Tel: 0844 394 8877

Boulden Management Consultants

Remote-Based Training

Managing Virtual Teams

Talking to a team via video conferencing

Build, maintain, and energise Virtual Teams

Remote Course

Course Brochure Download
Brochure for Managing Virtual Teams
  • Learn how to create a ‘communication strategy’ for a remote team
  • Understand the significance of the ‘Team Vision’
  • Master the art of the ‘informal temperature check’

Overview

This fast paced, remote training programme, is designed to give participants a firm grasp of the key skills needed to lead a remote team.

The training will help participants to build strong ‘one to one’ and team relationships, set clear goals, and monitor employees’ wellbeing, all in the context of working in a virtual world.

The training consists of:

  1. An E-learning Module that people do as pre-work. (This is in the form of a pdf file that takes around 20-30 minutes to complete.)
  2. A, four-hour-long, live Zoom Workshop, (with a 30-minute break half way through) where we briefly review the theory covered

Learning objectives

By attending this highly interactive remote course you will:

  • Discover the key aspects of developing a communication strategy for a virtual team
  • Acquire a template for developing a Team Vision
  • Gain ideas about how to deal with people who are new to home working
  • Learn how to start a virtual team meeting
  • Grasp some methods available to build team spirit

Who should attend?

This course is ideal for experienced managers who want to have a refresher or ‘master class’ on managing remote or ‘virtual’ teams. It is also relevant for all those new to management or leadership who want to grasp the essential elements of managing teams whose members are separated by geography and culture.


Types of Remote Teams

Reviewing the different types of remote teams and the challenges each type presents to the manager.

  • Remote Teams vs Virtual Teams
  • Three types of remote team
  • Being aware of the potential pitfalls of remote team management

Exercise: self-assessment of your Remote Management capabilities

Team Vision

Understanding how to develop a Team Vision or Team Charter so that all the team members have a common understanding of what is expected of them.

  • Features of good quality Vision statements
  • The Vision Template
  • Strap Lines

Exercise: drafting a Team Strap Line

High Quality Goals

It’s hard to discover what a remote worker is doing on a day to day basis, so it’s difficult to assess their work ethic, but you can measure their achievement. As a result, a focus on goal setting (and monitoring the results) becomes of paramount importance.

  • SMART goals
  • The power of the weekly ‘one to one’ meeting
  • Shared To-Do Lists

Exercise: setting a SMART goal

Formal communications strategy

One major problem with remote working is that there are few (if any) ‘natural’ opportunities to talk to people on an informal basis in order to get a sense of their morale and motivation. As a result, problems of all kinds can build up without the manager being aware that anything is wrong until they reach crisis point. This means that developing and adhering to a communication strategy is of the utmost importance in running a virtual team.

  • The Message Grid: Developing a formal meeting schedule and agenda
  • Adapting to the needs of the team

Exercise: specifying a meetings schedule

Building team spirit and monitoring wellbeing

In the context of Remote Working, special attention needs to be paid to creating informal ‘social networks’ both between individual team members, and the team as a whole ‘community’.

  • Appreciating the value of a ‘temperature check’
  • The ‘What’s on top technique’
  • Team Building Activities

Exercise: identifying Team Building Activities

Advice to new Home Workers

If an employee is going to work from home for the first time, then it is best practice to give them some guidance on the do’s and don’ts of making it a positive experience.

  • Making the most of Home Working
  • Get the ‘Set Up’ right
  • Transition Rituals
  • Time Blocking Techniques

Exercise: how to brief people new to home working

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Customisation

This programme is delivered in a remote format.

Where appropriate, we conduct interviews and facilitate focus groups to gather information with which to write bespoke case studies that precisely reflect the culture and work environment of the participants.

Feedback

Feedback is based upon peer reviews using Boulden Assessment Checklists. Completing the Boulden Assessment Checklists is not only valuable to the people involved in a given case study, it also helps those completing them to gain an in-depth understanding of skills used by excellent Remote Managers.

Follow up Coaching Support (Practise makes perfect)

The workshop can be followed by a 3/4-month-long group coaching activity (using the Action Learning Philosophy). This involves delegates trying out the skills from the workshop in real life situations and getting support and guidance from their peers and the consultant as they do so. If this option is selected there is a Closure Workshop at the end of the coaching phase where delegates present how they have applied the techniques learned on the course into their daily work routine (using the Most Significant Change methodology).

Remote Training

All of our workshops can be delivered as Remote Training via e-learning modules plus Zoom based virtual workshops. Please see our Virtual Training page for more information.


Contact

Further information on this course is available by contacting
Boulden Management Consultants:
via our Contact form
Tel: 0844 394 8877