In the modern digital age a virtual team is something which is no longer unobtainable, in fact in some cases it could be not only obtainable but preferable, as they can cut down your costs, time and increase the level of talent in your company. The problem with virtual teams however, is how do you manage them effectively?

One method that is available and deals with the management of remote or virtual teams is Matrix management training. Matrix Training is effective generally when the company is a Multi National organization with offices all over the globe. Workforces generally to be diverse and are structured within different cultures. If you work within a matrix organisation structure, you will need to develop a different personal effectiveness skill set. The “matrix working” personal skills development program allows participants to develop and practice a range of techniques and personal skills that work well in a complex matrix environment.

If your company is in a Matrix organisation then it would be used to a Matrix training program.

So to try and help with this, here’s a very quick guide to effectively communicating with and managing your team:

The first thing you’ll want to do is make use of as many modern communication channels as possible, as these will help you communicate with and direct your team properly. Included in your communications package could be email, phone, video conferencing, skype, fax, blogs, forums and a wealth of other options.

You should also try and standardise your approach to projects across the team; try adopting a recognised project management method such as

Make sure everybody in the team knows their exact role and responsibilities and that you have a standardised way of reporting completed work across the team. You might want to try looking at online collaboration and project/personnel management tools to help you with this; a particularly good example is Basecamp.

In the same way that you can communicate with your team in non-traditional ways, you can also manage people similarly. You could look at slightly more creative means to select new members of staff – try holding interview via online video rather than in person for example. You can also hold full team meetings using a similar approach.