As most of us are getting used to working from home, one thing is certain: telecommuting is stabilizing as the main principle for organizing the workplace. Employees who’ve never left their office before are fully participating in remote teams. Managers that have never worked like this fight to overcome virtual work challenges the best they can. Teams used to the remote work standard are adapting to the growing competition. A fresh workforce is entering the arena. A significant shift is happening and not always for the most pleasant reason. Job losses, a global health crisis, and workplace transformation are pressuring people to adapt. They must find a productive place in the reshaped resource distribution. Therefore, growing the skills and the capacity for doing a good job at home is among the most important virtual work trends for 2020.
Central Virtual Work Trends for 2020
Working in distributed global teams, teleworking, home office working, remote work, or virtual work are variations of the same name that encompasses the principles of new work.
New work is a common name for the type of work employees do beyond geographical boundaries while relying on technologies and digital communication. Let’s look at some of the remote work trends that rule the current job scene and seek solutions to the changes they produce.
1. Managing the pros and cons of virtual work
Working on virtual teams includes tangible benefits and some stumbling blocks.
Virtual work trends for 2020 show that employees choose remote work for the tangible perks of reduced job stress, better work-life balance, and time saved for travel. They enjoy better home and family organization and enhanced productivity.
Conversely, working at home can hinder motivation, increase loneliness, and pose technical difficulties. It can reduce workers’ ability to unplug and rest, and worsen collaboration.
Despite the multiple challenges, if you ask people whether they like working on remote teams, 98 percent will answer affirmatively. The larger part of the workforce agrees that they would like to have the option to work from home at least part of the time.
Therefore, working out effective ways to manage remote workplaces is a key priority for managers in 2020. The path forward should include solutions to:
- Communicate effectively
- Set up collaboration structures
- Balance labor division between people who must work from home and people who choose to work from home
- Manage new company expenses
- Empower people to work in new ways
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2. People empowerment
Shifting a part of the responsibility to employees is another important virtual work trend for 2020. Workers are encouraged to invest value in the virtual organization’s mission. They can research and come up with solutions to personal and professional development and actively contribute to company goals and objectives.
To be able to empower people that will actually work for your company and not feel the burden of heavy delegation and accountability, you need to:
- Base empowerment on clarity.
- Align personal goals with the common company’s goals, mission, and strategy.
- Set an explicit system for measuring goals and objectives.
In this way, you will have a structure that will help people find their place in a virtual organization, regardless of whether they are working from home, in an office, a cafe, or in a coworking space. This will help you avoid confusion about who needs to do what, when, and how.
Watch the video below for an example of setting and measuring goals in virtual organizations:
3. Talent acquisition overhaul
Remote work attracts talent. This is a consequence of people being more empowered to be accountable for responsible roles. However, it is also due to the possibility to earn more, choose job projects, and capitalize on job complexity.
Hence, establishing a precise, quick, inexpensive, and resourceful system for talent acquisition is a new challenge for managers.
You can effectively implement this virtual work trend for 2020 by adjusting your conventional hiring and recruitment system to the principles of new work.
Remote work talent must be sourced out to:
- Meet top expert work criteria
- Be flexible and scalable to suffice both short and long-term project requirements, and
- Produce fewer costs with a higher job fit precision rate
Since uncertainty finds its place among the remote work trends for 2020, the task of the adaptive virtual team manager is to build networks that connect with top talent already on board with the trends.
Keep in mind the “what you seek is seeking you” saying when looking for part-time staff, flexi workers, and freelancers. This is an easy way to build bridges with qualified, highly-skilled employees.
4. Embracing technologies
Staying abreast of new technologies is a condition to survive through a crisis on a global scale by using remote work tools for team communication, collaboration, and connection. However, it is also imperative for HR transition, company growth, and digital transformation.
Hiring platforms based on artificial intelligence, HR chatbots taking over partial roles from recruitment specialists, and productivity enhancement hacks that replace repetitive office tasks are a challenge for both managers and employees.
The first group must successfully manage the cost of early technology adoption. The second group must requalify to meet the requirements of new work.
More often than not, you won’t be able to do this alone. You will need the help of digital teams that can come together in a short time and whose team members have high job specificity.
Job specificity is an advantage of flash teams, the specific team structure we employ at Flash Hub.
5. Just enough video meetings
Although remote video meetings may be the perfect collaboration tool under some circumstances, the fatigue can be taxing when you spend too much time on video platforms.
Finding the optimal time spent on video meetings must be on your list of virtual work trends for this year.
To replenish your resources, make time for one-on-one video communication for the most important tasks. Leave the less important tasks for emails, project management tools, and screencasts.
Recorded videos are an excellent way to communicate task specifications.
- Keep large virtual meetings for remote team building.
- Organize your schedule by assigning communication time if you find it necessary for leading and coaching your virtual team.
- Video recordings and screencasts are two essential home office and remote work tools for working with flash teams.
A major factor in the success of the Flash Hub teams is developing systems and structures that refine the talent acquisition process and empower everyone who participates to work towards common goals.
Learn to grow and scale your business with virtual teams and global freelancers with our FREE Virtual Team Starter Pack!
