Managing & Mentoring Extended Teams
As a virtual solutions business, Untouched Focus knows a thing or two about working with extended teams. It’s what we do and who we are. We work from afar, but we’re at the touch of your fingertips through the virtual platforms we use to stay connected with our clients. Over the pandemic, the workforce has proven that productivity and employee happiness have increased since remote work has become widespread.
How Extended Teams Operate
Unlike extended family, extended teams are much more personal. This extension happens when a company outsources a task or department to a freelancer or specialized business. One of the benefits of building an extended team is being able to handpick suitable talent for your business. At Untouched Focus, we have had the opportunity to work with all kinds of talented women, and when we saw someone remarkable, we added them to our team. Think about your five favorite pairs of shoes in your closet…. You remember the day you added them to your wardrobe, why you chose them, and why they’re still here. That’s how we feel about each member of our girl gang.
How to Manage Extended Teams
A few of the major concerns of remote work were monitoring productivity and employee accountability from home. Remote work is more manageable now that there are programs dedicated to virtual workspaces, and these programs function great for in-person sites too. No matter if your work is actual or virtual, work always involves a computer. Why not get your money’s worth with the technology available? Being able to share content, calendars, and ideas instantly and work on them instantaneously are some of the biggest conveniences.
Besides our in-house emails, Untouched Focus uses Asana, Voxer, and Google Suite to collaborate with our extended team members. Asana is a task management site and application. It makes scheduling, assigning, and detailing responsibilities by department, project, assignee, or date. Your team can choose to see these tasks as a list or a board which is a great way to accommodate organization preferences. Another way we stay in sync is through Google Calendars. There’s no need to send repetitive emails about recurring events or tasks. Because let’s be real, those emails go unread, so why waste the time? Another quick tip for communication is Voxer. Remember chirp phones? Yeah, this is the reincarnation of that! You can send text messages and voice messages in an instant, and your team members will hear a ping on their computer or mobile device. In a fast-paced world, quick communication is key.
How to Mentor Extended Teams
Untouched Focus began as our founder’s dream, and now it is her team. When it comes to building the ideal extended team, you have to take one person’s vision and turn it into the group’s mission. Realistically you can’t expect everyone to be on board immediately. You have to take the time to help them see the mission and get on brand. This process is accomplished through onboarding, training, and mentoring. Everyone is familiar with the first two, but what does professional mentorship look like? This last step can manifest itself in several ways: feedback, team meetings, and coworking sessions.
Our small business uses Toggl Track, Attendance Bot, and video calls to manage and mentor our extended team. Toggl Track allows us to see what assignments are taking priority and how long it takes for each team member to complete them. Attendance Bot also tracks when the team is punching in and punching out and allows the team to know when someone else is on shift with them. Coworking sessions enable true teamwork because you can converse and ask questions to your coworkers directly. It is more seamless than sending a message and having to wait for it to be read and responded to. We do these sessions and our meetings through our favorite video-calling apps. These apps enhance communications by seeing faces and sharing screens for clarification or demonstration. Like sports, it takes collaborating and calling out to each other to make the team work.
Now you’ve seen the magic behind the scenes, we’re extending our hand and services to you. Will you take it and find out what we can do for you? Contact us today!