As more companies embrace the idea of hybrid or completely virtual work environments, solid leadership and virtual communication skills are paramount to organizational success.
While there are worries surrounding the lack of in-person interaction inherent to virtual workplaces, the benefits are undeniable when management facilitates robust communication between digital teams.
This article provides an overview of virtual communication, details how virtual leaders can harness its power, and offers solutions to the challenges of managing a remote workforce.
What is virtual communication?
Virtual communication allows remote workers to interact and collaborate from different locations effectively. Through the use of virtual communication tools, employees can hold virtual meetings, chat in real-time, and collaborate on projects without actually meeting in person.
Another advantage of virtual communication is it allows leaders to focus on hiring the most qualified people rather than limiting the talent pool to those in the immediate area.
Standard modes of virtual communication used in traditional, hybrid, and remote work environments include:
- Email, which is ideal for communicating non-urgent messages asynchronously and to large groups at once
- Instant messaging, which is well-suited for quick chats or questions on focused topics
- Internet calling, which is a cost-effective option for more in-depth conversations with people in dispersed geographic areas
- Video conferencing, which is ideal for synchronous discussions, presentations, group interactions, and team-building exercises
Organizations may also benefit from investing in project management, scheduling, and software tools to support employee productivity, performance, and collaboration. Examples of such platforms include Asana, Slack, Smartsheet, Microsoft Teams, Trello, and Monday.
Transitioning to virtual leadership
Fundamentals of good leadership include the ability to inspire, strong communication skills, empathy, and integrity, and informed and ethical decision-making. Virtual leaders must also facilitate effective online communications between employees, requiring enhanced flexibility and technological acumen to deal with the unique challenges of hybrid and remote work environments.
According to 2024 statistics compiled by Forbes Advisor:
- One in five workers are working remotely
- 98 percent of employees want to work virtually at least part of the time
- 16 percent of companies operate fully remote
- By 2025, 32.6 million employees will be working in virtual workplaces
Mastering virtual leadership and team collaboration
Successful virtual leadership requires managers to be accessible to their teams to answer questions and provide guidance. A crucial component of this accessibility includes active listening skills, such as focusing attentively on the speaker, engaging them with questions, and rephrasing to ensure mutual understanding.
Facilitate virtual communication and collaboration between remote employees using the following leadership strategies:
- Establish virtual communication guidelines: Because remote workers miss out on regular in-person interactions, it can lead to breakdowns in communication. That’s why it’s vital to lead by example. In addition to giving regular updates and proactively checking in on teams, leaders must create virtual communication rules and best practices to support effective team collaboration. These best practices should:
- Outline appropriate communication mediums for different types of messages
- Encourage asynchronous communication to accommodate workers in varied time zones
- Provide tips for executing effective virtual meetings
- Emphasize the importance of clear and concise communication
- Show empathy to build trust: Managers must lead with empathy when transitioning workers into virtual work environments, as some employees may struggle to adapt. Without the ability to consistently read facial expressions as cues for how people are feeling, it can be more challenging to build trust and encourage transparency. That’s why it’s vital for leaders to actively seek employee feedback—in virtual meetings, surveys and by email—to build healthy connections, pinpoint and address challenges, gain insight into workflow improvements, and offer additional support as needed.
- Build a strong virtual work culture: To build positive virtual work cultures, leaders must communicate their vision, clearly define organizational and individual objectives, and create inclusive and supportive work environments. Managers need to set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) goals, be transparent about how performance is measured, and implement tools to help employees track their progress. To combat feelings of isolation and encourage connection, team leaders can set up informal interest-based chat channels, host virtual games and team-building events, and encourage in-person meetups between employees who live in the same locations.
Challenges and solutions in virtual communication
- Lack of in-person interaction
- Challenge: Without in-person communication, it's harder to read body language, facial expressions and tone, leading to misunderstandings
- Solution: Educate employees on succinct and intentional communication in all interactions, including chats, texts, emails, phone calls, and Zoom meetings. Set up casual remote lunches or coffee breaks so co-workers can get to know one another face-to-face, even if it is via videoconferencing.
- Information overload
- Challenge: With access to abundant virtual communication and collaboration tools, team members may feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages and notifications
- Solution: Create a central virtual location for important information so that it is not siloed between departments or within different email streams, messaging channels or digital platforms. Set up a protocol for virtual meetings (including the need for clearly stated agendas) to ensure discussions are necessary and productive and only include relevant stakeholders.
- Technical issues
- Challenge: Technical glitches, such as poor internet connections or software problems, can disrupt virtual meetings and collaborations
- Solution: Provide training on how best to use technology, including videoconferencing and other digital etiquette, and ensure that all remote workers have access to a stable internet connection and the necessary software to perform their duties effectively.
- Time zone differences
- Challenge: Virtual teams often span multiple time zones, making it challenging to find suitable meeting times and coordinate work efforts
- Solution: Emphasize the importance of being considerate of the work hours of dispersed team members and prioritize flexibility to accommodate and include everyone. For example, employees can schedule emails for non-urgent matters to be sent off-hours. Consider experimenting with split shifts or workdays to ease collaboration between remote workers in different time zones.
The power of strong leadership in virtual communication
By cultivating a work environment centered on vigorous communication, transparency and mutual support, leadership can help employees feel more comfortable sharing their ideas, collaborating with team members, and forming positive relationships.
The benefits of solid leadership in virtual communication may include:
- Higher productivity due to enhanced teamwork, creativity, and overall employee happiness
- Increased job satisfaction via greater employee autonomy, morale, and positive work-life balance
- Improved conflict resolution due to stronger relationships and more effective communication between team members and departments
- Reduced operational costs when the need for large office spaces and associated infrastructure is not a factor
- Increased convenience and flexibility as team members can meet anytime and anywhere
Are we better communicators in the virtual world?
The answer to this question depends on whom you ask.
Although the vast majority of people desire to work virtually, 69 percent of remote workers also report heightened burnout from digital communication tools and 53 percent find it challenging to connect with coworkers without face-to-face interactions. However, 37 percent of those surveyed feel that working remotely does not affect their connection to peers.
When it comes to the workplace, whether in a virtual or traditional setting, the success or failure of communication likely depends on the individual skills of employees and managers, the training and resources afforded to them, and whether companies and organizations prioritize robust communication standards and protocols.
Eager to enhance your leadership and communication skills?
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, manager, or CEO looking to unlock your leadership potential, consider the Concentration in Leadership and Communication for the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences at Penn LPS Online. This Ivy League liberal arts program provides the practical knowledge, communication strategies, and critical thinking skills to help you leverage your strengths and become an effective leader in any field.
If you want to seek a promotion or enhance your expertise in your current leadership role, the Certificate in Leadership and Communication is a five-course program designed to help you take your professional skills and career to the next level.
The Certificate in Digital Strategies offers flexible approaches for using technology to reach your goals in the increasingly digital world, including creating engaging content for diverse audiences and reading general-purpose coding languages.
Or you could learn how to identify the variables that underlie effective communication in hybrid and virtual work environments and create strong collaborative professional relationships in the Certificate in Organizational Culture and Collaboration.
Ready to get started? If you haven’t already, apply to Penn LPS Online today. View our course guide to learn more about what’s available in any upcoming term.
