier or work later, then be clear from the onset and respect employees’ downtime.
8. Achieve A Work-Life Balance
When your workspace is just a few feet away, the risks are you move from work-life balance to work-life integration.
It’s easy to just do that quick email late in the evening or over the weekend. You need to be disciplined and say no, it can wait. Likewise, skipping lunch or taking a break is easy to overlook when remote working. Staff should be encouraged to include breaks in their daily schedule.
This applies to team members as well. Not everyone has the luxury of a home office. Most of your staff will most likely be using the same laptop for business and personal use. As the manager, you need to role model the appropriate work-life balance behavior.
9. Create A Team Spirit
This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge for managers of distributed teams. And there are no easy answers. Remote working can be a lonely business for you as well as your team members.
One solution is to create a communication channel where people can connect informally. Do you have a favorite Spotify playlist that helps you focus at work? Then why not share it on the group chat? People like to chat about their hobbies and holiday plans. And they like to exchange views on what’s happening in the news or on the football field. Finding ways for team members to connect informally is just as important as the work stuff.
10. Invest In An Intranet
As a platform for managing distributed teams, an intranet really does tick all the boxes. It can simultaneously address the requirement for informal as well as formal communication. And it’s the perfect vehicle for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and task management.
And the good news is, it’s accessible on any device and from any location or time zone. Fully integrated and with just one sign-on, it’s the distributed team management platform you have been looking for.
Remote Team Management
With remote work here to stay, finding ways to resolve internal disagreements is a new skill requirement for many managers.
Conflict is more likely to occur in virtual teams, as written communications can be misinterpreted. However, managers need to ensure minor irritants aren’t allowed to fester into much bigger problems. Challenging though it may be, the tips outlined here will help you overcome remote team conflict.
MyHub’s intranet software can assist your conflict resolution efforts. Our easy-to-use intranet will improve internal communications and bring your remote working staff together. Explore the possibilities today with a free demo or 14-day trial.
