13 Ways to Motivate, Reward, and Bond with Your Virtual Team
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Building a team to support your firm can be a challenge, but building a virtual team comes with its own set of hurdles!
One benefit of hiring a virtual team is that it opens up the possibility for you to hire team members regardless of their location, which gives you SO many more potential candidates. Remote work could also offer the perk of a flexible schedule and eliminates the need for a daily commute! You get to work beside your fur friends, spend less on Starbucks and take out, and the list goes on.
But there are drawbacks to a virtual team as well.
If you team is only communicating through Slack, there may be some misunderstandings in communication. When context and tone is removed from conversation, it can be hard to pick up on social cues. The lack of "water cooler" chat is a surprisingly big factor when it comes to team morale.
In this blog, I'm going to share with you some ideas on how to nurture, motivate, and bond with your virtual team!
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How to Motivate a Virtual Team
When you and your virtual team are working from home, you have the potential to be more productive. You can't get caught up talking to the HR lady about her potluck this weekend, or get distracted by the new Keurig in the kitchen.
What could happen instead is burnout.
The irony here is that we NEED a little bit of distraction once in a while. If every meeting, conversation, and thought is focused on work - you have a one-way ticket to Burnout City.
Here are some ideas of how to motivate a virtual team:
Create a Slack channel #teamwins where you or other team members can give someone a shoutout for a job well done. It's always fun to celebrate with a GIF when someone has a win!
Schedule coffee chats with your employees. It doesn't have to be long - even 15 minutes! Do this once a month with each team member and take this time to make sure they feel seen and heard.
Team workouts and health goals can be a fun way to stay connected and introduce a little friendly competition to the team! Try attending the same virtual yoga class or see who can get the most steps in each week.
Foster a culture that emphasizes the importance of communication. If your virtual team knows they can come to you with any ideas and/or concerns, they are more likely to share, which only makes your firm better!
How to Bond with a Virtual Team
Having a virtual team that stays motivated to do the work is important, but how do you avoid the awkward moments of a Zoom call before the meeting actually starts? If you don't know much about your team members outside of work, it can be hard to fill the dead air. Not to mention, your team members are awesome people that YOU hired! Bonding with your virtual team is super important for building trust, loyalty, and even friendships.
Here are some ideas on how to bond with a virtual team:
Create a Slack channel #justforfun where there is no work talk allowed! Share a photo of your hike from the weekend, what you made for dinner, or how you dressed your dog up for Halloween!
Follow each other on social media. This is a perfect way to get a behind the scenes look into your virtual team's lives and discover what you might have in common!
Host a virtual game night. Bring out your inner game show host! Team Workflow Queen had a virtual Uno competition at one of our quarterly meetings and it was a blast! Combine this with a virtual happy hour and you have a great opportunity to bond. Some other ideas of games perfect for a virtual setting are: 2 Truths and a Lie, Never Have I Ever, and Would You Rather!
Have a themed meeting. If you want to spice up your weekly team meetings, encourage everyone to follow a theme! An example of this could be: Pajama day, dress as the CEO, or monochrome outfits.
Take personality tests and compare your results. This is a great way to discover where you and your team's strengths lie and check if you are tapping into those strengths! We like these personality tests: Myers Briggs, Clifton's Strengths, Love Languages, and Enneagram.
How to Reward a Virtual Team
As a CEO, your virtual team looks up to you. When everyone is remote, it can be hard for your team members to know how you perceive them and their quality of work. In order to prevent any misunderstandings, you can reward your virtual team members when they are kicking ass (or even just having a tough time and need some support).
Here are some ideas on how to reward a virtual team:
Prizes! Sending your team members a gift card to their favorite coffee shop, scheduling them a massage, or even sending them a custom gift box is a great way to help them feel appreciated.
Luncheon via Zoom is a super fun treat that Team Workflow Queen LOVES to do! Send everyone an Uber Eats gift card, order your lunch, and enjoy a chat while you dine together. You could also incorporate a game or two to make it extra fun!
A home office stipend is another great way to make sure your virtual team is comfortable and has everything they need to efficiently work at home. Team members might use this to buy a second monitor, a new chair, or even a personalized mousepad! It really is just for them to enjoy their surroundings while they are working throughout the day.
An in-person retreat! I saved the best for last because Team Workflow Queen hosted our first ever employee retreat in Nashville, TN and we even invited some students to tag along! If you can get your team together in real life, I highly recommend you do it! Not only is it a reward, it is also an incredible way to bond and learn from each other.
If you have a virtual team, try out some of these ideas to help establish a connection between you and your team members! Everyone feels more fulfilled by their work if they also have a sense of community. Even if we are no longer communicating in person, we are still exchanging energy. In order to make sure this energy is positive and uplifting, we can incorporate some of these fun tactics for nurturing a virtual team.
Building a virtual team is a HUGE accomplishment, but once you have one, it can be hard to properly manage them while also growing your practice. Luckily, I've developed the perfect group coaching program for practice owners who want to maximize their team's potential, nail down their systems and potentially remove themselves from the daily operations.
Click the button below to join the waitlist for the next cohort of Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants!
