Every Thursday at 1:00 pm Central Time you are welcome to join the USA Manufacturing Hour, #USAMfgHour, Twitter chat. This week’s host was Pavel Stepanov of VirtuDesk, a virtual assistant company that helps entrepreneurs, real estate agents and other professionals with marketing, prospecting, admin, and more. Pavel and team shared their insights on Effective Strategies for Growing a Virtual Team
After introductions were made and everyone was welcomed to the chat, the host jumped right in by asking everyone “For you, what is a virtual Team?”
Kati McDermith, the Manufacturing Hype Girl, Brand Ambassador for IndustrySelect and IndustryNet said, “for me… my virtual team are those that I reach out to daily for support. My boss, my marketing team, partners, connections, etc… @IngorvanRooi @WelkerInc @MfrsNews @GailNow @DavidCrysler and many others included!”
Rebecca Prox, Digital Marketing Pro said, “A virtual team is one that works together solely online… or by hologram…”
To which Chase Bodor of Plastics Plus Technology, Inc replied, “Rebecca I would totally do this! The force would be so strong with us!”
Ruby Rusine with Social Success Marketing said, “A team whose members are scattered and located in different geographical locations so they have to work together virtually.”
Jasmine Labelle of Velavue replied, “spot on!”
Missy Moorefield of Southern Fasteners & Supply said, “A group of folks who are working together but are not actually together. Using programs has as Teams or Zoom and email to connect.”
Adam Baker with Schooley Mitchell said, “a virtual team is a team that works (mostly) in a physically separate location from the other members.”
Emily Kite from Obsidian Manufacturing Industries, Inc. said, “ A team that works solely virtual”
Bodor, said, “A virtual team can mean a department working on a virtual platform in collaboration. Or an entire company working remotely through a similar channel. Most communication is done online or through phone/ video.”
Dan Bigger @DanBiggerUSAMfg said, “A team that works out of the office, home office, or somewhere else”
Brett Kramer with FreightPOP said, “A virtual team consists of team members that, while not physically near each other, work with each other, using tools like @SlackHQ and @Zoom to keep in touch and communicate.”
Erin Courtenay of Earthling Interactive said, “The team is real but the methods of communication are virtual.”
Brash Inc said, “A team that works together online. The team can be located anywhere in the world!”
Ingor van Rooi said, “A team of people working toward a common goal, outside of a common space.”
The Host, Pavel Stepanov of VirtuDesk gave this definitive answer: A virtual team is a group of people working together using digital tools. They can be located in different locations but are always in contact.
Next, Stepanov asked, “What metrics do you use to measure team growth?”
Adam Baker said, “I’m interested in hearing how others answer this – I don’t measure team growth other than our normal KPIs.”
Dondi Scumaci replied, “I am interested too. Maybe backing into the KPI’s. What are the activities, skills and disciplines that drive success? Sometimes we can find important measures at the level of action.”
Dondi then shared her own thoughts, “Team growth can also be measured by skills developed, confidence demonstrated, initiative taken. Engagement. Retention.”
Prox said, “The company I work for measures team growth with a few things:
– Excel Spreadsheet tracking projects/progress
– Connected online project tracking boards
– Monthly reporting to the team and higher leadership
I realize this doesn’t really describe our metrics, but within those trackers we watch attendance, efficiencies, initiative, and quality of work.”
Rusine said, “We can use all the metrics we want but quality is the most important for us.”
Many participants agreed that quality was an extremely important factor.
Courtenay said, “if growth = size: headcount. if growth = vibrancy and sophistication: customer satisfaction ratings; thought leadership/content output; recruiting activities from within current staff; low turnover”
McDermith said, “the number of new people I collaborate with and the amount of time spent collaborating”
VirtuDesk had this for an answer: “Most of the qualities to measure team growth are tangible but can be measured using assessment techniques such as administering a questionnaire on how well the team is working together. You can create questions about cohesiveness, role clarity, communication, teamwork, and team performance.”
The next question posed by the host was, “Since cohesiveness is one of the important metrics for growing your virtual team, what strategies can you use to increase your team’s cohesiveness?”
Rusine said, “Team building, for instance, is a great way to increase team cohesiveness. Peer support is another. And open communication- always.”
Earthling Interactive said, “a clear vision for the company and a strong set of company core values will go a long way toward cohesiveness.
These are Earthling’s:
– Challenge with respect
– Deliver on our commitments
– Be generous with your insight
– Listen, Notice, and Respond
– Enjoy the journey
Neil Hussey, said, “Communication (x3), online virtual team building activities.”
Kite said, “Communication and organization I feel like would be huge.”
Dan Bigger, said, “Communication, communication, communication, Communication, communication, communication” to which many participants replied that they agreed that this was of top importance.
FreightPOP said, “A great way to increase cohesiveness is to have recurring weekly meetings where everyone on the team can catch up and ask questions, etc. You can also schedule in-person meetups a few times a year as well, and include fun employee appreciation events.”
Brash Inc said, “Team-building activities are great, we try to do as many as possible here at Brash! Training and development opportunities are also great to increase a team’s cohesiveness.”
Bodor said, “I think balanced team check-ins are always nice. One-on-ones are super important – hash out any concerns or blockers you have. Also – having one source of truth to gather information is key. You can’t have people working 100 different tools that don’t communicate.”
Prox said, “Use simple and effective ways to keep the entire team on track of all projects, communicate frequently, use positive reinforcements to stay on track.”
Labelle said, “Team building, clearly communicating goals/values to the team & celebrating successes together!”
Stepanov said, “Here are the effective strategies to increase your virtual team’s cohesiveness:
- Effective Communication
- In-Person Team Building Activities
- Celebrating Success Together
- Trust Building
- Empowering Team Members
The host continued with this next question, “Communication is vital when growing a virtual team, what tools do you suggest best for effective communication? Why?”
Kite of Obsidian said, “Zoom chats to be able to communicate verbally. Easier to make sure everyone is on the same page instead of an email.”
Hussey said, “Zoom, Teams and perish the thought the good old fashioned phone. Although lots don’t like it video conferencing is great for seeing others faces, which can be great if WFH/remotely as although not face to face it’s still more human interaction than phone.”
McDermith said, “At @MfrsNews we use email and Teams but we also just call each other. Personally, I communicate with my teams via messenger, email, text, facetime, video chat, whatever works best for us!”
Prox said, “We use Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and email. (We ARE a virtual team.)”
Baker said, “we use Trello to communicate on specific projects because it retains the comments and helps us keep them organized. Because my team works mostly independent from me if there are any issues or clarification, we utilize email quite a bit.”
Host Stepanov replied, “Yup. That’s what I like about Trello as well. However, my team preferred using @Clickup due to its various features.”
Brash Inc said, “Our top three favorites would have to be: Slack, ZOOM, and Outlook. We use all three at Brash and it works really nicely.”
Velavu said, “We use slack and teams for most of our communication! Another tool we love is MIRO! It’s awesome for brainstorming sessions whether in person or online!”
Earthling Interactive said, “1) Ask questions. 2) Listen. 3) repeat until clear”
Southern Fasteners & Supply said, “Any kind of “face-to-face” program (such as Zoom or Teams) or phone. Tone often gets misconstrued through emails/text (aka written word).”
Bigger said, “The phone…….. So many things (complex things) are tried to be done via email, text, and others. This can cause confusion or misunderstanding. This causes inefficiency.”
Brett Kramer said, “Tools like @SlackHQ and @Zoom are great for quick communication, and they can be accessed on both your phone and computer. This is key in case of power outages, internet problems, or if you need to get in touch with a team member immediately!”
Crysler said, “There are so many tools out there… use what you like and makes sense for the team. What I think is more important is sharing and having expectations on how (often), why, and what we’re going to communicate.”
Rusine said, “If you have something to say, say it clearly. Use simple language. Don’t overcomplicate it.”
Host VirtuDesk summed it up, “We highly recommend @Skype, @WhatsApp, and @FacebookMessenger as effective communication tools. We also recommend @Zoom and @RingCentral for video and audio conferencing.”
The next question was, “How does teamwork help with team growth?”
Erin Courtenay said, “team work (vs. silo-ing individuals and departments) creates a sense of interdependency where you’re not just looking out for your own best interests, but for the success of everyone on the team.”
Hussy said, “When working cohesively as a team you accomplish more and therefore are more efficient enabling growth of the company.”
Prox said, “To use a cliché, teamwork makes the dream work. When everyone’s on the same page and communicating, projects move faster and are more efficient.”
Baker said, “team work helps lead teams through the four phases of team building (forming, storming, norming, performing). As teams work together more, they learn more about one another, how they operate, strengths & weaknesses and who to rely on for what.”
Rusine said, “Teamwork helps increase levels of understanding. When individuals within a team work together, they learn more about each other. It is also a great way to build trust within a team.”
Southern Fasteners & Supply said, “By getting folks to work together (and/or to work through their issues with each other), helps to strengthen bonds. That in turn makes the group better all around.”
Bigger said, “It builds trust. Clear and effective communication helps to share ideas, helps everyone learn, and get better in order to win as a team. And that is priceless.”
FreightPOP said, “Teamwork helps build relationships and trust among team members, increasing the quality of their work and boosting productivity.”
Obsidian Manufacturing said, “Teamwork helps everyone, when there is smooth communication, effective flows and clear expectations….everyone wins.”
“At Brash, we really value teamwork and collaboration because it helps bring a variety of perspectives to the table. We generate more ideas that lead to innovative solutions!”
Kati the Manufacturing Hype Girl said, “We can all learn from each other!”
Stepanov stated, “Teamwork helps with team growth because it builds strong relationships and trust among your team members. This also helps identify individual strengths and weaknesses which can be used to your advantage. Weaknesses can be covered by using other team member’s strengths. This can be challenging for virtual teams as individuals are located in different locations. You can promote teamwork virtually by conducting various virtual team-building activities such as online lunch dates, virtual cocktail parties, or playing virtual “bring me”, once or twice a month. #USAMfgHour
To wrap things up, VirtuDesk asked participants to share their final thoughts on the subject. What are your good team habits? How can this impact your team’s growth?
Rebecca Prox said, “Our good team habits include daily meetings with the whole crew, even if it’s to walk through what we did the evening before, outside of work. We are diligent about keeping track of our work online so all can see. And we set measurable goals. Those habits build trust, efficiencies, and can pinpoint problematic areas that need to be addressed quickly.”
Ruby Rusine shared, “We ask each other how one is doing? Are there concerns we need to know and can help with? We share stories of life, movies, music, books, & more.”
Adam Baker said, “With one of my previous virtual teams, we weren’t too far, so on the last Friday of the month, we blew off work at noon and met at a movie theater and watched a movie together. Each month someone else chose the movie and we had fun learning each other’s preferences.”
“At Brash, every Thursday our team has lunch all together. During lunch, someone from the team will present a project their working on or something educational. It brings us all together, we learn and get to enjoy some great food.”
Dan Bigger said, “Virtual is not impossible. If good communication exists it can thrive. Keeping everyone on the same page is key. If you have questions ask. If you’re not getting the answers you need, ask again.”
Velavu said “We keep open communication at all times. Were always messaging each other and looking out for one another. It’s important!”
Pavel Stepanov of VirtuDesk offered this, “ Since we are managing virtual teams, two of our good habits are maintaining our online presence and keeping our communication lines open, especially for team managers. We believe doing so is essential to be productive, and be ready whenever one of our team members needs help. This aids in teamwork and team growth because your members will feel supported and be more productive in finishing their tasks.”
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