5 tips for running your (now) virtual team

You woke up one day and your team was gone.

The days of sauntering through the office lobby greeting everyone good morning and chatting over a cup of coffee are a thing of the past (for now). Your routine, and that of your team, is turned on its head and you’re left pondering how to maintain the culture of high fives and happy hours in this remote environment.

I will admit, this has been challenging for me professionally and it’s weighed on me personally. I care deeply about team culture and had the unique circumstance of being on parental leave when my department first went into quarantine. I felt awful that I missed being in the trenches with them as this transition first occurred, but I’ll save that internal struggle for another article.

In the meantime, you’re still wondering how to run your (now) virtual team. Remember, focusing on operating your team is different than building or maintaining team culture — though, they clearly go hand-in-hand.

Let’s start with the operations because at the end of the day, stuffs gotta get done!

Here are what I believe to be essential tips to consider for teams to be successful in a remote or hybrid work environment. Though it’s tempting to hold onto pre-COVID processes and operations, we need to be agile. We need to help ourselves and our teams adapt to what may be permanent changes.

1. Identify and implement a project management tool. This is a huge culture shift if you don’t have this introduced into your team yet, but it is essential to maintain communication, transparency, and resource allocation. Especially in a remote environment, it’s nearly impossible for managers and teammates to assess workload without a centralized, shared tool. For reference, our team uses Asana and will likely layer on Forecast.
2. Be flexible and actively participate in conversations about work life balance. If possible, I recommend this on an individual level instead of a large Zoom meeting format. If it isn’t feasible or sustainable to have these discussions one-on-one, don’t be deterred! Checking in and being flexible with your team, even in a group setting, is better than nothing.
3. Determine the rules of engagement with regard to communication. For example, do you use Google chat for checkins and quick PSAs? Do you use Zoom for more collaborative brainstorming and working sessions? Be open to different mediums.
4. Memorialize workflows, clarify roles, and determine expectations for tasks, team communication, and performance.
5. Establish a cadence for one-on-one meetings and team gathering (ranging from project review to Fun Friday Zoom breaks). In a non-remote environment, it can be a challenge for teams to feel connected and heard.
6. BONUS based on reader feedback: collaboration tools are great to help simulate and enhance brainstorming like the good ole days. I like Zoom whiteboard sharing, but there are other apps like Mural.

Remember, this isn’t just a shift to a virtual work environment because of normal circumstances. We are in a global pandemic.

People are anxious, they are juggling childcare and other personal decisions, and they may be feeling a sense of loss or connection with others.

Be present and real with your team, and also give yourself a break.

Assume goodwill and you and your team will get through this.

I don’t have this all figured out so send me tips that work for you. This is a moving target as people adapt and demonstrate agility in the workplace.