Bantter BlogBy Ryan Pell
The pandemic has changed the way we look at our jobs, there’s no doubt about it. Even the most adamant opponents of telework have started to warm up towards it bit by bit.
However, the growing tendency to work from home is not just about people trying to save their businesses. It’s also about employees who want to gain control of their lives.
Take a look at the results of this survey by Global Workplace Analytics:
- Two-thirds of people want to work from home.
- 36% of employees would choose remote work over higher pay.
- 37% would agree to cut their income by 10% if it gives them an opportunity to work remotely.
So, the general attitude is clear – people want to be more independent. However, it presents a new challenge to employers – how do you create and manage remote teams? Besides, if you have multilingual employees, it adds up to the problem.
If you’re facing this issue right now, keep reading – we’ve got all the answers on how to help your global team remain successful.
1. Pay Attention to the Work Environment
Working from home improves your mental health – such was the conclusion of the joint study by FlexJobs and Mental Health America. Reportedly, 48% of remote workers said they had a better work-life balance compared to only 36% with in-office jobs without flexible hours.
Sadly, it’s not always the case.
You’ve probably heard quite a few stories in the course of the pandemic, when employers overwhelmed their teams with work, thinking they had more free time to commit to job-related tasks. This, of course, is the opposite of work-life balance.
So, if you want to create a successful multilingual remote team, think about the workload each employee has to deal with daily. Be objective: imagine as if they were in-office workers – how many tasks would they manage to complete within eight hours?
Another important point here is to create a healthy digital workplace, which encompasses:
- An open-minded attitude
- Trust between employees and employers
- Employee satisfaction
- No micro-management
- Effective collaboration
These points form company culture, which will eventually help you find employees who fit well in your company. So, think them through before you start to bring together remote workers.
2. Let Employees Learn a Foreign Language to Find Common Ground
A multilingual team involves professionals from all over the world. It is good for diversity within the company, but it also can cause occasional misunderstandings. That’s why you need to help your employees understand each other from the start.
How?
Provide them with an opportunity to learn a foreign language. It should be the one that you use for corporate documentation and when communicating with your partners.
For example, you can go for English. It’s a language of international commerce and law, and most people have at least a basic level of it. You can sign up your employees for English classes at least once a week to help improve their knowledge of this language. It’s a good idea to organize group classes – this way, they will also get to know each other better.
In general, giving your employees access to corporate education is beneficial. It improves employee satisfaction, facilitates motivation, and increases loyalty.
3. Give Them a Platform to Communicate Without Issues
Global teams bring many perks to your company’s growth, but they also face plenty of issues. SHRM’s survey back in 2019 set forth the three most common differences causing problems:
- Language
- Culture
- Communication
You can address the first two by giving your team access to foreign language classes. However, communication is a far more complex issue, which you need to address right away.
Thankfully, today, there is no shortage of online tools to help your remote employees communicate with each other. The optimal solution is to go for a project management solution, which will also help you manage your team’s workload. Other perks include:
- Efficient project planning
- Proper time management
- Correct allocation of resources
However, most importantly, project management software ensures timely communication and collaboration among all members of your remote team. It allows them to stay on track.
Tip: opt for a multilingual solution for a global team. Gantter, for example, is available in 23 languages, making it easy to onboard employees from any part of the world.
Wrapping Up
Despite many obvious advantages both for businesses and employees, creating and managing multilingual remote teams of employees can be a real challenge. Everything can go wrong – from misunderstandings due to differences in language and culture to mishaps in communication.
So, you need to take these issues into account before bringing together people from all over the world to work for you. Invest in creating a healthy workplace, help your employees understand each other from the start, and communicate without hiccups. Ensuring these three things will already help you manage your team more effectively.
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