For businesses that are looking to expand to foreign countries, managing a global team is inevitable. Unlike a local office where staff feels a sense of belonging, help is just in the next cubicle and workplace relationships are constantly nurtured, things can be different from people from other parts of the world. However, for the whole team to work collaboratively, the same feeling of the local staff must be established with those working from afar. How can organizations achieve this? Here are 5 ways that you can be successful at making your global teams feel local.
1. Use a collaborative tool
When staff run into problems in the local office, all they do is engage a colleague in a brainstorming session to find solutions. The manager is also at reach to offer guidance, no need to call or write an email. These privileges are not there for colleagues who work from other locations. Particularly if they are working in a different time zone, reaching the head office for assistance can be quite an uphill task.
The solution to this is using technology that cuts across any time zone, allows file-sharing, and chats. It should also allow assignment allocations as well as search options for particular topics. With such a tool such as Slack, global team members can post their queries and chat with other members in a collaborative way. In case no one is online, they can always search for solutions if a topic had been discussed earlier. Being included in such a forum allows them to feel a sense of belonging.
2. Set up regional offices
Local offices have an added advantage when it comes to resources available as compared to other people working in other parts of the world. They benefit from the best technology, office furniture and supplies. They enjoy break room times, coffee and high-speed internet. These things could be a luxury to foreign members especially if they work remotely from their homes.
Providing these things to people working from far can go a long way in making them feel like the local workers. One way to achieve this is to set up regional offices at different locations in the world. For instance, set up a company in China to cater to workers in the East Asia region, and equip it just like the head office. People from that region have a physical office that they can pop in and enjoy the incentives.
3. Encourage friendships
Colleagues working together in one office find the opportunity to forge personal relationships. These are good for teamwork and collaboration. On the other hand, team members scattered all over the world lack such an opportunity.
Create happy hours when you communicate with your team through video conferencing. Before getting down to serious business, allow colleagues to talk about their lives, their families, their hobbies or what they plan to do for the weekend.
4. Seek to understand other cultures and languages
Global teams come from different cultures that are bound to crash with your local culture. The language barrier is also common with such teams. Making someone from a different background feel like a local requires creativity and genuine intent to understand the other person’s culture.
To overcome the language barrier, consider a collaborative tool with translation options. That way, foreign workers can understand what is being said, and can even air their views.
Make an effort to learn about the cultures of your employees. Get to know how they communicate and behave so that you are able to communicate with them effectively, eliminating any misunderstanding.
5. Be prompt in your responses
Another advantage local teams have over people working from afar is getting instant responses and feedback. Anyone can feel detached from a team if he or she has to wait to get a response and feedback is delayed.
To help your global team feel like they are working next to you, be prompt at responding to emails. Ensure that they can get you on the phone at any given time. If you have a scheduled video meeting, ensure that you are there on time.
Conclusion
When it comes to local teams, members can easily classify themselves as ‘them’ and ‘us’. For such a team to work well, it is paramount importance to remove the divide and foster a spirit of oneness. Provide equal attention to both teams and always assure those working from afar that their work is as valuable as that of the local employees.