The process of virtualization of business organizations has become a widespread reality, and with this comes a new challenge for companies: remote work groups and their complexities.
However, we cannot forget the undeniable advantages of remote work as a lever to make organizations more agile and successful.
Next, let’s understand the challenges of remote teams.
Is remote work new to everyone?
For some time now, geographical distances and time zones have not limited work teams; in fact, some companies have been adopting remote work for some time.
With the pandemic, these issues have definitely ceased to be obstacles and have become a reality.
And it has changed the reality for companies that had not yet thought about this possibility, either because of the limited size or because of the traditional leadership approach in which people can only be managed if they are around.
Why create remote work teams
Globalization and the information revolution have broken down organizational barriers and allowed companies to work with teams without limitation of space and time.
However, companies that practice it do not necessarily know what remote working entails and how virtual teams should be created to bring effectiveness and advantage.
Sometimes remote teams are adopted in organizations out of obligation, (as with the Covid-19 pandemic) while the attitude should instead focus on creating virtual teams as a strategic resource to increase overall organizational performance.
The organization of remote teams should be a strategic choice, that is, the search for a new dimension of the organization.
How a remote team is organized
A remote work team is composed of members who are geographically and organizationally distributed.
Often they may even be in the same city, but not near each other.
Remote work teams come together thanks to communication systems and computer infrastructures to carry out an organizational activity.
An essential element is the ability to cooperate quickly, flexibly, and effectively despite geographical, logistical, and organizational barriers, often even temporal, with time zone changes.
Advantages of remote teams
More fluid work, as groups are constantly learning how to organize and reorganize tasks;
Technology as an aid to make work more collaborative and effective;
Exchange of ideas and proposals between people in an open and continuously accessible technological environment.
Disadvantages of remote teams
Communication through technology can limit nuances of a face-to-face relationship.
Mutual trust may emerge more slowly than in real groups.
Language barriers and culture clashes may arise between team members.
Conclusion
The great challenge of remote teams lies in transforming virtual groups, with their complexities, into an element that makes the organization more agile and successful.
Therefore, this reality will probably be part of more and more companies and the movement of creating remote work teams, if it is not yet part of your life, get ready, you will soon be able to do it.