{"id":7264,"date":"2020-06-25T11:28:03","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T09:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/?p=7264"},"modified":"2020-06-25T11:28:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T09:28:05","slug":"virtual-work-skills-have-become-a-must","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/fi\/virtual-work-skills-have-become-a-must\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Work Skills Have Become a Must"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2020 is the year that work went remote. In a matter of days, entire workforces were sent home and told to set up shop. Employees with no prior experience working from home were asked to navigate digital communication platforms, online meeting tools, and a deluge of email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you couple the inherent challenge of communicating\nremotely with uncertain and turbulent times, creating a cohesive and successful\nremote team can feel like an uphill battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining strong, productive relationships with clients\nand co-workers can be challenging when you never see the person you\u2019re working\nwith. Yet, it is common to have ongoing work relationships \u2013 sometimes lasting\nyears \u2014 with people you\u2019ve never met in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We often think of \u201cvirtual work\u201d as working with someone\nlocated outside an office, or in another city or country. This type of work is\non the rise: a 2017 Gallup report found 43% of American employees work\nremotely; in another survey, 48% of respondents reported that a majority of\ntheir virtual teamwork involved members from other cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, virtual work also encompasses how we are turning to\ntechnology to conduct business with nearby colleagues, sometimes within the\nsame building or campus. At a large consumer-products firm where we\u2019ve been\nconducting research, an HR director recounted the changes she witnessed in\nemployees located in two buildings a few miles apart. \u201cTen years ago, we would\nregularly drive between buildings to meet each other, but today, we almost\nnever do; meetings are conducted by videoconference and everything else is\nhandled on e-mail and IM.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research consistently indicates that virtual work skills \u2013\nsuch as the ability to proactively manage media-based interactions, to\nestablish communication norms, to build social rapport with colleagues, and to\ndemonstrate cooperation \u2013 enhance trust within teams and increase performance.\nOur surveys indicate that only about 30% of companies train employees in\nvirtual work skills, but when they do, the training is more likely to focus on\nsoftware skills and company policies than on social and interpersonal skills.\nOur findings are similar to those of a 2006 survey of HR leaders on training of\nvirtual teams, suggesting that while technology and virtual work itself has\nadvanced dramatically in recent years, our preparation to work virtually has\nnot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent reviews of the last 30 years of virtual work research\nshows that the most effective workers engage in a set of strategies and behaviours\nthat we call \u201cvirtual intelligence.\u201d Some people tend to be naturally more\nadept at working virtually than others; yet, everyone can increase their\nvirtual intelligence. Two specific skill sets contributing to virtual\nintelligence are 1) establishing \u201crules of engagement\u201d for virtual\ninteractions, and 2) building and maintaining trust. These skill sets are\nrelevant to all individuals who conduct virtual work, including co-workers in\nthe same office who interact virtually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication Is Key<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While employees struggle to find their places in a new\nvirtual team, how can we ensure the forced\u2014or in some cases, desired\u2014distance\ndoesn\u2019t lead to a culture of silence and silos? How can you put your people\nfirst and ensure distance doesn\u2019t come between relationships and results?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication technology. Once you know you\u2019ll be working\nvirtually with someone on a regular basis, initiate a short conversation about\ntheir available technology, and agree on the best means of communication (e.g.,\n\u201cWe\u2019ll e-mail for simple, non-urgent matters, but get on Skype when there is\nsomething complex that might require us to share screens. Texting is fine if we\nneed to get in touch urgently, but shouldn\u2019t be used day-to-day.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best times to connect. You might ask your virtual co-worker,\n\u201cWhat times of day are typically better to call or text? Are there particular\ndays of the week (or month) that I should avoid?\u201d Establishing this rule early\nin a virtual work relationship both establishes respect for each other\u2019s time,\nand saves time, by avoiding fruitless contact attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How best to share information. If you\u2019re collaborating on\ndocuments or other electronic files, establish a process to ensure you don\u2019t\ninadvertently delete updates or create conflicting versions. File-sharing\nservices such as Dropbox can help monitor revisions to jointly-owned documents\n(often called \u201cversion control\u201d), but it is still wise to establish a simple\nprotocol to avoid lost or duplicated work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the use of technology for all types of communication has\nbecome ubiquitous, the need for virtual work skills is no longer limited to\ntelecommuters and global teams; it now extends to those of us whose work never\ntakes us out of the office. Making a concerted effort to develop these skills\nby setting up rules of engagement and establishing trust early can feel\nuncomfortable, especially for people new to the idea of virtual work. Most of\nus are used to letting these dynamics evolve naturally in face-to-face\nrelationships, with little or no discussion. Yet, workers with higher virtual\nintelligence know that these skills are unlikely to develop without explicit\nattention, and that making a short-term investment in developing the virtual\nrelationship will yield long-term benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building and maintaining trust<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two types of trust matter in virtual work: relational trust\n(trust that your colleague is looking out for your best interests), and\ncompetence-based trust (trust that your colleague is both capable and\nreliable).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to build relational trust you must bring a social element into the virtual work relationship. Some people do this by starting conversations with non-work-related questions, such as \u201cHow are things going where you are?\u201d or \u201cHow was your weekend?\u201d Avoid making questions too personal, and don\u2019t overwhelm your colleague with extensive details of your life. Keep it simple and sincere, and the conversation will develop naturally over time. Let your enthusiasm and personality show in your virtual communications. Keep it professional, but try adding a little of your own \u2018voice\u2019 to give your virtual colleague a sense of who you are, just as they would have in a face-to-face meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competence-based trust is highly important as well and to create such a relationship sharing your relevant background and experiences, indicating how these will help you support the current project. For example, on a new product development project, you might say, \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to contributing to the market analysis, as it focuses on a market that I researched last year on another project.\u201d Take initiative in completing tasks whenever possible and communicate that you\u2019re doing so with periodic update e-mails. Doing this shows commitment to the shared task. Respond to e-mail quickly and appropriately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many virtual work relationships fail due to inconsistent e-mail communication. Silence works quickly to destroy trust in a virtual colleague. We recommend replying to non-urgent e-mails within one business day (sooner if it\u2019s urgent). If you need more time, send a quick acknowledgement of the e-mail, letting your colleague know when you will reply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given our current situation knowing that your colleagues or employees are best suited for this new scenario we find ourselves in. Finding the right talent, the best fit for the job and your organisation can be a very challenging task. It is now important to find out whether your managers or your team is well-equipped of working together from various locations. It requires deep knowledge of their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, work style and other characteristics. Our technology and solutions will do the work for you, helping you discover if your people are resilient during times of hardship, if they are autonomous, if they are team players, without actual human contact. Given that our platform is cloud-based, everyone can use it from home as well. Humanity finds itself at a crossroad for various reasons now, why not help people discover and develop themselves from the comfort of their own homes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Request a\u00a0free demo: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"B_txt_14\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/about-us\/new-at-mckinsey-blog\/this-moment-belongs-to-virtual-capability-building
https:\/\/www.td.org\/insights\/how-to-lead-a-virtual-team-7-skills-to-put-your-people-first
https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/10\/the-virtual-work-skills-you-need-even-if-you-never-work-remotely <\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2020 is the year that work went remote. In a matter of days, entire workforces were sent home and told to set up shop. Employees with no prior experience working from home were asked to navigate digital communication platforms, online meeting tools, and a deluge of email. When you couple the inherent challenge of communicating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[130],"tags":[96,89,94,191,95,64,39,97,80,261,260,82],"yoast_head":"\nVirtual Work Skills Have Become a Must - Great People Inside Finland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We often think of \u201cvirtual work\u201d as working with someone located outside an office or in another city, but nowadays it has taken a whole new meaning.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greatpeopleinside.com\/virtual-work-skills-have-become-a-must\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virtual Work Skills Have Become a Must - 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