Online facilitation tools are continually evolving and corporate culture shifts over time, making it hard to keep up with the best practices for online facilitation. In this article, we compiled the most up-to-date best practices and tips for preparing for and implementing effective online facilitation in your meetings, workshops, and more.

What Is Online Facilitation?

Online facilitation, also called virtual facilitation, is the process of guiding and supporting a collaborative group of people as they accomplish a goal or work on a project together during a virtual meeting. For a typical business, online facilitation may be done by an internal team member or an outsourced partner, with that facilitator helping to plan, guide, and assist during the session to navigate conflicts and come to a group agreement or work product.

Successful meetings make good use of the attendees’ time, promoting engagement from all team members and delivering a clear action plan that continues beyond the end of the meeting. Achieving this level of efficiency can be particularly daunting for new leaders or inexperienced facilitators, however professional online facilitation best practices can make success more approachable.

Why Quality Online Facilitation Matters

Organizations utilize online facilitation for meetings, webinars, training sessions, online learning, workshops and more. When your online discussions and virtual sessions are led by a skilled virtual facilitator, a more productive outcome can be achieved. 

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According to Gallup, 29% of remote-capable jobs are fully remote, and 52% of remote-capable jobs are hybrid. These statistics mean that most businesses will find themselves engaging in some level of online meetings.

Some professionals may ask: Why do we even need online facilitation?

Facilitation supports productive team member collaboration and the most efficacious use of time. A skilled online facilitator can lead structured sessions that bring out engagement from all team members and overcome any potential conflicts.

Without facilitation, online meetings can quickly become ineffective, with common pitfalls including:

• Unengaged attendees
• Failure to stick to meeting purpose
• Unequal participation
• Going over on time or needing additional meetings
• Derailment by distractions
• Lack of commitments going forward 

With the proper planning and a skilled virtual facilitator, your online meetings can be highly successful.

How to Prepare for Online Facilitation Sessions

Much of the work of online facilitation occurs prior to the session. Facilitators must learn the unique needs of their group and the specific goals for the session, so they can then anticipate potential obstacles and prepare accordingly.

1. Choose the Right Online Facilitation Tools

When it comes to successful virtual meetings, the right online tools can make all the difference. This does not just include Zoom or whichever meeting platform you’re using, though, as effective meetings require more than quality video conferencing software.

Prior to your session, ask if you have the interactive tools you need to ensure that the meeting is on everyone’s calendars, plus the tools you would need for an agenda, note-taking, and tasks related to the outcome of the meeting. Some project management platforms can offer most of these elements by integrating with your notes, calendars, and tasks.

During the session, you may want to utilize polls, breakouts, and chat tools. Practice using these tools, and ensure your attendees have a reasonable opportunity to become familiar with them as well. 

2. Have a Plan for Technical Issues

We’ve all been victim to technical issues, and, often, it’s hard to tell the source of those problems. While these problems cannot be totally prevented, facilitators can take steps to ensure that they are well-prepared for potential technical hiccups.

Professional online facilitators should ensure that they have a high-quality, reliable internet connection, with a backup hotspot or other option in case of a provider outage. They should also set an example for attendees by utilizing a quality microphone and webcam, ensuring they are muted when not speaking, and taking the meeting in a private, quiet area. 

Prior to the meeting, share expectations with all attendees and encourage them to reach out with any questions or needs. Identify the primary IT contact who can be available in case of any emergent issues. Share a contingency plan in case an attendee encounters a technical issue, and ensure the meeting is recorded in case that happens. 

3. Establish a Clear Agenda for Your Online Facilitation Session

When considering the best practices for facilitating online discussions, alignment should be kept front of mind. Alignment refers to how similarly the participants view the goal or purpose of their discussion, plus how closely the course of the meeting sticks to that purpose.

One key tool to promote alignment is a clear, easily accessible agenda, which should be shared with all attendees in advance. If not shared ahead of the meeting, the agenda should be shared and discussed at the beginning of the session to help attendees understand the structure of the meeting. 

The agenda should list only the highest level topics to prevent it from being too lengthy and should also point out when any breaks will take place—which is particularly important for long meetings or workshops. A strong agenda can support your focus on the overall purpose.

For more ideas on how to utilize an agenda and beyond, join Facilitation Lab, our weekly virtual meetup where an inclusive community of facilitators ideate and experiment with the latest facilitation activities and methods.

4. Create an Inclusive, Welcoming Virtual Session

According to Forbes Advisor, 53% of remote workers say it’s harder to feel connected to coworkers. Facilitated virtual discussions can provide a comfortable environment for coworkers to build bonds with one another while collaborating toward a common goal.

In order to increase the likelihood of this positive outcome, an online facilitator can take steps to curate a safe and welcoming virtual environment. To do this, online facilitators should outline etiquette expectations, which can include muting all non-speakers, utilizing the “raise hand” function to prevent interruptions, and setting suggested time limits on responses.

Set clear expectations for behavior and etiquette, and have a plan for addressing any conflict or unacceptable behavior.

5. Assign Asynchronous Tasks Before the Meeting

One of the biggest challenges in online facilitation is getting participants to be engaged and active during the session. In order to spark critical thinking ahead of the meeting, assign asynchronous tasks to be completed prior to the event, such as brainstorming or answering some pre-session questions. 

Asynchronous tasks like brainstorming can save valuable time while empowering attendees to complete tasks on their own schedule. These async tasks will also bring attendees to the meeting prepared and thinking about what they will discuss, increasing the likelihood of their active participation.

5 Best Practices for Online Facilitation – During the Session

Whether you’re leading a virtual workshop, online training session, or remote meeting, there are several best practices for online facilitation you can follow for a successful event.

1. Set the Tone Right Away

The first few moments of a remote meeting set the tone, often deciding if attendees will be dialed in or zoned out. Focus on introducing the safe environment, overall expectations, and session goals in a positive and enthusiastic manner. 

Take a moment to highlight any shared spaces, like a virtual chat or other interactive tool, to increase the likelihood of participant use. Go over the agenda succinctly, and be sure to highlight any breaks for longer workshops and events.

Be mindful of the fact that some attendees may be dealing with Zoom fatigue, which is the very real exhaustion that can come from prolonged remote meetings on video chat platforms. While there is no easy fix for Zoom fatigue, there are ways to limit its impact, like by encouraging attendees to turn off the self-view of their camera and to not use the full-screen mode for their video chat platform.

2. Incorporate Interactive Elements and Visual Aids

Visual aids break up the monotony of remote meetings and encourage your participants to keep their eyes from wandering to other screens. For example, a thoughtfully-prepared slide deck can remind your participants of your current topic and share key information that may be better conveyed through a graphic or chart.

Traditional visual aids are a great tool for conveying meaning, but additional interactive tools can be used to bring about more engagement from attendees. Set aside time to show participants how to use these tools if they are new or not a regular part of meetings.

Popular interactive elements for remote meetings and online sessions include:

• Presentation software, like Mentimeter
• Collaboration and meeting platforms, like Butter
• Virtual whiteboards, like Miro &  Mural

If you’re not ready to use a dedicated online facilitation tool, like those listed above, you can use Google Docs to collaborate in a shared space. You can easily share editing access to a Google Docs file, plus share your screen while facilitating, providing a simple way for everyone to get into the same space and begin to visualize.

3. Plan Your Meeting with Timeboxing

It can be easy to lose track of time, particularly if you’re having a great session with active participants. Even with a clear agenda, it can be challenging to envision how long each topic will take to cover.

One of the best practices for online facilitation, particularly when it comes to time management, is timeboxing. Timeboxing is the planning of dedicated, specific blocks of time for each agenda item. These clear time limits will ensure you get to every topic, and you can add a contingency time block to fill with any topics that need additional discussion.

Keep in mind your meeting’s purpose, though, and stay true to that above all. If this means making on the fly adjustments to your agenda or how you use your time, feel empowered to do so.

4. Encourage Critical Thinking and Effective Communication

One of the best practices for online facilitation is to make the attendees a part of the program by engaging directly with them, rather than presenting to them nonstop. Dedicate time to ask open-ended questions, share discussion prompts, and curate exercises, thus encouraging participants to activate their critical thinking skills and make discussion contributions. 

Utilize breakout sessions to give more introverted participants a chance to engage in the discussion. In order to increase the likelihood of success in these breakout rooms, consider selecting session captains ahead of time to encourage active discussions in each breakout session.

Disagreements are a regular part of bringing together a diverse group of people, but that conflict does not need to result in negative experiences. Expectations for conflict resolution should be shared up front as part of the overall remote session etiquette.

5. Spark Long-Term Engagement and Reflection

Just as the first few moments of your remote meeting are very important, the last moments are equally meaningful. It’s possible your attendees will depart and not give further thought to what you discussed, but you can increase the likelihood of making a long-term impact with a few key practices.

If your session has clear next steps, like assigned tasks for a project, be sure to share those in a timely manner and with transparency, so all team members know what’s going on. For remote learning, online workshops, or virtual training sessions, consider assigning asynchronous follow-up tasks that require contemplation beyond what was already discussed.

Share the event recording as well as any notes compiled to give participants quick reference materials for the future. Finally, send a feedback survey to explore potential areas of improvement.

Embracing Best Practices for Online Facilitation in 2023

The best online facilitation creates a welcoming atmosphere where ideas can be freely shared while participants work toward a common purpose. In a world of remote work, with attendees scattered in different cities, environments, and time zones, good online facilitation can lead to beneficial virtual sessions and greater business success.

The digital space continues to evolve, so a successful leader should stay curious and open to new tools, expectations, and practices in online facilitation. When you stay nimble, you can better anticipate and handle the changing landscape.

At Voltage Control, we continually challenge expectations for online facilitation and maintain the very best practices. We help leaders and teams harness the power of facilitation through our courses, workshops, certifications, and beyond. Voltage Control also hosts Facilitation Lab, a weekly virtual meetup of the facilitator community. Facilitation Lab provides a great place to engage in free and paid events that deepen learning and exposure to new techniques and tools.

Contact Voltage Control to learn how great online facilitation can benefit your organization.

The post Online Facilitation: Best Practices & Tips for 2023 appeared first on Voltage Control.

Continuous improvement is a commitment to ongoing change. This concept of constant incremental change allows organizations to refine their processes, products, and services frequently. Taken from agile methodology, the continuous improvement model lets organizations take a gradual approach to change management.

In this article, we explore the path to continuous improvement in the following topics:

• Change as a Concept
• The Principles of Incremental Improvement
• Applications of Continuous Improvement
• Why Continuous Improvement Works

Change as a Concept

Continuous improvement considers change as a concept. This concept centers on the desire to grow in every way and at every opportunity. Lean methodology approaches continuous improvement as a way to enhance value while changing for the better. 

This model alleviates the fear factor commonly associated with change, allowing team members to embrace change as rapidly as possible. This approach to continuous improvement accelerates the steps toward change by mitigating the factors that lead to wasted time, energy, and resources. 

Kaizen is at the heart of the continuous improvement model. Kaizen refers to continuously improving each process in your company by enhancing the products and processes that generate the most value for your team and customers, all while reducing waste activities as much as possible. 

In Lean methodology, there are three kinds of waste:

1.Muda: The seven wastes

  Muda refers to activities and processes that don’t add value, such as:

• Defects
• Waiting
• Motion
• Inventory
• Overproduction
• Reprocessing
• Transportation

2.Mura: The waste of unevenness

Mura refers to unevenness in production or process. This type of waste causes an imbalance in the allocation of people or materials. Mura waste is described as:

• Bumpy
• Spiky
• Up & Down
• Stop & Start
• Lumpy
• Unequal
• Peaks & Valley
• Unlevel

This level of imbalance can cause stress, fatigue, accidents, and breakdowns.

3. Muri- The waste of overburden

Muri occurs when people and machines are overburdened with expectations and work, causing stress and fatigue as they are pushed beyond their natural limits. This overburdening will lead to defects, breakdowns, and wasted products and materials. 

By applying continuous improvement to your change management process, you’ll be able to reduce the effects of muda, mura, and muri.

The Principles of Incremental Improvement

Continuous improvement allows for the most effective and positive continuous change. Begin making these incremental shifts by following the six principles of continuous improvement: 

Principle 1: Improvements Come From Small Changes

In the continuous improvement model, small changes are preferable as they lead to greater paradigm shifts. This concept allows for the most significant changes by approaching transitions incrementally.

Following this principle allows organizations to progress toward greater change strategically. When put into practice, this principle helps to amplify ideas that eliminate waste.

Principle 2: Employee Ideas Are Valuable

The continuous improvement model relies on employee involvement to identify the best opportunities for evolution. Known as bottom-up improvement, this concept is effective as it considers the reality that employees are always the closest ones to the most pressing problems, making them the best equipped to solve them.

With this principle in mind, organizations should engage their employees as much as possible in their change management strategy. Consider involving employees in small day-to-day improvements by asking them to think of one idea that can save five minutes a day. This small action will empower your team to drive a larger impact through the entire organization. With each team member’s time-saving ideas, you’ll be able to eliminate waste on a larger scale.

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Principle 3: Incremental Improvements Are Typically Inexpensive to Implement

A common barrier to continuous improvement is the cost related to making large-scale changes. This principle addresses such costs by exploring ways to achieve incremental change without incurring significant expenses. 

This principle asserts that the most significant changes involve eliminating unnecessary steps in one’s process. With a focus on refining the process, organizations can effectively reduce wasted effort and unnecessary expenses.

Principle 4. Employees Take Ownership in the Continuous Improvement Process

As employees become more engaged in your continuous improvement strategy, taking ownership of the process empowers them to lead the change. By sharing authorship in the process, team members can identify areas for improvement, follow through in the implementation of ideas, see measurable impacts of their work, and take credit for their contributions. 

With increased employee engagement in the continuous improvement model, leaders actively create buy-in from their team, which in turn increases their investment in the outcome of these change initiatives. 

Principle 5: Improvement is Reflective

Continuous improvement relies on constant feedback from all stakeholders in an organization. In all phases of the 

continuous improvement model, team members and leaders should practice open communication. Traditional improvement culture often misses the mark in obtaining regular feedback, resulting in decisions and changes that are out of touch with what employees want.

Take a reflective approach to improvement by encouraging team collaboration and employee visibility. Creating a culture of reflection gives team leaders and coaches the chance to evaluate the team’s performance regularly. Moreover, leaders will take the time to frequently request feedback from others and use this information to refine their continuous improvement strategy. 

Principle 6: Improvement is Measurable and Potentially Repeatable

Continuous improvement understands that lasting change must be measurable. The ability to measure change determines if the change can be applied to other problems. Additionally, positive ROI is proof of a sound continuous improvement strategy. 

In measuring improvement, consider key performance indicators such as cost savings, time to market, revenue, collections, safety incidents, customer satisfaction, and the like.

Applications of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an effective change management model as it helps organizations identify the best opportunities to reduce waste and accelerate growth. This methodology highlights the best strategy for consistent change. 

The following are three of the most effective models to achieve continuous improvement:

1.Plan-Do-Check-Act

The Plan-Do-Check-Act model is one of the more popular approaches to continuous improvement. This four-step model is used in change management and is a repeatable cycle for continuous change. This model incorporates the Deming Circle, a never-ending cycle that interprets past results to help facilitate future improvements.

In applying the PDCA model, consider the following steps:

• Plan
  • Identify your problems
• Do
  • Test potential solutions
• Check
  • Study results
• Act
  • Implement the best solutions 

2. Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis helps facilitate Kaizen by highlighting the root cause of your problems. This iterative practice zeroes in on a problem by determining the causes behind it. One can only complete the Root Cause Analysis if the final negative effect is identified and can be prevented once the cause is removed. 

3. Applying Lean Kanban

A lack of visibility makes it harder to identify problems until it’s too late. Lean Kanban allows organizations to visualize the next steps of continuous improvement.

The Kanban system helps leaders improve workflow efficiency by using six core practices to reduce waste:

1. Visualize your workflow
2. Limit interruptions and work-in-progress
3. Manage flow
4. Make process policies explicit
5. Create feedback loops
6. Evolve experimentally and improve collaboratively

Why Continuous Improvement Works

True continuous improvement methodology is powered by a culture of continual change. Making the shift from a standard change management mindset to one that advocates for the best possibilities for continuous change has numerous applications.

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Continuous improvement stands to benefit your business in a variety of ways, such as:

• Increasing Employee Loyalty

With the continuous improvement model, employees are encouraged to engage as much as possible. These actively engaged employees care more about their work and feel a renewed sense of commitment to the organization. Moreover, a focus on continual change encourages staff members to freely share their ideas and feedback as they know their suggestions play a critical role in shaping the organization for the better.

• Improving Customer Service

A desire to grow consistently has incredible benefits for customer service. By approaching continuous improvement with the end-user in mind, organizations can strive to deliver even better value for their customers every step of the way. This method provides an ideal framework to anticipate customers’ needs and minimize waste in the process of delivering the most value.

• Creating a Culture of Learning 

Incorporating a desire to focus on continuous change drives a culture of learning. As team members and leaders work on perfecting their processes and practicing each day, they will be more inclined to seek out new ideas, technology, and resources to accomplish even more. This desire for continuous improvement benefits an organization on every level as each stakeholder seeks to find new ways of working. 

Committing to transformation changes everything. Voltage Control can help you and your team define the best path for your organization’s continuous improvement. Contact us to learn more about incremental change. 

The post Big Changes Start Small: The Key to Continuous Improvement appeared first on Voltage Control.

Integrating more flextime into the workplace is a must as the workforce adjusts to a more hybrid landscape. With increased flexibility in the way we work comes greater opportunities for innovation and improved employee interconnectedness.

According to statistics, 63% of employees believe flexibility is the key to feeling empowered in the workplace.

In this article, we’ll explore the power of flexibility in the workplace in the following topics:

• What is Flextime?
• Why Flexibility Matters
• The Creative Flex
• Options for Flextime

What is Flextime?

Flextime is an arrangement in which employees can alter their work day. Employees with flextime can adjust the time their work day begins or ends. In addition to giving employees more freedom to work outside the standard “9 – 5”, flextime is a favorable scheduling option for organizations experimenting with hybrid work offerings. 

Greater flexibility in the workplace creates a more enjoyable and enthusiastic experience. With flextime, team members can do their work when they feel they perform at their best. While flextime doesn’t reduce the number of hours in a workweek, a flexible schedule allows employees to design their workday according to their needs. Successful flextime schedules meet both the needs of their employer and employee as this new schedule allows each team member to maximize their productivity and performance.

Ultimately, flextime acknowledges that an organization is more than the work that is done; it’s about how the work gets done. By allowing your team members to work in a way that meets their needs, you’ll encourage flexibility in the workplace and promote a greater work-life balance that allows them to do their best work yet. 

Why Flexibility Matters

Flexibility plays a crucial role in the working world. As more businesses opt for hybrid and remote positions, allowing team members to redesign their workday encourages a sense of autonomy that can lead to improved performance. Flextime is a suitable option for team members seeking a new way of work depending on their unique circumstances.

Employers can improve employee satisfaction by focusing on flexibility by enhancing the overall employee experience. A workplace that allows members to center their needs and work accordingly promotes empathy. Organizations that align their values with their team members will build psychological safety, trust, and connectedness. 

Though some may see granting flexible working hours as a “give and take” in the workplace, flextime is really about building relational capital. In honoring the needs of others, we deepen our connection with each other. With this dedication to connectedness, you’ll be able to build stronger, more passionate, and more motivated teams. 

The Creative Flex

Flexibility goes beyond granting employees’ wishes to work an hour earlier or later. At its core, a flexible workplace fosters the most creativity. Organizations that encourage the greatest flexibility can redesign the way they work, reshape their destiny, and co-create their future. A company that is a safe space for flexible working, creative thinking, and innovative collaboration is the breeding ground for the best ideas and most productive work. 

In deciding how flexibility fits in your company culture, consider the overall employee experience. Giving your team the most flexibility helps to build trust among employees and employers. Moreover, team members will feel as though they truly matter to the company and will choose to remain loyal members of the team.

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As you configure various flextime arrangements, consider the following advantages and things to consider when thinking of offering workplace flexibility:

Advantages:

• Boost productivity
• Reduce overhead costs
• Improve morale
• Aid in recruitment
• Increase retention
• Foster innovation
• Expand your talent pool

Things to consider when planning for flexwork:

• Blurring a work/life balance
• Procrastination
• Communication issues
• Isolation
• Different time zones and working hours
• Technical needs of employees
• Training initiatives for team members

In the world of hybrid and remote work, flextime offers a significant advantage: team members can get the most work done, wherever they may be. Promoting an asynchronous workforce gives distributed and hybrid workers the greatest opportunity to reach their objectives. 

Remember, the goal of flextime is to encourage employees to do their work when they’re the most productive. Offering such flexibility in remote and hybrid teams effectively promotes positive performance, achieves team goals, and increases motivation and productivity.

Options for Flextime

Though there are a variety of work models that increase flexibility in the workplace, flextime focuses on adjusting one’s work day. While this type of flexibility is easily accommodated with one person, employers should make further considerations to accommodate flextime requests.

Consider the following options when approving flextime in your organization:

1.Job Sharing

Since flextime does not reduce the number of hours in the work week, job sharing allows two employees to enjoy a flexible schedule while working the same number of hours. With job sharing, two part-time employees split the hours of one full-time employee. This allows team members to maximize productivity by evenly splitting their roles and responsibilities.

2. Flexible Schedule

One of the best models for flextime is allowing team members to work during different hours. This can mean coming in at different times or working on an asynchronous schedule in a hybrid or remote team. 

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3. Flexible Work Week 

In a flexible workweek, team members can alternate the number of days they work in a week. This allows team members to take a few days off as needed or work consecutively to have multiple consecutive days off.

4. Comp Time 

Offering employees flextime with comp time gives them the ability to work later and leave earlier or take days off to balance their hours. 

5. Remote Work

Flextime through remote work allows team members the opportunity to work from home, a co-working space, or wherever they have a stable wi-fi connection.

Benefits of Flextime

The reality of flextime is that it benefits both the employer and the employee. In a successful flexible workplace, all parties realize their potential and enjoy the greatest returns.

Employees that take advantage of flextime in the workplace will benefit from the following

1.A Better Work-Life Balance

Flextime gives employees the chance to meet their personal needs without compromising their performance or productivity. With a flexible schedule, they can do their work anytime, anywhere. 

2. Improved Health

With the freedom to enjoy increased flexibility in how one works, employees can properly care for their mental, physical, and spiritual health. Team members enjoy optimal health, they’ll be able to do their best work. 

3. More Opportunities

As flexibility allows for greater innovation, team members with flexible work arrangements can take advantage of more opportunities. Employees with flextime can realize their full potential and make greater steps in their careers. 

Create flexible workplaces to change the way your organization works. At Voltage Control, we help leaders build retention and strengthen employee experience through change! Contact us to learn more about how to make flextime work for your team.

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Effective team building gives teams the confidence necessary to bring the best out of each other. While statistics show that 75% of employees view collaboration as an essential part of their organization, 86% of executives attribute a lack of efficient collaboration to company-wide failure. Fixing the gap in successful team building starts with shifting culture.

In this article, we discuss how to create a culture of continuous connection in the following topics:

• The Danger of Disconnection
• The Key to Confidence Building
• Creating Connection with Culture
• Connecting with Creativity

The Danger of Disconnection

The most successful teams thrive in environments that encourage and welcome camaraderie, connection, and collaboration. A reported 50% of employees feel a sense of disconnection in the workplace. It’s up to team leaders to combat the challenges of disconnection and bring their teams together. 

This challenge of connection is especially true for hybrid and distributed teams. As teams learn to navigate the issues that come with working remotely, it becomes clear employees and management need to learn the signs of disconnection in the workplace to better address them. 

Watch out for these signs of disconnection in your team:

1. Team Members are Lonely

In today’s world, it’s easy to feel disconnected as a result of isolation and loneliness. This is especially true for distributed teams as the physical distance is easily translated to an emotional distance as well. As team members feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness, their work may suffer due to a decline in executive functions, a lack of motivation, and an increasing sense of dissatisfaction.

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Leaders can combat this loneliness by investing in team building and prioritizing their organization’s emotional culture. Championing a culture that values compassion, caring, and affection allows employees to feel a sense of connection, even when they are working remotely. 

2. The Quality of Work is Declining

Another clear sign of a disconnected team is a decline in the quality of work. If your team members aren’t working to the best of their abilities, tasks are left incomplete, projects are mismanaged, and details are overlooked, this is a clear sign of a disconnected team. 

Leaders can combat a decline in work quality by using team building to encourage better work practices. Start this process by analyzing your team’s current practices with questions such as: 

• Do your employees have the necessary resources to complete their work? 
• Is your team filled with a diverse group of people that can offer new insights and onions? 
• Are employees confident that the workplace is a psychologically safe environment?

3. Your Turnover Rate is High

If your rate of attrition is high, your team likely feels a sense of disconnection. Employees who feel uncomfortable and unhappy with their work are encouraged to leave their job rather than make improvements. Fight against attrition by making an effort to assess your team’s needs, understand their complaints, and rectify any issues. Committing to making an effort towards continuous team building will create an environment that team members don’t want to leave. 

The Key to Confidence Building

Once the seeds of disconnection are rooted out, the next step is finding ways to build up your team. As you investigate the best team-building efforts, consider confidence as the key to keeping your team connected. 

Confidence is key in encouraging employees to understand their abilities and put in their best effort, whether working together or independently. Instilling an enduring sense of self-confidence will help create a connected culture. 

Team leaders can build this sense of confidence in their teams with practices such as:

1. Investing in Your Employees

Investing in team building starts with investing in your employees. Remember, teams, are only as strong as their leaders. 

Investing in your team goes beyond any monetary value; true investments demonstrate to your employees that you value their effort and communicate the confidence you have in them. As your team members continue to feel that their contributions are validated and that they are valued team members, their confidence will grow as well.  

2. Creating a Sense of Safety

Leaders can instill confidence by designing a workplace that allows team members to grow. In a psychologically safe workplace, team members can share their ideas, practice their skills, and make mistakes. In such an environment, employees can work to the best of their abilities without the fear of retribution or retaliation. 

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Ultimately, companies with a confident culture understand the best way for employees to learn is to fail forward. In doing so, team members can strengthen their confidence muscle and build the skills needed to keep going forward, regardless of any fear they may feel.

3. Encouraging Diversity

Team members can connect confidently when they feel as though their voices are valued. By promoting and encouraging diverse perspectives and viewpoints in the workplace, team leaders actively communicate that they value inclusion and diversity. The concept of requisite variety reinforces the idea that different perspectives are necessary for organizations to successfully grow collaborative teams. 

Creating Connection with Culture

The magic of connection happens when every member of an organization understands and agrees with their shared values, goals, and ideas. Your company culture is the starting point of creating connections throughout your company. These are the attitudes of your team members, leaders, and organization. As a healthy culture strengthens connections, creating a culture that prioritizes team building and continuous growth is important. 

Shift your current culture to build the best team by zeroing in on habits, patterns, and desired behavior. The secret to such a shift lies in repetition. Changing to a more connected culture requires leaders to share their values, repeat their expectations, and communicate in multiple mediums to create a lasting cultural shift. Likewise, employees can prioritize team building themselves by strengthening connections through repeated behavior.

For example, if disconnection amongst the team leads to a decrease in motivation, employees should practice checking in with team leaders and colleagues and honestly sharing their emotions and thoughts.

In a psychologically safe environment, team members and leaders alike will actively listen and thoughtfully respond to any gaps in connection. This will help teams develop a practice of perceiving disconnection, sharing their concerns, and responding to meet each team member’s needs. Over the following weeks, months, and years, this practice will reinforce their organizational cultures as one that centers employee connection. 

Connecting with Creativity

Healthy company culture is a perfect recipe for creating a creative and innovative workforce. Just as repetition strengthens confidence and creates new habits, it’s also crucial in fostering and developing innovation and creativity. 

Team leaders can harness creativity’s connectivity powers in the following ways:

1. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a critical element in creative connection. This exercise encourages team members to problem-solve together and come up with as many ideas as possible. This activity encourages innovation as participants are reminded that no idea is a bad idea. 

2. Facilitating Liberating Structures

Liberating Structures is a facilitation framework that encourages team building. Consisting of 33 microstructures, this framework helps foster trust, cooperation, and collaboration among team members. 

3. Mind Maps

Mind maps are another creative exercise that helps build team cohesion. Perform this activity by writing an idea on a piece of paper. Next, team members can build connections from the main point, writing down what each connecting branch may be. Team members will continue building out each connection to create new ideas.

4. R&D Activities

Research and development activities help teams create new designs and improve on their current ideas. This process encourages team members to examine their current products and practices and create solutions based on the existing challenges. A design sprint process is an excellent approach to research and development for team building as it helps team members solve major problems relatively quickly. 

5. Template Exercises

Innovation doesn’t always come easily. Kickstart this process with Mural and Miro facilitation templates We have many custom templates to get you going. These templates encourage your team to approach innovation in new ways.

Creating a cultural shift towards a more connected company will help you build a better team. Contact us at Voltage control to learn more about the best techniques for team building. We help leaders and teams change the way they affect their company culture! 

The post The Challenge of Connection: Why Team Building Matters appeared first on Voltage Control.

Good work is a product of perspective. Broader perspectives develop with distance. Within this context, distance most often comes in the form of listening and observing, then thinking before contributing.

Are you aware of how much time you spend talking? Within a team, people usually have a tendency to talk or listen. If you tend to talk more, consider pacing yourself by allowing a certain number of people to speak before sharing your own thoughts. You may discover that someone already spoke up about an idea that you had in mind. This gives you the opportunity to expand upon it as opposed to being the one to introduce it.

An employee’s value isn’t directly correlated to the quantity of their verbal contributions. We can bring value to a conversation through presence and empathy.

Merriam Webster defines empathy as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.”

Stop and look around. The power of observation is not to be underestimated. Previously, we talked about checking in with ourselves: the different ways to do so and the consequences of self-awareness as a leader. Combined with the ability to listen with our eyes, we understand how to check in on others and provide opportunities for innovation.

Internalizing the Need for Observation

Listening with our eyes is a concise concept that can birth new dynamics within a team. Put simply, listening with our eyes is paying attention. It’s a deeper form of listening.

There are many ways for us to listen, spoken and unspoken. When contributing to a conversation, it’s motivating to feel seen and heard. Listening with our eyes allows us to provide that affirmation when appropriate.

When we are around people, how do we observe and pay attention? Where are your eyes focusing? Our attention tends to follow our gaze. Is anyone distracted by notifications? Is there hesitation in the room? Is someone gazing out of the window? You’re not going to hear them, but you can observe them. Facial expressions and moods or energy levels are just a start. 

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This is more challenging in a virtual space, as there’s less to observe. Even with video and sound, we’re challenged differently in the virtual environment.

Noticing when someone turns off their camera can be a powerful sign. When the internet is flaky, how does that affect someone? Are we missing critical cues by keeping our camera off? With cameras on, are we looking at the speaker or ourselves? We can maximize time on camera by observing others. On a deeper level, observation will take time with virtual work, but it’s still equally important.

We can notice and pick up on more as we spend less time talking and more time listening. Deeper observations allow us to make more impactful assessments of what’s going on and to connect more, which takes us back to the concept of empathy.

In our conversation with Stanford University’s Christina Wodtke, she states, “The only thing that really matters is having empathy for people who are very different from you, and the better you can get at that, the more likely you are to get the company to work better.”

As we empathize, we learn more about individuals. For a leader, it’s crucial. Empathy reveals a layer of understanding we can use to work better together. In which dynamics does someone thrive? What makes them tick? Is there tension between certain employees or teams? Do they display support or resistance to a plan or idea? When we know our teammates better, we’re able to work with them more effectively. Observing with all possible senses provides a huge advantage. If you’re often talking, you’re seldom listening with your eyes.

Be more present and pay more attention. Our eyes and other senses can provide other inputs that we can use to make an impact.

Visualizing Together

When we visualize together, it’s powerful. It accelerates communication and combats confusion. It also invites people into a space that allows people to think of things as they develop rather than when on-the-spot asked. 

Providing or creating a visual of verbal content helps most people to align in observance. It’s a tool to deepen understanding.

For example, taking notes for all to see in a meeting provides a reference to talking points as the conversation develops when people want to reference a point in the conversation, having a visual offers what some need to reprocess that moment.

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Virtually, we can pay attention to the chat or create a mural to visualize. The fact that something visual is there, even in a virtual environment, increases understanding better.

This isn’t to promote visual noise, rather to offer organized touchpoints for observation.

For visually impaired teammates, a remote workplace presents additional challenges. As a coworker, it’s important to reach out and ask if you can provide support. Do they need help adjusting video settings or getting settled with the tools we use? The team should be able to observe them as they do other employees. Are those tools navigable by them? Is there space made for engaging in conversation, or do meetings consist of constant talking? Are there particularly challenging tasks for your colleague, and would it make sense to switch responsibilities to accommodate their situation? Do your part by consistently offering help.

Building a Powerful Presence

Listening with our eyes can also build a powerful executive presence. 

Confidence is too often associated directly with extraversion. Quiet confidence is respected, especially within leadership. It’s acting with intent and believing in yourself. When we’re intentionally creating space, looking and listening is key.

The more data you take in, the more processing you do. The more you’re processing, the less output you’re creating. The less output you create, the more space there is for others to create output. 

For people who struggle to create space for others, considering more input would naturally slow them down. 

Check-in with the team. As a leader, you’re going to get unmatched value from employees when they feel heard and understood. Aim to listen and observe. 

Words often have more power when there are fewer of them.

By listening with our eyes, we learn empathy and enable creative growth.

Curious about how you can get started?

We offer Leadership Development Programs to help you grow as a teammate and an individual. If this article resonated with you, consider our upcoming events as a next step.

Reach out to us at hello@voltagecontrol.com with questions about getting help as a leader. Consider also exploring our downloads to get started.

The post Listening with Your Eyes appeared first on Voltage Control.

Learning to connect a culturally diverse virtual workforce is an essential part of managing cross cultural remote teams. Faced with the challenge of virtual team building, remote team managers also have to unite their virtual teams across any cultural differences, time zones, and other unique elements.

Recent studies show that 62% of virtual teams are comprised of workers from three or more cultures. Surprisingly, only 15% of team leaders have successfully led cross cultural remote teams. Such statistics show the dire need for improving cross cultural remote teams management.

In the following article, we’ll discuss managing cross cultural remote teams as we cover topics such as:

• What Are Cross Cultural Remote Teams?
• The Challenges of Cross Culture Remote Work
• Closing the Virtual Gap for Culturally Diverse Teams
• Essential Skills for Managing Cross Cultural Remote Teams
• Improving Cross Cultural Leadership Skills  

What Are Cross Cultural Remote Teams?

With the rise of remote work, it comes as no surprise that cross culture remote teams are the reality of today’s working world. Cross culture remote teams are teams made up of the global talent pool. Whether a company pulls freelancers from various parts of the world or hires remote team members within the same country, effectively working together requires a strategic approach to managing such a diverse group of workers. 
Remote work experts suggest that culture is defined as the social expectations, customs, and achievements unique to a nation or region. One’s idea of culture frames the way they approach work, life events, and communication. While distributed teams composed of members from various cultures are an effective way to diversify the workforce, the difference in cultures and time zones can lead to collaborative and communication challenges.

The Challenges of Cross Culture Remote Work

Managing cross cultural remote teams come with unique benefits and challenges. Being able to fill your team with the world’s greatest minds is an incredibly powerful way to shore up your company’s talent pool. However, each team member will have their practices, preferences, and ideas of company culture, and as a result, may have trouble gelling with the rest of the team. 

Moreover, team managers will experience the challenges of building a team in the virtual world. Without the face-to-face interaction of a shared workplace, cross-culture remote teams are more vulnerable to conflict and communication problems. 

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Remote team leaders face unique challenges such as:

1. Work Style

When managing cross cultural remote teams, be sure to address the individual work style of your team members. When working with team members from different cultures, it’s essential to acknowledge each person’s work style. This is especially true for team members that are of vastly different cultures. For example, certain work cultures prioritize individual opinions while others expect to follow a leader’s course of action.

2. Information Gaps

In the virtual world, information gaps are a huge threat when managing cross cultural remote teams. Any information gaps can negatively affect processes and data flows. All team members need access to the most appropriate resources to successfully collaborate. 

3. Motivation Factors

Team leaders should do their best to analyze how each person’s culture may affect their motivations to better manage their team. Motivation factors for cross culture remote teams are vastly different than that of a traditional company. For example, while some team members may be motivated by a range of tangible benefits like bonuses, others focus on intangible benefits like encouragement and job satisfaction. 

4. Influences

When managing cross cultural remote teams. Managers face the challenges of certain factions attempting to influence the rest of the group. If part of the team has the same cultural identity, they may use that to dominate a conversation or outcome, leading to conflict and contentious work environments. 

Closing the Virtual Gap for Culturally Diverse Teams

Navigating virtual cross-cultural teams starts with first addressing virtual team building. While your team’s cultural background may play a role in the unique challenges you face, everything comes back to your ability to work together as a team. Level the playing field with an effective strategy to close the gaps and facilitate stronger personal relationships among team members. 

By making an effort to strengthen connections between your team members, you’ll be able to bridge initial gaps created by remote work. Moreover, team members that share a common bond will be able to better navigate any cross-cultural challenges that may arise. Consider using intentionally designed games and activities like icebreakers to help strengthen connections between team members. 

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Essential Skills for Managing Cross Cultural Remote Teams

In the virtual world, company culture is constantly changing. To effectively run a diverse group of remote workers, team leaders must be open to learning the most appropriate skills to bring the best out of their team.

Lead your remote team to success by honing skills such as:

1. Adaptability 

Cross cultural management hinges upon the leader’s ability to understand each team member’s work style and make the necessary adjustments. While you shouldn’t completely abandon your leadership style, you will need to integrate other behaviors, worldviews, commonalities, and perspectives to find more relatable ways to manage your team. 

2. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is a key skill for leaders of cross-culture teams. Conflicts can arise quickly in a virtual workspace, so it’s important for you to regularly monitor and manage your own biases as you exercise patience and grace in your communications. Make an effort to frequently challenge your perspective and take a step back in your interactions with team members. This will help you navigate complex cultural challenges as you take note of where your perspective and behavior may require adjustment. 

3. Articulation

When working with a virtual team from different cultural backgrounds, clear communication is essential. By prioritizing articulation and careful and deliberate conversation, team leaders will be better able to ensure that every member of their team understands what they’re saying. Similarly, if other team members tend to speak too quickly, don’t hesitate to ask them to repeat themselves or speak at a slower pace. 

4. Writing Proficiency

In virtual meetings, calls, or voice notes, words can easily get lost in translation. Team leaders should develop the habit of communicating in writing to make sure all their team members have access to a document they can refer to at a later point in time. 

Improving Cross-Cultural Leadership Skills  

Remote work opens a world of possibilities in the way of team leadership. As your team expands to include a more culturally-diverse group, your leadership skills should improve as well. At Voltage Control, we offer facilitation courses, remote collaboration resources, and team-building workshops to help you navigate the pitfalls of managing remote teams and connecting culturally diverse groups. 

Work with our team of expert facilitators to learn more about managing cross cultural remote teams. With the help of workshops and resources, you’ll learn to expertly lead a virtual session, unite a distributed team, and appreciate and highlight the cultural differences that make your team a well-oiled virtual machine. Contact us to learn more about our custom programs for leadership development, master facilitation certification, and change management.

The post Closing the Virtual & Cultural Gap: Managing Cross Cultural Remote Teams appeared first on Voltage Control.

Low morale and low team morale are bad for business. While most employers hope to have a dream team of excited and passionate team members, what happens when that spark fades?

Studies find that low morale takes a heavy toll on the American economy. A Gallup Organization study revealed that reportedly 22 million disengaged employees result in 350 billion dollars in lost productivity each year. 

The best way to combat the threat of low morale in the workplace is to take preventative and proactive action. 

In this article we’ll discuss:

• The Danger of Low Team Morale 
• The Truth Behind Low Employee Morale
• Why Good Morale is Good for Business

The Danger of Low Team Morale 

Morale is an essential component of any workplace. A lack of team morale will ultimately threaten the health and productivity of your team and company at large. Low morale employees are disengaged, unmotivated, and apathetic toward their jobs, the work they do, and their employers. 

The risk is too great when faced with the threat of low morale and low team morale. Low morale and low team morale can quickly poison an entire company when left unaddressed. When one employee begins to feel the effects of low team morale, others are likely to fall prey to it. 

For this reason, the sooner you act to correct unfavorable employee morale, the better future your company and team members will have.

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The Truth Behind Low Employee Morale 

The endemic of poor employee morale may start with something as subtle as a lack of validation or acknowledgment of work. With time, these feelings can result in a rise in conflict, higher turnover rates, and increased absenteeism. 

One of the best ways to root out low morale is to stop it before it has a chance to spread through your workplace. For example, a recent study by O.C. Tanner, 80% of employees leave their job due to a lack of appreciation. Such an alarming statistic has a surprisingly simple solution: validating and appreciating employees. Employers can actively raise staff morale with incentives like free training, increased flexibility, and public shout-outs. 

Watch out for the following signs to identify poor behavior and negative attitudes before they escalate into low morale and low team morale:

1. Team Members Have Negative Attitudes

Employee morale is dependent on the overall attitude of your team. While it isn’t likely every employee will always be the happiest at work, maintaining an overall positive attitude is an important part of promoting higher morale. 

When employers allow a few team members’ negative attitudes to fester, this can significantly affect the way other team members feel about their work. While it’s normal to feel the effects of work-related stress, persistently discouraged, unhappy, and angry employees can effectively deflate the morale of the rest of the team. 

If you notice negative attitudes in your team, it’s important to address them as soon as possible. First, identify the problem and schedule time to discuss it one-on-one with each person, whether during an in-person meeting or via video chat session. Once you learn the root of their negativity, discuss strategies to alleviate their conflict.  

2. There Isn’t Job Security

If employees feel as though their position at a company isn’t secure, this can contribute to low morale and low team morale. The best way to combat this situation is to reassure your employees about their place in your company. 

If any challenges arise, it’s best to have transparent conversations that allow team members an honest look at the future of their jobs. Once team members receive reassurance about their role in your company, they are likely to return to their work with renewed energy and passion, knowing that they are important members of your company. 

3. The Work Environment Isn’t Healthy

An unhealthy work environment contributes significantly to low morale and low team morale. While each employee is responsible for their mindset and motivation, it’s impossible to expect your team to perform at their best in a toxic environment. 

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4. Team Members Lack Confidence

If team members aren’t equipped with the tools and knowledge to do their job, they will lack the capability to perform efficiently and successfully. Likewise, team members that are often overlooked will feel as though the work they are doing isn’t good enough. 

Have an honest conversation with your employees to make sure they feel they are adequately supported at work. Offer assistance in the way of additional training or the resources to make sure they have what they need to thrive at work. 

If your team members aren’t performing well at work, be sure to exercise patience and grace in your conversations with them. Assure your team members that you will be there to support them and make the necessary adjustments to support their improvement.

Why Good Morale is Good for Business

Just as low morale and low team morale can have a significant impact on your team, cultivating a culture of positivity is good for business. With increased engagement and overall satisfaction at work, teams will enjoy increased productivity, creativity, and profitability.

Businesses with poor employee morale can boost their company culture by maintaining a happy workforce and positive company culture. While you can’t predict how your employees will always feel about their work or workplace, it’s important that employers set the tone for maintaining positive team morale. 

Combat low morale, burnout, and work-related stress with the following morale-boosting suggestions:

1. Align Team Members with Your Core Values

Your company values intrinsically affect your employee morale. Set the tone by communicating your company’s values, vision, goals, and mission with all team members. Make an effort to continually maintain and communicate your values to ensure your team understands and aligns with your company. 

2. Use Open Lines of Communication

Communication is key in cultivating team morale. Encourage your team members to share their thoughts, questions, and concerns with colleagues and managers. Additionally, team leaders should communicate their expectations and needs as well so both employees and employers understand each other. 

3. Cultivate a Culture of Positivity

 Positivity is an important part of any healthy company culture. Leaders should maintain a positive perspective to promote an enjoyable workplace and boost morale. Management can encourage positive thinking from the top down by choosing optimism in contentious situations and working to problem solve rather than give in to stress or fear when faced with problems.

4. Encourage Employee Feedback

Employee feedback plays an important role in building team morale. Remind your team that you value their opinion and suggestions by regularly asking for feedback or constructive criticism. By taking their opinions and suggestions into consideration, you will remind them that they’re a valued member of the team.

5. Use Team-Building Activities

The way your team members relate to one another can dramatically affect team morale. If your employees are experiencing low morale or low team morale, team-building activities can help build stronger bonds between team members. If your company is remote, consider hosting virtual happy hours to strengthen team relationships. Likewise, using activities like icebreakers in meetings will help team members bond with one another. 

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6. Start an Employee Recognition Program

An employee recognition program will act as a built-in system for boosting morale. Making an effort to regularly acknowledge staff’s achievements will boost each person’s self-confidence and allow team members to take pride in their hard work. Moreover, knowing that they work for a company that recognizes their efforts will encourage them to continue to do their best work going forward. 

If your company is facing low morale and low team morale, it’s time to make a change. Get your team back on track by reviving your company culture. Connect with us to learn how to best boost morale in your workplace.

The post Low Morale and Low Team Morale Kills Company Culture: Here’s How to Beat It appeared first on Voltage Control.

Learning how to keep remote teams connected is an integral part of remote work. Connection in the virtual world isn’t something that happens by accident. As a result, teams must intentionally create and maintain connectivity to keep their remote teams together.

A 2020 study conducted by OnePoll shows that 63% of workers feel less engaged with other team members as they missed in-person meetings, after-work happy hours, and office celebrations.

Faced with the challenges of distance working, remote companies must introduce inventive ways to keep their teams together. 

In this article, we discuss how to keep remote teams connected with the following:

• The Importance of Team Connection  
• Tips for How to Keep Remote Teams Connected 

The Importance of Team Connection   

Working remotely allows employees and managers to discover how to keep their remote teams connected and build stronger bonds. Though the idea of working outside of a traditional office space can seem like an isolating experience, it doesn’t need to be. By making a significant effort to keep your team members connected, remote teams will increase productivity, morale, and employee loyalty.

Tips for How to Keep Remote Teams Connected 

Connection is one of the most sought-after intangibles in the remote working world. Though navigating connection in an age of distributed work can be challenging, the right tips on how to keep remote teams connected in hybrid and remote companies can completely transform how teams work together. 

Learn how to keep remote teams connected by applying the following:

1. Hold Regular Meetings

One of the most important ways to keep your remote team connected is with weekly video meetings. Digital tools and tech give remote teams the opportunity for face-to-face interaction. Though team members aren’t able to see each other at the office, the power of video chat makes it possible to read each other’s body language as they chat over Skype or Zoom.

Successfully leading virtual meetings is an important factor in learning how to keep remote teams connected. Proper facilitation will help you lead engaging meetings where team members can connect and communicate in very meaningful ways. Regular meetings that are organized, engaging, and informative will help your employees feel like valued members of their team. 

2. Use Tools for Collaboration

Collaboration tools are also essential as you learn how to keep remote teams connected. The most productive teams use messaging tools like Asana or Slack as these platforms allow them to better organize their communications based on projects, locations, or teams. With the right communication tools and resources, team members are able to stay in constant contact throughout the workweek. 

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In addition to using collaboration tools for work-related discussions, consider dedicating channels to general conversation. This allows team members to bond and connect with one another outside of work-related topics.  

3. Encourage Open Communication

Open communication is a must for remote teams. 

Keep communication open by holding check-in meetings regularly to make sure your team members have the support they need to complete their projects. 

Additionally, creating a company culture that encourages employees to share openly is another important step in keeping remote teams connected. 

4. Be Transparent and Kind

Encourage transparency and kindness in all virtual communications to ensure team members understand and avoid any misinterpretation. Humor, concern, and urgency are all challenging to convey through virtual communications, so be sure to say what you mean in all emails, texts, voice calls, and all forms of communication going forward. In cases of miscommunication, leaning on a culture of kindness will help to smooth out any misunderstanding between team members.

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5. Utilize Asyncrouns Collaboration

Asynchronous collaboration will unite and unleash your remote team. Collaborating in real-time with tools like MURAL, Figma, and Loom allows your team moments of deep focus across timezones while achieving faster results than traditional asynchronous communications. This also allows for more intentional and meaningful meetings when the team meets virtually.

6. Offer Your Team a Better Work-Life Balance

Increasing your team’s morale by promoting a healthy work-life balance is another essential way to keep teams connected. A healthy work-life balance helps remote team members feel better about themselves and their work. However, hybrid and remote work makes maintaining this balance even more of a challenge. 

Work to connect your team by offering more flexibility. Give your team members the ability to work when they choose to while clearly outlining deadlines and expectations. Additionally, encourage your team members to take vacations and go off the grid to protect them from burning out. With the ability to take breaks as needed, team members will be ready and excited to get to work once they return. 

7. Encourage Mentorship

It’s easy for remote team members to feel disconnected, especially if they are new hires or haven’t created close relationships with other team members. By creating a mentorship program, employees will know that they always have support should they have questions or concerns. Moreover, having a mentor will help team members feel as if they are an integral part of the team and that there are always resources available to help them do their best work. 

8. Celebrate Your Team Members

Never underestimate the power of appreciation in remote teams. Recognizing each employee’s improvements and accomplishments is a key step in making them feel truly connected to their team. Taking the time to celebrate their wins and their quality of work will boost their self-efficacy and productivity. 

Offering praise remotely is as simple as sending a quick text or email to celebrate a job well done. A more formal celebration of accomplishments can include acknowledging employee accomplishments in an Employee of the Month program or similar event. Additionally, creating a company culture that encourages team members to praise each other will help them feel better about themselves and their coworkers.

9. Host In-Person Retreats

Remote teams should make an effort to plan yearly in-person retreats to help build stronger connections with team members. While creating relationships remotely is an important part of remote work, there is nothing like connecting with your team in person. It may not be possible for all team members to make it to the exact location, getting most of your team members in the same room at least once a year will deepen connections and allow them to spend quality time with each other.

10. Provide Feedback

Just as showing appreciation is an important step in learning how to keep remote teams connected, providing feedback is another essential part of helping teams understand how they can improve. As many remote workers interact with each other around specific projects, it’s important that they understand where they’re succeeding and how they can do better going forward. Making an effort to give constructive and honest feedback will help your team grow stronger overall. 

11. Have Fun Traditions

At times, working remotely can seem like checking off tasks from a to-do list. Team managers can counteract this by establishing fun traditions within the company. From virtual pizza parties to having a Fun Friday once a month, finding ways to inject fun into your team’s remote routine will help employees feel good about being part of the team. 

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Don’t let a lack of connection unravel your team. At Voltage Control, we help remote teams learn the best ways to communicate and engage with each other. Connect with us to learn more about how to keep remote teams connected.

The post Creating Connectivity: How to Keep Remote Teams Connected appeared first on Voltage Control.

Managing remote teams goes beyond using the right tools and tech for communication: intangibles like grace and empathy are an essential part of successfully leading teams.

Remote work undoubtedly changes team dynamics and communication. Making the most of distance work requires us to humanize remote work and challenge the culture of isolation that remote companies typically face. 

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• Remote Work Culture
• Conflict in Remote Teams
• Exercising Empathy Online
• Building Psychologically Safe Remote Teams
• Transforming Your Remote Team Management

Remote Work Culture 

The nature of remote work undoubtedly changes company culture. As team members prepare to work remotely, they lose out on the real human connections gained from working in person. As a result, it can be challenging for coworkers and management to truly connect with each other. 

By intentionally creating a remote work culture of connectedness, remote companies can navigate the hurdle of separation and bring team members together regardless of where they may be working. 

Strong remote work culture counteracts the effects of isolation and unites team members around their shared purpose or common goal. 

When managing remote teams, it’s important to:

• Encourage feelings of camaraderie 
• Ensure regular effective communication
• Shift your work culture to a balance of synchronous and asynchronous work

Conflict in Remote Teams

Making the transition to successful remote work culture isn’t easy, especially with regard to conflict resolution. This lack of face-to-face interaction makes miscommunication easier than ever before. While all team members may be focused on achieving a common goal, in the digital world it’s easier for words, and actions to get lost in translation, causing conflict between team members. 

According to a study on remote work conflict, 81% of workers reportedly experience conflict and 39% of workers think about leaving their jobs as a result of a virtual conflict. Moreover, workplace conflicts are increasing in remote teams as employees are no longer able to verbally and visually communicate as they would in a physical workplace. 

Exercising Empathy Online 

With more workplace conflicts happening online, it’s up to companies to head off these communication challenges as proactively as possible. Experts suggest that empathy may be the cure-all to virtual drama in the remote working world.   

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When managing remote teams, maintaining team members’ well-being, morale, and engagement from afar requires intentionally exercising empathy.

Practice exercising empathy with your remote teams by:

1. Connecting with Your Team

Managing remote teams with empathy starts with establishing and maintaining a meaningful connection with your team. 

Improve team connections with the following:

• Ice breakers that add team-building and play to a meeting
• Regular check-ins with team members
• Video chats so team members can see facial expressions
• Consistantant communication via platforms like Slack, Trello, or Asana

2. Actively Listening 

Listening is an essential part of empathy, especially in remote teams. Listening allows remote teams to contextualize conversations and can help team members avoid unnecessary conflict.

Actively listen by asking intentional questions during check-ins to identify challenges team members might be facing. Experts recommend using prompts to help check-in.

3. Creating Opportunities to Ask for Help

It’s not always easy for employees to speak up and ask for help. Team leaders can demonstrate empathy by showing other members of the team that it’s okay to ask for assistance. By being vulnerable with your teams and asking for help yourself, you’ll open the door for others to feel as though it’s okay to ask for help as well. 

4. Equipping Team Members 

Ensuring that team members have everything they need to complete their work is another way to embody empathy. Be sure to ask thoughtful questions and offer materials and tools proactively to ensure your team is properly equipped to do their jobs. 

Be sure to ask questions such as:

• What traditional resources does my team not have access to when working remotely?
• Do any team members have accessibility needs?
• What tools do all team members need?

5. Encouraging Transparency

Transparency is key when managing remote teams. Without in-person conversation, information isn’t always as readily understood in the virtual realm, so it’s essential to regularly share important and accurate information. 

• Set explicit expectations for team members like KPIs, milestones, and timeframes
• Share objectives clearly with the team
• Provide feedback and guidance regularly to team members

6. Increasing Recognition

Recognition is essential in helping employees feel valued and validated. Employee recognition for remote teams can take on many forms from a shoutout via email or a monthly gift certificate. A small gesture of gratitude goes a long way online as it reminds your team members that you see the work they do and you value them as a critical part of the team. 

Building Psychologically Safe Teams 

Another element of successfully managing remote teams is creating a sense of psychological safety. When team members feel psychologically safe, they’re most confident to share their ideas, ask for help, and perform their best work. Creating this environment in the virtual realm allows employees to work without the fear of being punished, judged, or ignored.

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Empathy and psychological safety go hand-in-hand. Team members are all responsible for creating this environment for each other.  

Promote an environment of psychological safety by:

• Encouraging participation
• Practicing conversational turn-taking
• Encourage leaders to take on challenges
• Use breakout rooms on Mural or Miro
• Address problems immediately
• Increase mistake tolerance

Transforming Your Remote Team Management 

With empathy in mind, it’s time to transform your remote team management. 

Manage remote teams with these best practices:

1. Offer Multiple Contact Options

When managing a remote team, it’s essential to provide multiple forms of contact. Share your contact information for video chat, email, instant messaging, telephone calls, and other platforms. By diversifying your methods of communication, you’ll give your team every opportunity to stay in contact with you. 

2. Increase Flexibility

Flexibility is a valuable element when managing remote teams. From offering flexible hours to allowing team members to set their own deadlines, allowing more flexibility will help build trust and boost morale with your remote teams. 

3. Use Remote Work Advantageously

Focus on the advantages of remote work and hire a diverse and dynamic team. Remote work gives companies access to the global workforce, allowing them to hire the best in the business from any country in the world. 

4. Find a Balance for Asynchronous and Synchronous work

When managing remote teams, there is untapped potential in understanding, and utilizing synchronous and asynchronous work times. With remote workers, we have discovered the benefits of deep focus, asynchronous work. This allows for flexibility across timezones, teams accomplish more in a shorter amount of time, and it allows for synchronous time to be more focused and productive. Managing remote teams takes a leadership team that understands the importance of synchronous and asynchronous work.

5. Accept Adjustment Periods

In learning how to best manage remote teams, don’t forget to be patient. Transitioning to a remote-only or hybrid workplace will take time. From troubleshooting technological issues during meetings to learning new habits to improve your virtual workplace, allowing team members to learn as they go is an important part of managing your remote team. 

Working remotely comes with its own set of risks and rewards. Want to learn more about how to navigate the ins and outs of managing remote teams? Connect with us to discover how to implement empathy and grace as you lead your remote team to success.

The post Grace in the Virtual Workplace: Managing Remote Teams with Empathy appeared first on Voltage Control.

The future of work is changing and with it the landscape of how we work. We are seeing remote and hybrid teams more often, and the way remote teams flourish might be different than we initially thought. The old way of collaborating required an immediacy that poses new issues for remote and hybrid work. Recreating the office remotely is not going to get you the results you are looking for. Asynchronous collaboration and management can truly unleash your team’s potential.

“There’s a different methodology for managing remote teams. And that’s actually the essence of what I looked at when I wrote this book over the last year and a half, which was saying to myself, no one really knows how to manage these remote teams. They simply just thought that it was just slapping Zoom and Slack and Microsoft Teams on top of what everyone does. And everyone goes home and works from their laptops. It’s completely different.”

Liam Martin, author of Running Remote

Remote teams have gone from 4% of the population, pre-covid, to 45% of the population today. This is a massive shift and assuming that the traditional in-person work practices of the past can translate into the remote environments of the present, is detrimental to both team health and company growth. There is a time for togetherness and connectedness, and there is a time for deep, focused work. Async communication is not the full story, with async collaboration we can communicate ‘in real time’ or synchronously, with more intention. This balance of asynchronous and synchronous work will unlock the potential for leaders looking to scale their enterprise and unleash their teams. 

In order to understand asynchronous let’s start by defining synchronous, the old way of doing things.

What Is Synchronous

Synchronous communication happens in real-time; it is when at least two people are exchanging information at the same moment with each other. This can be in person or virtual; if you are a remote worker these moments are usually scheduled over Zoom. Synchronous communication is vital for keeping work human. When the balance of async and sync is off it becomes easier to forget that there is a living, breathing, person at the other end of your communication. Including moments of live interaction like storytelling, sharing fun facts, or even just casual check-in conversation allows us to connect with grace and build empathy for one another. 

Examples of synchronous tools:

• In-person meetings
• Zoom or other video conferencing
• Phone call
• Coffee Break or water cooler conversations

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Synchronous work should be a time to explore new ideas, a time when progressive moves can be discussed, and a time to develop relationships with your team. When we focus on trust and transparency in our asynchronous work, we allow space in our synchronous work for future planning and we are given the opportunity to be reminded that we are human, that connection, play, and psychological safety are critical to our wellbeing. The foundation of a healthy remote organizational culture is built on a balance of both sync and async work.

What Is Asynchronous

Asynchronous communication is any type of communication that has a lag between when information has been sent and when that information is received and processed by the recipient. This type of communication is not typically in person, and while it may sound a little disconnected from a human-centered mentality, the truth is, it can be an incredibly powerful tool for generative ideas and productivity.

Examples of Asynchronous tools: 

• MURAL
• Trello
• Slack
• Loom
• Google Docs
• Figma 

With the proper tools in place, your team’s communication can be fast, accurate, and informative.  Asynchronous tools are also an excellent option for remote and hybrid groups dispersed over time zones because they provide both flexibility and a permanent record of ideas, decisions, and discussions. When teams are encouraged to prepare asynchronously before a synchronous meeting, you will find more time for deep exploration of topics, ideas, and discovery when you meet.

Async Collaboration

Slack, emails, and even text are asynchronous communication tools, but slack and texting have a high sense of immediacy. There is an expectation of short response times, and this can be habitual, or cultural. These tools are also not well suited for dynamic, adaptive, or shifting conversations. Take, for example, the email thread from hell. Someone sends an email with 5 points, the first person responds to the fifth point, but not the others. The second person responds, and it is unclear if they are responding to the first responder or one of the other five points, and so on….   

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Synchronous work happens in the moment meaning it is faster, more dynamic, and has active, present participation. Asynchronous communication happens over time, meaning work is produced at the pace of the individual and allows for uninterrupted deep focus. 

Collaboration is key. Digital whiteboard tools like MURAL can be used in both synchronous and asynchronous work, allowing the full team to generate ideas, brainstorm, and collaborate on creative solutions in and out of meetings.

Asynchronous collaboration allows leaders and teams can stay connected and flourish without falling into predictability and rote communication. With asynchronous communication comes automation: higher velocity work with lower failures and improved productivity certainly sounds like the winning ticket for a successful business, but too much automation can begin to feel robotic. Studies show that human connection is key to employee engagement and retention, so organic thought processes and collaboration are as critical as improved efficiency to unleashing your team.

“Over 60% of leaders said that communicating values is a significant challenge within organizational culture, and 28% said misalignment in values is the challenge. Respondents also identified significant challenges in the areas of DEI initiatives, distributed teams (55%), and lack of company-wide cohesion (55%).”

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The world of work as we know it is at a tipping point. As a natural result of changes long-in-the-making and then expedited during the pandemic, the state of work now and work in the future is forever different.

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Asynchronous collaboration rather than just communication in a remote setting allows for a new level of cohesion. With collaboration through tools like MURAL, we are able to interact in real-time, generate solutions to problems with immediacy, and when we do enter a meeting we do so with intention and ability to get the work done.

Our Asynchronous Collaboration Tools

• MURAL – This digital whiteboard allows for asynchronous collaboration that is in no way lacking creativity or innovation. Our team uses MURAL to collectively share ideas, designs, and prototypes. We also use MURAL to guide our weekly meetings. With MURAL, we can collaborate with the full team in real-time.
• Loom – Our team utilizes this screen recording tool to ask questions, give detailed answers, and share new features. As you record your screen, you can get explain issues thoroughly and be able to recall the videos at any time. This means you have a database of Q and A that can be accessed at any point.
• Figma – When designing new assets this tool is key to remote collaboration between design, marketing, and engineering departments. With real-time messaging, stunning design tools, and the ability to share working boards, design work can get done between departments with efficiency and speed.

Facilitated Asynchronous Collaboration

Asynchronous Collaboration incorporates facilitation at every encounter, and it requires a deep understanding of how remote employees optimally work.  . Remote-first companies understand remote operations, and there are important lessons that companies new to remote, or hybrid, can pull from organizations that have been running remote long before the pandemic.  

There are elements of facilitation in all of our remote interactions, and often teams who are new to the remote landscape struggle to implement best practices across their teams. Liam Martin, co-founder of Time Doctor and co-organizer of Running Remote, takes on this challenge daily. Coming from a small community of people that know how to work remotely effectively has forced them to reevaluate asynchronous management. According to Liam we need to be able to manage teams without necessarily interacting face-to-face with them.

“Whenever you require immediacy of response from an individual inside of your organization, you believe that you’re speeding things up, but in reality, you’re simply speeding yourself up, but you’re slowing down the organization because you’re creating a culture in which people have to disconnect from their deep work.” 

Liam Martin, author of Running Remote

The fact is that if you allow your team these moments of deep focus, the results are going to be a lot of really great work completed in a much shorter amount of time.

If you are seeking efficient structures to change the way your remote team works, the facilitators at Voltage Control understand the intricacies of remote work, design thinking, and much more to help your team discover their potential. Contact us today for a custom fit growth strategy that will help your business, your team, and yourself reach new levels of productivity. 

FAQ Section

How can asynchronous collaboration improve business success in complex projects?
Asynchronous collaboration helps teams manage complex projects by enabling focused work and more thorough preparation. Teams can use collaborative project management tools, such as virtual whiteboards and project plans, to share ideas without the pressure of immediate responses. This results in a more thoughtful workflow and supports the entire project lifecycle.

What tools are commonly used in asynchronous and synchronous collaboration strategies?
Asynchronous tools include document-sharing platforms, asynchronous work tools, and video recordings for meetings. Messaging platforms like Slack and project management tools like Trello allow communication at any time. For synchronous collaboration, tools like video calls, real-time chats, and video conferences are used to facilitate real-time communication and engagement.

How does asynchronous collaboration support a hybrid work model?
In a hybrid work model, asynchronous collaboration ensures that team members working remotely or with flexible schedules can contribute equally. It reduces the need for physical meetings and supports a reduction in meetings by utilizing asynchronous updates to keep the entire team informed. This allows for more flexibility in balancing life balance with work demands.

What role does asynchronous collaboration play in project management?
Project managers can leverage asynchronous collaboration methods to improve internal communications and maintain momentum even when teams aren’t online simultaneously. This approach enhances real-time conversations when needed while allowing for an asynchronous collaboration strategy to manage follow-up meetings and provide regular updates on the project context.

How does asynchronous communication enhance workplace culture and employee engagement?
By allowing employees to work in an asynchronous environment, businesses support employee demand for flexible working arrangements. This fosters a positive workplace culture by reducing the pressure for immediate responses and giving employees more control over their schedules, leading to improved focus, creativity, and job satisfaction.

What are the challenges and benefits of using asynchronous collaboration tools?
One challenge of asynchronous tools is addressing the potential for a knowledge gap due to delays in communication. However, tools like collaborative document platforms and asynchronous meeting tools provide long-term records of discussions and decisions, which can enhance institutional knowledge and improve team performance over time.

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