Managing and Engaging Remote Employees/Virtual Teams/Telecommuting: How to Keep Teams Connected from AFAR

Managing remote employees brings its own challenges. Studies show that virtual team building is harder: informal leaders emerge less easily, genuine dialogue is tougher, and misunderstandings escalate faster.

Leaders of virtual teams also face cultural differences in business protocol, decision-making, attitudes to authority, the concept of time, negotiation styles and acceptable emotional reactions. This 60-minute webinar covers remote management best practices: creating a virtual workplace strategy and telecommuting policy, communicating clearly, building trust and relationships, planning and leading virtual meetings, using technology, and managing performance across time zones and cultures.

• Create a virtual workplace strategy and telecommuting policy
• Address the real challenges of the virtual workplace
• Overcome communication challenges and cultural barriers on virtual teams
• Coordinate work across time zones
• Manage remote employees' performance from a distance
• Plan and lead effective virtual meetings
• Build relationships through virtual team-building activities

• Creating a virtual workplace strategy
• Developing, implementing and maintaining telecommuting policy best practices
• Real challenges of the virtual workplace
• Virtual team building and leading teams to success
• Planning and leading virtual meetings
• Using technology to support a virtual workplace
• Culture and its role on a virtual team
• Communication challenges and cultural barriers
• Working across time zones
• Managing remote employees and their performance from a distance
• Building relationships and team-building activities with virtual members
• Developing virtual leadership skills

A few techniques are specific to managing people you rarely see in person. This session shows you how to supervise across time zones and cultures and keep a remote team connected and productive.

It suits anyone who works on a remote team or interacts virtually with colleagues, and managers with remote employees.

Anyone who is part of a remote team or interacts virtually with team members or managers who have remote employees

Audrey Halpern is a soft skills training facilitator consultant with 20+ years of experience. Audrey’s is currently a  faculty member of American Management Association where she trains communication skills.