Andrew Mawson explains why managing the virtual workforce demands new ideas and behaviours.
We are witnessing a fundamental transformation to the way we work. Covid-19 has imposed virtual working on millions of people. Eight months since lockdown began, it almost feels normal. But the truth is it was the tipping point. Globalisation, advances in technology and infrastructure, demographic changes – all these factors have contributed to greater connectivity and mobility, demonstrating the wisdom of adopting flexible work models to organisations and individuals.
What I believe the pandemic has done is tear down the preconceptions and biases associated with working from home. Virtual workers are no longer considered shirkers. And leaders have had no choice but to let go of the presenteeism-based management models that have defined office life for so many years.
A significant number of leaders and employees have also learned that they can work effectively away from the office and their colleagues albeit with some workarounds to manage the distractions and disruptions in the home. One recent study from the Institute of Directors found that three out of four firms plan to maintain the increase in home working.
Leaders should not waste the opportunity they now have to reinvent. Moving to a virtualised model can transform employee productivity and wellbeing, reduce the dependence on costly real estate, and even help you make significant strides in sustainability. However, in this new world, the old rules don’t apply. Genuine change demands a rethink of the work models, processes, behaviours and relationships that govern your organisation.
What makes virtual teams work?
This spring, in the early days of the first lockdown, the Advanced Workplace Institute partnered with the Centre for Evidence-Based Management (CEMBa) to run a piece of research on the factors that have most significant impact on the effectiveness of virtual teams. Our goal was to establish what leaders can do to ensure that their people stay productive, engaged and motivated as they move to a more virtual model.
The study revealed six core factors the productivity of office-based workers and virtual knowledge teams but impact the latter group to a greater degree:
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
- Social cohesion
- Trust
- Information sharing
- Perceived supervisory support
- Vision and goal clarity
- External communication
Social cohesion, trust and information sharing seem the most vulnerable to damage when people work virtually, which means leaders should make a conscious effort to understand how they interlink. They can’t be left to chance.
Working apart also impacts team dynamics, the frequency of communications, levels of consensus and conflict, and the level and quality of social interaction. As a leader, you need to learn the differences that people experience when they’re away from the office compared to when they are co-located. To ensure community performance is maintained, people need to adapt by finding effective alternative ways to operate.
The effectiveness of virtual teams is determined by the strength of their social and cognitive states. In other words, it depends on the degree to which they are socially cohesive, trust one another, work within a psychologically safe environment and share knowledge freely.
Empowering people
For this to happen, however, leaders need to shift from a transactional management model, defined by communications and control, to a transformational one that centres trust, cohesion and transparency. In virtual teams there is potential for everyone to be a leader. Our research with CEBMa found that virtual workers respond well to transformational management styles that create a strong team structure, empower and guide the team, and involve them in the development of group goals.
Now is the time for leaders in both business and in government to ask themselves: how do we grasp this moment with both hands and make the transition to a virtual world?
By Andrew Mawson
Andrew Mawson is the founder of Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA), a specialist management consultancy that provides valuable support to organisations transitioning to new models of working. AWA runs the Advanced Workplace Institute, a research body and professional network that offers its corporate real estate, facilities management, operations, HR and IT members regular insights.
