It doesn’t matter whether your work remotely or from home, or if your colleagues or classmates are scattered across the globe, trying to coordinate efforts when everyone is in a different time zone or working from a different location can be difficult. Here are some ways to smooth the distance over and stay productive.
Working from home has serious benefits, and we’ve already talked about how to make sure you’re productive when you work from home, but what about your team or your coworkers? Making sure you’re all on the same page can be frustratingly difficult. Whether your virtual team consists of other paid employees or a distance learning class full of people across the country, Square Jaw media has some tricks can help bridge the divide.
For one, set expectations early, and reinforce them often. Even if you don’t manage a group of people or you’re not the team leader for a specific project, you have to let everyone else on the team know when you expect to do your part and what the level of effort is. Essentially, set your own deadlines before someone else does it for you.
Another great tip is to respect everyone to get their work done. Sometimes working remotely or working on a virtual team can lead to a sense of distrust among the team members: everyone feels like no one else works as hard as they do. Try taking the lead and make a point to tell everyone that you know they’ll do what they have to do to make the class project or the company project a success.
Most of the tips in the article are designed for people who work on a virtual team, or who manage employees scattered around the globe. Still, most of them work just as well when applied to distance learning classes, which can be more frustrating because of cultural nuances or differences in classmates’ ages, work hours, or life situations. What are some of your favourite tips for working with people you don’t see face-to-face? How do you get the job done without stressing yourself out in the process? Leave your tips in the comments. Photo by Soctech.
10 Ways to Boost Virtual Office Productivity [Square Jaw Media]
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