The Day the World Went Virtual
How is it working from home? Are you able to work effectively with your peers and customers? I’ve heard these questions all week — do they sound familiar?
As a person who has worked from home routinely throughout my career, it really hasn’t been hard and I’ve actually found a higher level of engagement from my peers and customers.
Why is that? It’s because we have created a level playing field.
I’ve led large teams that are 100% virtual, 100% co-located, and also a hybrid. The hardest situation, and most common, is the hybrid team. Additionally, this has shaped most people’s perspectives of virtual workers. Hybrid teams can create “Us versus Them” cultures without proper empathy. Various things lead to this such as virtual people being excluded from side-bar conversations, poor audio quality for virtual meetings that lead to frustration by everyone, and jealousy of on-site people thinking virtual workers aren’t working or have it easy. Also, if you have a hybrid between two locations with no true telecommuters — say you have one office in Miami and another in Chicago — this can be just as problematic.
So, what is better, 100% virtual or 100% co-located? I believe it’s a tie with different pros, cons, and keys for success. Yes, we are social beings and everyone being at a single location is perfect, but that is hardly ever the situation where in reality most teams have different physical locations, people on travel, or virtual workers. Therefore, we are never truly 100% co-located.
With this said, what are the pros and cons for 100% virtual?
Studies have shown that virtual workers are happier and work longer hours. I personally can attest to this. It’s easy to be happy when you don’t have to get dressed up or spend precious time commuting. This translates into more time available to work. No one tolerates poor audio as everyone is affected. Everyone is focused on the given meeting versus side conversations. Overall, the “Us versus Them” culture is eliminated and a level playing field is created.
I have learned some keys to success through the years that candidly apply to co-located teams too.
1. One-on-One Connections — You build rapport with people through personal interaction. You need to make an effort to call or chat with people personally. Don’t just meet in the meeting, reach out to people!
2. Tools — Everyone needs good tools — high quality headsets, ergonomics, and digital tools such as Zoom and white boards. Leverage video especially at the beginning of a relationship. Years ago, I used my laptop without a proper ergonomic setup and ended up at the doctor with terrible pains — take care of yourself.
3. Meetings — Have good meetings. Define the objective, eliminate distractions, share meeting minutes, invite only those that need to be there. If someone is not speaking up, ask them for input.
4. Have Daily Goals — Set and complete goals every day. Don’t fritter the day away.
5. Take Breaks — This is particularly hard for virtual workers as it’s easy to skip lunch or just keep working. Go for a walk, start and end your day at reasonable times.
6. Have an “Office” — You need a place in your house that is setup for working. This helps with it being setup properly and having some separation when you are at “home” versus “work”.
This all said, we will come through the Covid crisis, and things will return to a new normal. In the meantime, I hope everyone can embrace this new, level playing field, and through this, we all learn how to work better together in the future.
What is your perspective on this new level playing field?
