How do we make virtual teamworking work? Just as teams go through phases of development in ordinary times (think Tuckman’s well-known model of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning) so each team will find its own path through the coronavirus pandemic.

For teams traditionally based in the office, we can identify four phases of virtual teamworking. The phases and tips shared below are based on the research and science explaining what produces successful teams.

Phase 1: Setting Up at Home

With the world pretty much on global lockdown, we’ve all had to set up our workspaces at home while heeding the Government’s messages to ‘stay in’ unless essential. In this Phase we’re doing things like:

• Setting up our home workspaces and learning the technology basics for doing video-calls, document sharing, reporting and other collaboration technologies

• Finding ways to juggle our home- and family-related responsibilities and establish a routine of sorts

• Reminding ourselves that ‘by staying home we are helping’ and to take care of our wellbeing and that of others

In this Phase it can take a bit to get sorted, and there’s no shame in that. Some people will adjust quickly, some won’t. You may feel sorted – and then you don’t. That’s normal too. There are plenty of tips and tricks being shared, with many blogs and webinars on these topics currently flooding the internet. Look for evidence-based advice and, if you can, stop reading before you get overwhelmed by it all.

Phase 2: Gaining Traction

In this Phase we’ve all been working from home for a bit, and getting a few things crossed off our to-do lists. We are getting used to Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams, and working on lots of things by ourselves. We’re keeping busy while waiting for the pandemic restrictions to pass - operating in a weird type of holding pattern. To lift out of this our teams need to get a good handle on what’s possible in this new virtual work world, doing things like:

• Revisiting previously agreed priorities and goals to adjust them and exploring how Business As Usual (BAU) can effectively still be delivered using different strategies and tactics

• Refreshing the team’s charter and adjusting our processes and behaviours to better suit the virtual world

• Strengthening the connections within the team and with stakeholders via our communications and check-ins

In this Phase there will be times where it feels tiring, disorientating, and unusual, and yet other times when the routine feels okay, manageable and even ‘normal’. But it won’t be the same, and it’s unlikely you are applying yourself in the same way you did back in the office. That’s okay, it’s important to remember that it’s now a different scene with different rules for success.

Phase 3: Synchronised Working

The teams that will thrive through the coronavirus period will be those that efficiently and methodically realign their working world to capitalise on their virtual working conditions. They will find their rhythm sooner, getting on top of the small stuff so they can free themselves up to apply themselves to the bigger, more significant issues facing their organisations and customers in these challenging times. In this Phase teams would do things like:

• Routinely reach and celebrate key milestones and achievements, resetting goals to match increased team capability and capacity

• Explore more online possibilities for their organisations and customers, generating ideas and innovations

• Recommit to ongoing learning as critical way of directly growing people, innovation and business success

In this Phase there is a sense of the team humming along, having mastered the ways of virtual working (even if it’s not a preferred way to operate). The team feels in control of its working environment, looking to optimise the opportunity further where they can, not resting on its laurels. There may be guilt and concern for others that haven’t found their rhythm. People still have their ups and downs, but in this Phase the virtual team is known as a supportive and safe place to be.

Phase 4: Returning to the Office

‘Back to the office’ isn’t as simple as turning up at the office door with laptops and pretending nothing happened. Return to the workplace is likely to be gradual, rather than everyone returning at once. And it’s very possible that restrictions may be reimposed as Governments balance health and economic outcomes.

Whatever the return schedule, work life will have changed dramatically. While many will want things to go back to ‘normal’ as soon as possible, the normal we need to aim for is a ‘changed normal’ where we take the best of our virtual period and blend it with our office-based work benefits to achieve more effective ways of working together. In this Phase teams do things like:

• Refresh again the team’s charter and adjust processes and behaviours, this time to suit the changed world

• Review work location requirements: where to use virtual vs office-based teamwork

• Continue flexible work practices, technologies and workspaces wherever beneficial

In this Phase there will be mixed feelings about returning to the office. Expect bumps, confusion, grief, discomfort and challenges before things settle down. It may not be the nirvana that many hoped for, or the remedy to fix unresolved team tensions. It certainly won’t be exactly same as it was - it can’t be. It will be a new chapter. We are living through an evolutionary shift in how the working world operates, created in the age of coronavirus, that we’ll look back on and say, “wow, we were part of it.”

Don’t be phased, get expert support

As with skill, virtual teamworking takes a bit of time and practice to master – especially in this crisis-type environment we’ve been thrust into at short notice. Take a moment to stop and consider how your team is doing and identify what phase you’re currently in. Focus on the activities suggested here as a place to start. Get expert support from Impactful Work if you want to accelerate rather than stumble through the phases.