Introduction to Virtual Project Managers
Virtual project managers are the backbone of any remote team. They provide real-time task monitoring and tracking that keeps all the members of a remote team on track, distinct from a Marketing Manager. Frequently, these kinds of teams aren’t working in the same space, so it’s important to have someone in charge of monitoring activity to ensure timely and accountable completion of projects. Project Managers are essential for a company to have good traceability among operations from either product development, tasks updated or specific short or long term project.
More than management, virtual project managers are responsible for the human side of leadership.
With the recent Covid-19 lockdowns, remote work became much more common and often necessary to keep workplaces running accurately and efficiently. From that, the business landscape began to see that productive remote work was possible, with employees often exhibiting more productivity in a remote setting than they were in the office. Project managers have become one of the most popular jobs enabled at Virtual Latinos since as mentioned before, they have the possibility of engaging from any location.
Key Responsibilities of Virtual Project Managers
For a remote team to be successful, the virtual project manager must stick to important key responsibilities. These responsibilities can be defined in three different tasks:
First, they’re responsible for planning and organizing the timeline for a project and assigning tasks to the team members. This keeps a project running smoothly and lets everyone know what they’re accountable for.
Secondly, when there’s a budget for a project, it’s up to the virtual project manager to keep track of any assets being used for the project and to maintain the budget. Making sure that needs are met while coming well within the budget can be a complicated task to manage.
Third, communication is an important part of the functionality of remote teams. Without good and clear communication, projects might be more difficult to complete. Communication can be completed through a variety of methods and channels, so it’s important to be able to communicate diversely to see what works best for each team. Audio calls may not be best for everyone, just as emails or quick messages might not be helpful. It’s the role of the virtual project manager to assess the right communication for their team.
Throughout the project completion, tracking progress and celebrating milestones and successes is another crucial responsibility. When a virtual project manager is keeping track of the progress of a project, they can also stay ahead of any issues that might arise and address them quickly to keep the team productive. Throughout this monitoring comes the responsibility to make sure that anything being produced is quality work and that the entire project is delivered in a timely manner. Moreover, they are able to see which employees are the ones that are executing at a higher pace and are bringing higher results to the company. This can also lead to decision makers in the company promoting the respective employees that are giving higher results.
Challenges and Benefits of Virtual Project Management
Within any kind of remote workspace, there are different challenges and benefits. Overall, there are some key factors that remain the same across projects. Some of these challenges include:
a) Communication
b) Time/location
c) Cultural differences
These things are primarily centered on the human element in the mix. It’s important to break down any communication barriers as quickly as possible so that each team member can communicate effectively and feels comfortable doing so. Some forms of communication can be Whatssap, Telegram or Slack which require only internet access to communicate with anyone and can be done either on mobile or desktop.
It can also be difficult to manage a team that has members all around the globe. Time zones can take a major toll on communication, and project management, making it more difficult to assign tasks and keep each member on track. Similarly, people in different time zones are often influenced by different cultural norms and requirements. A virtual project manager needs to be able to understand all these things.
There are a great number of benefits to virtual project management, not the least of which is cost-effectiveness. Each team member is working remotely with their own tools and computers, there are fewer costs associated with a typical brick-and-mortar business. Additionally, a virtual project manager gets to decide what tools and management software will work best for each project. Finally, one of the most important benefits is the greater access to talent. Remote work opens up a whole world of opportunities to find the very best virtual project manager. At Virtual Latinos, you can enable your company with one of our top skilled Virtual Assistants with high experience in project management.
Case Studies: Success Stories of Virtual Project Managers
Being able to assess the effectiveness of virtual project management requires some anecdotal case studies. One such study used 22 different teams and tracked their progress and effectiveness. This study found that the teams with the highest performance had a well-organized form of management, the team was all working together toward a shared goal, and the team was proactive in making changes to technology use to remain productive. For the most part, these are all things that fall under the best practices for a virtual project manager.
Another such study discusses just one project, but it certainly highlights the reasons that the project, which was completed across 14 time zones with five companies and three different countries, was successful. The project had a clear goal that was communicated effectively across the team. Communication was a very important aspect of the success of the project, as was simply having the right team members to finish the job.
These are just two case studies in which Virtual Project Managers can help. Nevertheless, the opportunities for a company to be benefited by a virtual project manager are endless.
Tips for Businesses Embracing Virtual Project Management
Having the right guidelines for effectively utilizing virtual project management is key to its successful integration.
- The most important thing is to make sure that you hire the right person to be your virtual project manager. Having the right team leader makes the team function effectively.
- Setting up clear guidelines and policies for remote work will also assist with the success of virtual project management. When the team knows what’s expected of them, there’s less room for slack or error.
- You also need to be prepared to offer continual support for your virtual project manager. When any step in a process is neglected, it can quickly fall to the wayside. This is also true of management. Make sure that you’re giving them the tools they need to be successful and feel supported.
- Continued learning is also incredibly important so that they can continue to stay ahead of trends, new techniques, and technology.
We have now been able to define a virtual project manager and all the benefits they can bring to a company. Hiring a virtual project manager can foster successful operations and milestones, whether it is with a virtual or on-site team. Virtual Latinos has been able to successfully help a lot of North American companies in different industries with a bilingual project manager. Embrace the new virtual way of operating a business. Make sure to understand how to hire your virtual project manager with Virtual Latinos, and get the excellence you expect from our team.
