Virtual Teamwork: How to Make It Happen

Working from home does not mean that you would always carry out tasks or projects individually. Though you are not connected physically to your co-workers, there would also be instances that teamwork has to be done.

With the rising number of employees working online, teamwork is becoming more prevalent and a matter that has to be sustained in companies. Otherwise, goals would not be met at all, leading to losses, both in terms of business reputation and monetary value.

Virtual assistants or remote workers are simply connected through e-mails, messaging platforms, and video conferencing. Despite this, there are still various ways to make teamwork happen the easy way. Specifically, these means are mostly directed to every remote worker’s work ethics. Here are a few to consider:

Do not cut off communication. As mentioned earlier, remote workers are simply connected through e-mails, messaging platforms, and video conferencing. Hence, without using any of these, no communication would be done. There would be no relay of tasks, clarification of concerns, and even exchange of ideas.

If you are working in teams, communication should always be open. Your lines should always welcome questions and even occasional touch base with one another.

Communication is critically necessary to ensure that teamwork could be done and maintained. Without it, even issues that have to be discussed among team members would not be addressed. This leads to misunderstandings, affecting the overall output of activities.

Help one another no matter the position. In teams, it is expected that there would be pioneers and neophytes. In this situation, the former should always be lending a hand to the latter, not only during training but as they continue growing in the organization. Not simply because you are experienced enough in what you do, you would expect the newbies to perform as well as you do. You should never look for yourself in others. Be an inspiration instead to produce more people that would benefit the company.

On the other hand, even if you are just new in the organization, you should not take advantage of the fact that your superiors would always guide you. You should also have the initiative to learn the way of things and make yourself helpful in your own ways. Being short in experience does not infer you should slack off, as well.

Respect each other’s space. Indeed, it is necessary for team members to always communicate with another and be with each other. However, virtual assistants should also have their own space at times.

To make things simpler, one should also respect the fact that each remote worker has designated tasks to carry out. By implication, you must never expect anyone to be there always when you call them or reach out to them. There would be instances that your team member may need to finish his or her part in the project. Never let insensitivity take over you. Lack of response or distance for some time will not always mean that your team member is neglecting you.

Never practice credit-grabbing. Teamwork means every member’s success is everyone’s success. Regardless of how much you have done for a certain project, you should never demand an individual recognition. Be reminded that everyone is equally important despite differences in contributions.

Always remember that if you are in a team, you would not be able to race until the end without your members. Instead of dwelling on your individual gain, be thankful that you have people behind your back as you grow professionally. It is much easier when you learn from and work with others. When you work in a group, you may even gain more skills as your team members share their experiences and knowledge with you.

Always remember that two are always better than one. No matter how skillful you are, there are matters that you cannot carry out alone. Moreover, your ideas are not always the best ones. In other words, it is always beneficial to get more insights from people around you.

As a good example, in completing a software development project, the features you could add may be further improved if you will welcome input from team members. Remember, there are details that you may not spot, but others can. You may think that your user interface design is already friendly for the younger generation since you belong in the age group, but what about the older generations? This is when opinion from your team members belonging to older age groups would definitely help.

By applying the provided ways to make teamwork happen, you would be able to reap its benefits to the fullest. You will not simply obtain work-related success in every project you will handle, but you may also gain friendship in the long run due to the congruous work ethic you portrayed.

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