With remote working as the new norm, people have begun opting for everything virtual. Though many are opting for remote work, some find it complex to adapt to. Like everything else, projects are getting managed virtually as well. Virtual Project Management has certainly become one of the most efficient modes of managing projects remotely.
Today, we will be discussing virtual project management and its benefits. We will also discuss different ways by which you can keep your virtual team on track regardless of your location.
What is Virtual Project Management?
Before elaborating on its benefits and uses, let us understand what Virtual Project Management is. Virtual Project Management is a process of managing any project remotely through virtual teams.
This involves monitoring and tracking the work as well as other tasks, regardless of the time zones. Although it sounds pretty simple, it certainly has its own challenges. That’s because this time your team is distributed in different zones and not situated in one place.
What are the Benefits of Virtual Teams?
It is important to know how beneficial virtual Project management can be in today’s situation. To discuss this further, let us delve into some of the benefits that come from virtual project management.
- Lesser Efforts Required
When you tend to work from home and have virtual teams as well, then you won’t have to input much effort for several things. To mention some of it, you would not have to spend on office space, bills, as well as other facilities that are necessary for office premises. In short, you will be saving a lot of energy and money for such things.
- Employee Accessibility
One of the most efficient benefits of virtual teams is that your employees are not limited to your region. This means you can surely hire talented employees from different parts of the country or even the world. Moreover, you can create an excellent team of talented and strong members of your organization.
- Flexibility to Employees
Another reason why people encourage remote working is that it helps them achieve better work-life balance. Most employees strive for work-life balance because they have become so busy with their professional life that they hardly get any time for their family life. With such facilities, it is quite likely that they will work with much more dedication and enthusiasm for the organization.
- Better Productivity
Apart from that, there is the advantage that when you work remotely, you are likely to work under your own comfort. This certainly enhances the productivity level for the team. Further, you also do not have to travel to reach your office, which is again time-consuming and exhausting at the same time. With a combination of all this, the productivity level of any employee can surely surge.
How to Execute Virtual Project Management?
With all the benefits and advantages of going virtual with your team, one must also know different ways to manage the team so that it could be on the track. As a manager, you can go for certifications like PMP certification that can help you learn how to properly execute Virtual Project Management. Talking about the same, here we will be discussing some of the ways by which you can manage your virtual team while keeping them on track with the project itself.
- Communication
One of the several prerequisites to managing your virtual team is following proper communication channels. It is surely very important to stay connected with your teammates throughout your working hours. Lack of communication can certainly backfire, causing you to lose the pace of work.
There are numerous platforms for communication that have access to messaging, video calling, voice calling, sharing relevant documents, and many more. You can opt for any of it, to stay connected with your Teammates or even assign them work.
- Team Meetings
To keep your team on track, it is important to hold meetings. Meetings help you as well as your employees know about the project, its progress, areas where it’s lacking, and many more. Team meetings give you an efficient idea of where your project is headed.
Holding virtual meetings is quite easy nowadays. You can use your communication app for video conferencing or group calls so that your team could say updated. It would also help them know about the feedback from the clients and maintain an efficient connection.
- Roles and Responsibilities
You should also be very clear with your teammates and distribute the roles and responsibilities as per their potential. Besides, it is also very important for team members to understand what their responsibilities are in their respective roles. This will give you an efficient idea of what your employees think of their respective responsibilities in a precise manner. Propose: Employees should know what they must do on a regular basis. Both sides – employees and employer or project manager – get to know about their duties, time spent, availability thanks to the resource calendar.
Conclusion
Virtual project management is an important mode of keeping your project active while being remote. The benefits of this mode of management are endless. Virtual teams are also efficient for obvious reasons. Employees achieve better flexibility and work-life balance, aspects which they are constantly desired.
In addition, owners and managers also benefit by having talented employees with higher productivity from different parts of the world. To keep the team on track, it is important to have proper communication, hold frequent meetings, project management training and provide roles and responsibilities to the employees. Considering all these factors, teams will be well on their way to success, completing their projects in a timely fashion while maintaining adequate relevancy.
