Remote & Virtual Team Alignment

Remote and/or virtual teams are made up of people who are location independent, and connect via the internet. Hybrid teams refer to those made up of members that are both virtual and on location.

The year 2020 and everything that came with it created a surge in remote and hybrid team popularity, but the concept has been around for a while (we’ve been a virtual team since 2017!). Even before the rise of internet businesses, companies had teams that were made up of people not always in the same location. For example, this could be a sales team stationed in a different locale than the rest of the company that called in or visited for meetings only. And while they weren’t technically “virtual,” the idea was the same: they used technology to function independent of their location.

Benefits Of Remote, Virtual, & Hybrid Teams

Today remote and hybrid teams can be powerful in their ability to:

Facilitate Flexibility – The hybrid workplace trend seems to be sticking, with most employees stating they prefer flexibility. Organizations that have facilitated this are seeing higher levels of productivity and employee satisfaction (others however aren’t seeing the same positive benefits, which we’ll touch on in a moment).
Widen Economic Opportunity – Instead of large corporations hiring within their geographic location, they can hire in other areas where the cost of living is less, giving opportunities to people who live outside of major cities new opportunities not previously available.
Access To Talent – Businesses can access a larger talent pool as a result of hybrid and remote team models.
Employee Autonomy – More freedom equals more happiness, which translates into more personal ownership from team members (and managers are always looking for ways to instill greater ownership among their teams).
Lower Costs – Economists believe remote work could save corporate firms $206B.
Meet Demand – More people are adopting the idea of working remotely, and many are citing it as a requirement. Companies can remain competitive in courting high-level talent by meeting the demands of the market.

The Recent Evolution of Remote, Virtual, & Hybrid Teams

At the end of 2020, Pew research reported that 54% of people working from home wanted to continue to do so.
At the start of 2021, 52% of workers said they preferred a flexible hybrid model (up from 30% pre-pandemic), and 40% of workers globally said they were considering finding new employment.
Then 47M Americans voluntarily quit their jobs during what people were calling “The Great Resignation.”
Motivational factors of those seeking new jobs: 47% greater pay or hours, 27% better career prospects, and 21% said flexible remote and/or hybrid arrangements.

Not only that, but:

49% of business spend is going from the top 15 most expensive places to live, to areas where the cost of living is lower.
Independent contractors make 18.6% more than the average salary of their professional counterparts in the same industry and role.
65% of hiring managers expect to rely on full-time remote work in the next five years.
Since 2020, 4.9M Americans have moved because of remote work, and 18.9M more plan on moving as well.
80% of employees surveyed by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom said they’d prefer to work remotely at least once a week.

Even with all this interesting data, remote, virtual, and hybrid teams come with some challenges.

Challenges Of Remote, Hybrid, or Virtual Teams

Technology Adjustments – Still the biggest challenge most companies face (even though some seem very well adept at changing their background for Zoom meetings…)
Productivity Clashes – Managers are about split 50/50 on whether or not they believe remote work is effective.
Upended Management Practices – 67% of businesses have had to adjust their long-term management procedures.
Disrupted Operations – Communication, coordination, and other operational procedures have been affected.
Not Everyone Is Bought In – Elon Musk loudly proclaimed employees who didn’t return to the office should quit. Apple can’t seem to make up their mind. Marc Andreessen has stated that no one has thought about the massive shift to the way people live life if virtual teams become the norm.
Unknown Economic Consequences – Just like 2020 forced people into virtual team situations, an economic downturn could force them right back into the workplace, even if it could save billions of dollars.

However, with all the disagreements about the value of virtual, hybrid, or remote teams, most of the findings point to their effectiveness being influenced by culture and morale—if location independence isn’t a fit for an organization, then it just isn’t a fit.

Martine Haas, a professor at Wharton, studied global teams and virtual teamwork for over 25 years and found that most challenges related to hybrid work fall under The 5Cs: communication, coordination, connection, creativity, and culture.

And with 65% of workers saying they feel disconnected, and a seemingly more disconnected workplace on the rise, companies should take note of how those making virtual, remote, or hybrid work for them are rising to the challenge and maintaining a strong and aligned team.

Remote, Virtual, & Hybrid Team Alignment: Vision

In 2020, 100% of businesses that created their Vivid Vision with Conscious Copy & Co. said that inspiration was a key reason for clarifying their vision.

That’s not surprising, given how crazy 2020 was. But it shows an understanding that as the shift to remote, virtual, or hybrid teams began to happen, aligning the team with company goals and vision became top of mind.

How To Align Remote, Virtual, and Hybrid Teams With Company Vision

You can check out how to use your Vivid Vision to align your remote, virtual, or hybrid team here. You can also check out this list of vision alignment strategies:

Prioritize Connection – 4 ways managers can be proactive about building stronger virtual team relationships.
Create Spaces That Meet Team Needs – Most employees see the value in having multiple places to work; given the right spaces, hybrid teams can actually maximize their productive output.
Over-Communicate – But do so effectively.
Create A Vision-Based Policy – $3 Billion Business with a vision-based policy.

Remote & Virtual Team Alignment: Talent

While most people would like to continue working from home, or at least have some flexibility, managers and leadership are still undecided. However, most experts do agree that hybrid models are here to stay, and many leaders and managers expect to be fully remote in the near future.

How To Build A Remote, Virtual, or Hybrid Team

While remote, virtual, and hybrid teams are convenient for some, they’re not for everyone. Some people prefer to have a physical location to come to every single day. And some studies suggest that others prefer to have a choice, with 80% of people expressing they’d like to work remotely at least once a week. Many businesses were forced to go virtual in 2020, and while some have returned to business as usual, some have wavered.

Team members not used to being remote or virtual might have to adjust. Experts suggest training, with adequate space given to employees who need to get used to the new norm. And the organization should empower team members to communicate honestly and openly about their development. Plus, hybrid models tend to be more difficult than fully remote ones. If a company is assembling a remote, virtual, or hybrid team, here are a few other effective strategies when it comes to talent:

Meet The Needs – So long as team members feel valued and connected to the impact of their work, they recognize that maximizing productivity is more important than their comfort. Employees opting for a hybrid model may be doing so because they can be most productive at home, and can focus on collaboration in the office. It all depends on the needs of the organization and its employees.
Increase Virtual Sense Of Belonging – People may feel less connected to the purpose of the company if they rarely spend time in the office. When connection starts to dip, make sure to work on building it, especially in a virtual/hybrid environment.
Make Use Of Technology – Inspection engineers can now do field tests from home; real estate agents can provide virtual tours. The technology to run effective remote, virtual, and hybrid organizations is here, it’s just up to organizations to use it.
Reinforce Priorities – Help people focus on what needs to change instead of worrying about what’s going to stay the same.
A Culture Of Appreciation – Whether it’s in a Slack channel, or it’s at the start of your EOS-style meeting, high-performance teams prioritize making time to appreciate each other, and this becomes all the more important when you’re running a remote or hybrid team.
Meaningful Appreciation – Because remote team bonding is here to stay.
Practice Better Virtual Leadership – It needs to get better. It really, really needs to get better.
Help Those Who Aren’t Adjusting – Not everyone will be able to adjust, so here’s how to help those who may be struggling.

Hybrid, Remote, and Virtual Team Building Activities

Okay, so we’ve all accepted that this virtual/hybrid team model is here to stay. But all great organizations know how important it is to strengthen the bond of its team members, and it’s no wonder that the number of people searching for virtual team building activities has continued to spike since 2020:

So, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of virtual team building activities anyone can use to keep connection flowing and morale high:

10 In The Tank – Encourage culture bonding through sharing in virtual groups.
Happy Hours (With A Warning) – Virtual happy hours gained popularity when most companies were forced to go virtual in 2020. While these can be great ways for team members to connect, remember that not everyone is a social butterfly. Here are a few ways to do your Zoom happy hours right when you do, but make sure to explore other virtual team building activities.
Virtual Games – If you want to hire professionals, you can hold virtual bonding events that people aren’t dreading (even your sales meetings can be improved with a stand up comedy act).
The Random Channel & Virtual Watercooler – Lots of software companies trying to sell you their service want you to set up virtual watercooler—except you need them to do it. In reality, you don’t. You can just use Slack to set up virtual watercooler channel. It differs from the random channel in that you have someone designated on the team to consistently facilitate conversations throughout the week, tagging interested people, and sharing memes or whatever. Even if the more introverted team members don’t participate all that much, it’ll make them feel good to know you’re thinking about them when you tag them in a conversation about a topic they’re interested in.
Actually Meet In Person – What a concept, right?

Remote & Virtual Team Alignment: Structure

The structure of a remote, virtual, or hybrid team will depend on the type of team it is. If it’s a cross-functional software development team, it’ll be structured as such. The same goes for a functional virtual sales team. However, there are a few structural pitfalls to be aware of when it comes to strengthening this part of your Team Alignment Triad.

Here are the most effective strategies for virtual or remote teams and their organizational structure, decision-making process, and overall communication.

Organizational Structure

Reimagine Workflows – When thinking about jobs and tasks, consider how key productivity drivers—energy, focus, coordination, and cooperation—will be affected by changes in working arrangements.
Effective Design – Build your team around collaboration and productivity.
Use Emotional Intelligence – Help remote, virtual, and hybrid teams connect with the workplace by using tried and true methods updated for the digital age.

Decision Making Process

Set Expectations & Prioritize With Flexibility In Mind – Clearly defined guidelines and expectations on how a remote, virtual, or hybrid team functions should inform your its decision-making process. However, keep flexibility in mind: these teams are built to be fluid.
Use Proven Systems – There are proven ways to make day to day decisions when working from home—don’t overthink trying to find a “new way,” just update what already exists.
DARE To Be Better – Or you can push through limits and opt for better ways of making decisions, with strategies backed up by the latest research from McKinsey.
Proven Collaborative Structure – Ultimately, there should be someone or some body of leaders who have the final say in the decision making process, but that doesn’t mean collaboration can’t play a part.

Communication

Effective Collaboration Models – Strengthen relationships and lay the foundation for future collaboration.
Leadership Responsiveness – 5 ways leadership can keep their remote, virtual, and hybrid teams engaged.
The Tools You Use – Whether you use Slack and Asana only, or some other digital variation, the tools you use to communicate are just as important as how you use them.
Research-Backed Productivity Hacks – Keep people motivated and productive no matter where they are.
The Entrepreneur’s Organization Way – 6 ways to overcome the most common challenges of leading remote, virtual, and hybrid teams.
Improve Video Connection – For the technologically inclined, streamlining your video functionality can be a major win for improving communications across an organization.