Most organizations have transitioned to all-remote workforces in recent weeks. Aside from being officially mandated these days, working from home offers many benefits: More flexibility, no time spent in unpleasant commutes, and extra hours for family time, to name a few.
With remote work becoming standard practice, team leaders need to rethink their communication strategies. Virtual teams tend to be culturally diverse and studies show they have the advantage of being more innovative and able to easily move quickly out of their comfort zone, but bringing them together to collaborate can be challenging.
In a bid to drive enhanced performance, companies are shifting from top-down hierarchies to flatter structures with cross-functional teams. According to research from Deloitte, “the shift from hierarchies to cross-functional teams is well underway. Our data shows that adopting team structures improves organizational performance for those that have made the journey; organizations that have not risk falling further behind.” More than half of respondents to Deloitte’s survey (53%) report a significant improvement in performance after switching to a team-based model of working.
The need for better employee engagement and productivity has become pressing in an international marketplace. Forward-thinking organisations are responding to this by structuring themselves in a more responsive and flexible way. In this video for the HRDIRECTOR, Armin Hopp, Founder and President of Speexx looks at the rise of a virtual team and how HR professionals can support them.