Virtual Association Resources

Convince Employees to Work Remotely

traeturner — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:06:45 +0000

If your organization is considering saving costs by going virtual, you should think about how to present the idea to your current onsite team. Especially in today’s workplace, employees may feel insecure about the massive layoffs happening across the globe and be reluctant to let go of familiar face-to-face relationships with managers. The best place to start is putting together a remote-work policy to review with your team. Talk to them about the financial benefits of remote work, and assure them about the tools, resources and procedures to relieve anxiety. Learn more at How to Sell Remote Work to Employees.

Hands-On Access: Document Resources

traeturner — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:11:31 +0000

The old-fashioned stereotype of virtual workers as road warriors who were allowed to work from a distance has come a long way due to new technology. These employees, who were cut off from company resources, relied on materials prepared in advance that they had to lug home or on the road with them. Allowances were made to turn in paperwork or meet reporting responsibilities on a more flexible schedule than onsite workers. No more. Today’s technology affords all virtual workers access to content-management systems for company documents, databases, websites, etc. Even companies with a very centralized management structure can still control consistent branding and formatting. Learn more from one content management resource, Intelledox, at Why Virtual Teams Need Intelligent Document Management.

ROI for Your Remote Workforce: Top 5 Factors

traeturner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:12:49 +0000

Retaining top talent means making your organization attractive to all workers, including virtual workers. First, you must be aware of the features remote workers require, and then you need to decide if the ROI makes sense. Tony Busseri, CEO of Route1, a global provider of security and identity management solutions, points out the top five factors for a telework environment. According to Busseri, “Providing employees with the required resources and access to work away from the office will increase productivity and allow them to better integrate career, family life and play.” Learn how to factor your remote-work ROI in his article Securing the Remote Work Force: Top 5 Factors for Teleworking Environment.

Virtual Leadership

traeturner — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:00:11 +0000

Although working remotely has been on a steep rise as far back as the 70s when managers and workers were no longer working in the “main office,” few managers are trained in virtual leadership. Even if only a few of your staff members work off site, it’s likely this group represents at least a portion of your team. Most managers lead virtual workers, but statistics show that these same managers are rarely prepared for how to best lead these types of groups. These statistics point to a need for a new approach to virtual leadership. Follow Sharon Daniels’ advice about effectively managing virtual teams in The Virtual Leadership Conundrum.

Infographic by AchieveGlobal

Long-Distance Festivities

traeturner — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:51:48 +0000

Just because your team members aren’t on site doesn’t mean you should ignore them on holidays. It’s important to include everyone in the festivities to encourage the same camaraderie sharing holidays in your office can foster. You might not be able to gather around a plate of cookies in the conference room or share a cup of cheer in the kitchen, but you can find other ways to celebrate everyone’s success and recognize everyone’s contributions. The international aspects of virtual work can also inspire organizations to highlight the holidays and cultural traditions of team members across the globe. Learn virtual ways to celebrate at Festive at a Distance.

Image courtesy of Flickr user DeaPeaJay.

Manage Remote-Team Conflict

traeturner — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:47:29 +0000

Is she not responding because she didn’t get the email, or is she just ignoring me?

Learn from Wayne Turmel, host of The Cranky Manager podcast, how virtual teams come with their own set of issues. Hear about four unique types of conflict remote teams experience and how you can address them: performance conflict, identity conflict, data conflict and social conflict. If you are managing a remote group of workers, be keen to understand how you team is feeling and how their interactions may differ from an onsite team. Read Conflict in Remote Teams.

All I Want for Christmas is to Work From Home

traeturner — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:19:11 +0000

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for your staff this year? If you want to reward your staff and boost productivity at the same time, consider this: 90 percent of respondents to a recent survey said they’d prefer a remote-working schedule, and 85 percent said they’d find more job satisfaction if remote work was an option. Reasons for wanting a more flexible schedule include better work-life balance and avoiding stressful commutes. Read more about how to boost productivity and adapt your office to a virtual-work environment. Remote Work is on the Wishlist This Year.

The Barefoot Executive photo by John Maddin via Flickr

The Right Tech for Your Remote Workers

traeturner — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:04:01 +0000

Although studies reveal postivite attitudes from remote workers, technology can still be a challenge. How can you best support your virtual team? A key requirement to most remote-work situations is the right technology. According to Forbes contributor, Cindy Bates, to experience the full range of benefits remote work provides, technology must be in place to meet a number of needs: collaboration, communication, security and internal network access. Read more about providing the right tech for your virtual workers in Out of the Office… But Still Hard at Work.

Be the Change You Wish to See: 12 Virtual-Work Aspirations

traeturner — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:05:29 +0000

If we take responsibility for making virtual-work trends happen, then virtual work will become more valuable and accessible. Virtual workers must build trust by mastering technology, communication strategies and workspace issues. Employers should add virtual-work options to their flexibility toolkit, cost-saving strategies and wellness policies. Publicly we need to push for updated tax code and fair labor standards that support remote workers. Read more about making these trends happen in 12 Remote Work Trends to Achieve (Not Just Predict).

Image by houdini_cs via Flickr

Are You Ready to Go Virtual? 3 Key Questions

traeturner — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:42:06 +0000

Terri Griffith, who studies the mix of technology and work, poses three high-level questions to executives to help them determine whether their organizations are ready for large-scale virtual work. These three key questions get to the root of an organization’s reasons for going virtual.

1. Will offshoring/outsourcing be playing a role?
2. Is the organization designed to be effective at virtual work?
3. Are the managers and employees skilled in the practices and tools for supporting virtual work?

You can’t simply change one thing about your organization without needing to change many other things. Griffith points out, “Organizational design is similar to the Skwish baby toy [in the photo] – if you pull on one node, but do not allow the others to shift, something is going to break.” Read more at Three High-Level Questions to Guide Executives Thinking About Virtual Work.

Flickr photo by yto.