The pandemic proved that some companies could continue their core operations remotely, allowing organizations to accommodate employees who live in other countries. For businesses, geographical constraints are no longer as significant as they once were. Thus, wherever you are in the world – like in Puerto Rico, Japan, or the Middle East – firms are increasingly employing globally as a result of technological advancements.
Given the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing a remote setup is more important than ever. Companies will be able to expand their workforce and find talents from a larger pool due to the digital transition.
Because of technology, several aspects of people’s professional lives have become more straightforward. However, while this enables remote working, this setup comes with its own set of challenges. Communication concerns, time zone disparities, and cultural differences are all hurdles you must address to manage your foreign teams effectively.
But how can you guarantee that everyone in your group is focused on the same objective? To help you get started, we’ve put up a list of the six best strategies to effectively manage foreign teams.
Challenges of Working with Global Teams
Global teams allow companies to be more dynamic and innovative. However, one of the most critical aspects of gaining a competitive edge with this type of work management setup is strategically managing a diverse workforce.
When collaborating in a global team, several differences might lead to communication breakdowns. While every case is different, the most common issues in outsourcing fit into a few broad categories, such as language, time differences, resources, and management style.
It’s hard to foresee every potential source of conflict, but proactive team management and cultural orientation may help you avoid some of the more apparent ones.
Tips and Tricks for Working with International Outsourced Teams
The benefits of a diverse team can do wonders for your enterprise. Not to mention, you can gradually mitigate common problems in outsourcing by taking proactive measures. Here are some practical tips that you can incorporate to seamlessly work with your outsourced team.
- Establish a schedule for meetings
Identifying hours for everyone to meet is one of the most challenging aspects of having multinational teams. You may need to make collaborative sessions a rare event dependent on time zones. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t avoid them altogether. After all, asynchronous communication is only effective to a certain extent.
Your employees will need to conduct online meetings to interact, create rapport, collaborate, and exchange ideas. The golden rule is to maximize sessions. Even if it’s just through online calls, you must follow a structure and never organize a meeting without a specific plan or goal; make your meetings productive.
- Ensure everyone can participate
Examine how your team collaborates and devise meeting participation and communication tactics. This might include anything from dealing with disputes to strategies for balancing involvement.
Each team member’s degree of comfort with participation in meetings may vary, especially if there is a language barrier. Identify meeting communication standards to ensure that everyone is included and engaged. For instance, you can allow each member to talk about their wins or how they’re doing with a specific project.
- Actively engage in diversity initiatives
You must actively participate in diversity programs if you want to know how to manage multinational teams effectively. You can also find opportunities for your team members to participate in diversity training. Assemble your members so that they have the chance to collaborate with individuals from other cultures. They will be able to get to know one another and master new techniques.
Additionally, recognize the effects of various time zones, languages, and cultural and religious backgrounds. Diversity initiatives and engagement activities will not only help individuals from your team adjust, but they can also provide plenty of benefits to your organization—strengthening and uniting it.
- Define core team values and establish trust
Discuss how you’ll collaborate to meet individual and team deadlines and goals. Assist your team members in getting to know one another to form a foundation to help with collaboration.
While the structure is necessary for project deliverables, unstructured time is essential for healthy team relationships. Informal conversations on business and personal problems humanize team members and allow them to understand one another in a relaxed setting.
It’s also essential for managers to build trust with their employees. Allow your team to get familiar with your management style and provide feedback regarding team meetings or one-on-one sessions.
- Reinforce structure
A typical issue with multinational teams is that a single individual working in a distant place may feel like they aren’t a team member. A group of members working together in one area or the same language may also be regarded as a dominating force. This can eventually cause tension, misunderstandings, and conflict.
Thus, assure everyone that the team is a single entity with a unified goal. Remind them how everyone’s effort contributes to the project’s overarching strategy and result. Do this often, whether in meetings or regular team interactions. Your goal should be to create a sense of trust among team members.
- Use tools and tech
Use helpful tools to make managing multinational teams a breeze. Video conferencing is something you might be familiar with, and it’s a terrific way to communicate with team members, both close and distant. However, don’t overlook the other additional organization and communication technologies available to make Work from Home seamless.
For instance, you can organize meetings in a shared calendar tool, which may be found as part of your email or project management program. Similarly, task planning and tracking are simplified using project management software. When team members complete an activity, they may check it off and write remarks for their teammates.
Team technology doesn’t have to be complicated, but it may make a big difference in how well your multinational workforce collaborates.
Wrapping It Up
The benefits of and trends to outsourcing are endless. It allows you to work with individuals from various backgrounds and exposes you to fresh ideas. This encourages creativity and innovation in the workplace. However, successfully managing foreign teams is a tricky balancing act. But, if you do it right, you might just be rewarded with team unity, employee satisfaction, and business acceleration.
