The number of companies that allow their employees to work remotely has increased year after year, as companies of all types and sizes respond to the needs of their people. But the ability to access company networks from anywhere doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with new kinds of collaboration for remote work. Many companies are exploiting tools and techniques that can facilitate productive collaboration as the paradigm shifts toward increasingly remote and distributed work.

The rise of remote working is driven by cost-oriented travel guidelines, growing eco-awareness and sustainability policies, pressure on office space, and changing workforce expectations. We are at a tipping point where, for many, remote working is becoming the norm, not a luxury, and organizations must act on it by proactively instilling a culture of virtual collaboration.

Virtual collaboration improves business productivity by using digital collaboration tools that allow employees to work together on digital whiteboards, edit documents together, and virtually perform project work. To make the leap from simple remote work to a thriving culture of virtual collaboration, companies must build a stable infrastructure, embed a digital mindset among their people, establish a culture of trust-based leadership, promote digital skills, and drive collaboration. to the next level.

The beginnings

As is often the case, all beginnings are difficult - how does a successful virtual collaboration work? What are the necessary conditions for this? There are three areas to address to get started.

Digital infrastructure and tools The precondition for establishing virtual collaboration is a strong digital infrastructure. Accessing the corporate network from anywhere with a stable connection is not a given in all companies. However, it is one of the essential elements.

Using the right digital tools is also essential; Intuitive, user-friendly tools that make virtual collaboration feel as real and effortless as possible, while being fun to use. Established offerings in the market include Microsoft Teams, Slack, Asana, Jira, Trello, SharePoint, and Deon. Visual collaboration tools allow you to work together and simultaneously on documents; online whiteboards replace the classic flip chart; virtual rooms offer almost endless possibilities to work creatively and interactively with each other; and live voting or ad-hoc polls actively involve all participants. With these and many other features, virtual working is incredibly close to working in a shared office, and this can further increase efficiency.

It takes a strong commitment and the correct management of expectations Establishing a virtual collaboration is a long-term endeavor, so strong ambassadors and role models at all levels of management are important. Visible commitment and managing expectations from top leaders foster successful implementation and culture change throughout the organization.

Managers need to be able to inspire themselves and their staff with enthusiasm for the new way of working, arouse curiosity and enjoy working together. Mutual support, communication, patience, and a high level of trust are essential in this process.

Two things are especially important to build a high level of trust within a virtual team and to make the most of the technical possibilities available: excellent facilitation and moderation skills, and professional preparation for virtual meetings or workshops.

Small-scale is the way to start. It is important to first identify what tools already exist in the company, how often they are used, if employees have access to them and know how to use them, and what possibilities they offer. The next step is to communicate the existence of these tools throughout the organization and, more importantly, train and take action for employees to use them. This requires a certain degree of flexibility, but in times of organizational agility and dexterity, this is how your organization evolves and adapts. Specific digital tool ambassadors can help make the adoption of those tools an internal success story, and here again, commitment and best practices play an important role.

Virtual collaboration means not just working together remotely in everyday work processes. It also involves running workshops virtually, from meetings to large group events with more than 200 participants. How is this supposed to work? It needs to be driven by clear business needs, with the right mindset, the right tools and good facilitation skills, and meticulous preparation, organization, and follow-up. The advantages of virtual workshops and meetings are obvious: by saving travel costs and time, the efficiency of teams can be significantly increased.

Incorporating a culture of virtual collaboration

Incorporating a culture of virtual collaboration should be on the strategic agenda of each CxO. Organizations must continue to develop this culture to be prepared for the future. Not only does it make them a more attractive employer for new talent by responding to the demands of a new generation, it also strengthens the bond with their existing workforce by trusting them more and making everyday work life more flexible. Increase your efficiency by empowering people to be productive wherever they are.

The key to success is choosing the right technologies and tools, and organizing them creatively.

GamdAi Media
Contact us at: [email protected]

  Photo by ThisIsEngineering.