{"id":9627,"date":"2019-09-09T16:09:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T20:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=9627"},"modified":"2020-05-07T12:53:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T16:53:22","slug":"how-to-manage-a-digital-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-to-manage-a-digital-team","title":{"rendered":"How to Manage a Digital Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve landed a promotion at your company, or expanded your start-up \u2014 and now, you need to manage a whole new team.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a daunting task, particularly in a digital age where your colleagues are a whip-smart bunch of data crunchers, social media wizards, or master programmers. How can you ensure your team collaborates effectively and puts out great products while feeling inspired and valued at work?<\/span><\/p>\n

It can be a juggling act, but experts \u2014 including Barbara Marcolin, an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of British Columbia\u2019s Okanagan campus, and DJ Miller, a lecturer at UBC\u2019s Sauder School of Business and Consultant for start-up companies \u2014 say there are a few tried-and-true tips for managing digital teams effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Focus on Communication <\/b><\/h2>\n

Communicating effectively is a key skill when it comes to managing a team, particularly in the digital and tech sectors where employees are often young, highly-motivated, and yearning for new challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a big fan of having a hierarchical style where I\u2019m telling everyone what to do, and they go and blindly do it,\u201d says Miller. \u201cI want to surround myself with smart people who understand corporate objectives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One piece of that communication involves using digital tools to promote discussion among your digital workers \u2014 such as popular online collaboration tool Slack, or board-based app Trello.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Marcolin says there\u2019s also an offline piece that\u2019s crucial: Meeting team-members regularly in-person to understand their professional goals, and a bit about their personal lives, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

She says these face-to-face interactions should go beyond formal performance evaluations. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFeedback is essential, all the time, in every meeting. Performance reviews are great in terms of how you’re doing… but any sort of feedback, as fast as you can get it, is good,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a chance to listen and figure out what you have in common with your staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving people who are your partners in business \u2014 even if you are the President, Chief Operating Officer, whatever \u2014 treating people with respect and knowing what their objectives are is a key benefit,\u201d says Miller. \u201cIt breeds loyalty, and it breeds hard work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It also helps to understand the kinds of things that your employees are working on and the challenges they face on a daily basis. In many cases, this may involve brushing up on your basic digital skills but it can often be as simple as getting a better sense of<\/span> what not to say to a Developer<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>or a Designer<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

Set Clear Goals<\/b><\/h2>\n

No matter how many bright, driven workers you have on your team, someone needs to steer the ship and set clear goals for the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s some cases that\u2019s a mission statement, in others a long-standing corporate philosophy. But on a practical level, Marcolin says it\u2019s all about goal-setting and \u201cprioritization techniques.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFigure out what their priorities are in the team,\u201d she says. Then, brainstorm your key goals, and determine the top priority and secondary priorities for the company so people know where to focus their efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe for the next fiscal year, that means your team is laser-focused on launching a new app \u2014 while chipping away on other long-term goals like a website redesign or future project launches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet people’s skills shine to get projects done,\u201d Marcolin adds. \u201cYou have to work with the strengths of the team.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone should know what their objectives are, and how those objectives fit into the bigger picture, Miller echoes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without that, you can expect your team \u2014 no matter how talented \u2014 will start floundering when it comes to hitting targets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Offer a Work-Life Balance<\/b><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no such thing as 9-to-5 in today\u2019s digital age, with workers glued to their smartphones and global companies collaborating around-the-clock.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean your company should be all work and no play.<\/span><\/p>\n

The office environment should be an enjoyable space \u2014 and there is a reason tech powerhouses like Google and Apple offer perks like free lunches or on-site gym facilities: It attracts the best people and makes them want to come to work every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, not every young company can afford those frills. That\u2019s why <\/span>Marcolin says team-building time is essential to keep your team thriving and engaged, whether it\u2019s a holiday party or regular after-work drinks. \u201cT<\/span>eams who do more of that often perform better,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

She also recommends offering work-life balance by understanding your modern, digital workers are likely more inclined to want flexibility, be it work remotely some days or set their own hours. And to retain good people, Marcolin says it\u2019s worth it to consider those requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who hasn’t worked in the digital space doesn’t know they don’t always come into the office,\u201d she says. \u201cSomeone could be working on code at two o\u2019clock in the morning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hire Right<\/b><\/h2>\n

Before you go setting goals or giving feedback, you need to make sure the team you\u2019re managing has the right people on it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHiring is everything,\u201d says Miller. \u201c<\/span>Some companies get desperate to the point that they\u2019re on-boarding anyone, and that\u2019s a dangerous thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about seeing the goals and mechanism of your business and deciding what types of personalities and skills will work well to support your objectives, he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that means being a tough interviewer who\u2019s looking for the best while weeding out anyone who doesn\u2019t seem like a fit. Sometimes that can also mean long after the hiring phase is over.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you hire five people, you’ll probably have to fire one of them,\u201d Marcolin warns. \u201cI’ve heard people start companies who said, \u2018I had to fire my best friend.\u2019 It’s probably the hardest thing to do but you have to think of the team and project and what you’re trying to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe someone\u2019s heart just isn\u2019t in it, and they don\u2019t feel like a culture fit with the company, or they envisioned doing deep data analytics but it\u2019s just not a big part of their role.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there are any weak links like that, particularly in smaller companies, the whole team is in \u201cjeopardy,\u201d Marcolin says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line? Be smart about who you\u2019re bringing in in the first place, even if it takes longer to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I\u2019m a true believer that these companies that have very arduous hiring policies, they\u2019re benefitting from getting the right people on the bus \u2014 and the wrong people off the bus,\u201d Miller says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Put an Emphasis on Reskilling<\/b><\/h2>\n

Effective hiring policies and processes are essential, but <\/span>the importance of reskilling has also become increasingly clear<\/span><\/a>. Reskilling refers to training initiatives that change the skill sets of existing employees for new roles. It differs from upskilling, which develops existing employees’ skill sets so that they can stay in their current roles and improve their productivity. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the World Economic Forum, it is now cheaper to reskill current employees than to hire new ones. What\u2019s more, reskilling also contributes to a culture of learning, which can pay dividends on the employee retention front. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Consumer Technology Association, high-skills training and professional development programs to hone soft skills are among the top benefits for retaining employees\u2019 services over the next five years. This is particularly important in the tech sector, which is among the industries with the highest turnover rate. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe computer games (15.5 percent), Internet (14.9 percent), and computer software industries (13.3 percent) drove tech turnover the most \u2014 but those rates pale in comparison to the churn you see within particular occupations,\u201d according to Michael Booz, writing for the LinkedIn Talent Blog. \u201cUser experience designers had extremely high turnover at 23.3 percent, with both data analysts, and embedded software engineers at 21.7 percent.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While these numbers illustrate how quickly demand for these skills is growing, it also makes clear that the organizations need to be focusing on employee retention \u2013 and it always starts with management. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here for more information on how to train your team<\/a> for the future of work. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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