How to Encourage Teams in Smart Working
Being able to do team building in smart working may seem "utopian" in some ways. The climate of strong uncertainties and remote work can undermine our ambition and motivation. We feel detached, and collaboration and cohesion within teams suffer as a result. There is a sense that there are no prospects for career advancement, and if ambition collapses, productivity risks being affected.
Agile Work (improperly also called smart working) and Its Challenges
A different way, for some a new way, of working and collaborating virtually, remotely.
A workday lived in the virtual world rather than the physical one. Digital communication and visibility only on screen. This is Smart Working.
The feeling of detachment and the fear of having lost "contact" is something we all perceive, to varying degrees. And if you are a company manager, you have quickly realized that it is even more challenging to maintain high morale and team spirit when working remotely.
The challenge is twofold: on one side, you need to ensure that the team remains close-knit, collaborative, and coordinated; on the other, each team member must have the right visibility and not feel detached or discouraged.
Finding the right levers and tools to encourage collaboration and motivation among your virtual teams is not simple. However, we can share our business experience to inspire you in your experimentation.
Our company is a small to medium-sized enterprise with just over 20 employees and a widely inclusive atmosphere. But with the fear that this sudden and new change in the way of working could undermine the collaborative spirit and motivation of the teams, the managers have experimented with some brilliant initiatives to keep the spirit of cohesion and participation alive.
Let’s take a look at them!
LET'S START WITH THE BASICS
First of all, organization, so don’t forget to provide your staff with the basic organizational tools to work in an orderly and coordinated manner.
Remember to communicate clearly what the hours/methods of remote work should be.
These aspects especially deserve a lot of attention:
Tip: Try to prepare and provide a real handbook of rules to follow, so that staff can feel guided and manage working from home more effectively.
How to stimulate productivity in remote working teams
The climate of strong uncertainties and remote work can undermine our ambition and motivation. And if ambition collapses, productivity is at risk of suffering. To avert demotivation, as a good manager, you need to provide stimuli and encouragement. Let's see how!
TRAINING E COACHING del personale
Programing individual training and learning plans plays a fundamental role. By investing in training plans, you make the employee feel that you care about their career and believe in their growth potential.
You can include both updating courses that enhance current professional skills and knowledge, as well as courses that expand and diversify them.
Learning new, transversal things is a strong stimulus for curiosity and creates new enthusiasm.
Favoring training courses with a final test/exam is also a motivation booster and allows you to verify that the staff has successfully engaged in learning.
E-learning has grown significantly in recent times, and the range of available courses is vast and very affordable.
program individual VIDEOCONFERENCES
Call-conference and group meetings are essential for coordinating remote teams.
But often within each team, some colleagues have greater leadership and risk overshadowing others.
We need to have moments of individual comparison to avoid feeling excluded and to be able to express ourselves.
Through weekly individual videoconferences, you can ensure that all team members have the right visibility. These are moments to discuss work issues, doubts, or difficulties; or to present ideas, opinions, and suggestions.
introduce GAMING
Team games to strengthen group spirit and competitiveness.
Introducing games within the teams was the first initiative tested. Needless to say, it was met with enthusiasm and has become part of the new "remote" daily life of the teams.
Team games like "Mafia" (Trivia is also a classic to try) help to both reinforce the collaborative spirit of the group and to awaken a healthy sense of competition.
Many colleagues now extend their working hours to play a game!
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