What do you do if virtual team members face difficulties while acquiring new skills?

1 Assess the skill gaps

Before you assign any learning tasks to your virtual team members, you need to identify what skills they need to develop and how proficient they are in those skills. You can use various methods to assess the skill gaps, such as surveys, quizzes, self-reports, or performance reviews. Based on the results, you can prioritize the most urgent and relevant skills for your team and set clear and realistic learning goals and expectations.

2 Provide flexible and accessible learning options

Not all virtual team members have the same learning preferences, styles, or needs. Some may prefer to learn independently, while others may benefit from more guidance and interaction. Some may learn better from reading, while others may prefer watching or listening. Some may have more time and energy to learn, while others may struggle with competing demands and distractions. To accommodate these differences, you should provide flexible and accessible learning options for your virtual team members, such as online courses, webinars, podcasts, e-books, or videos. You should also allow them to choose their own pace, schedule, and format of learning, as long as they meet the deadlines and standards.

3 Encourage collaboration and communication

Learning new skills can be more effective and enjoyable if virtual team members can collaborate and communicate with each other and with you. Collaboration and communication can foster a sense of belonging, support, and accountability among virtual team members, as well as provide opportunities for feedback, coaching, and mentoring. You can facilitate collaboration and communication by creating online platforms, groups, or forums where virtual team members can share their learning progress, challenges, questions, insights, or resources. You can also organize regular check-ins, meetings, or sessions where you can monitor, review, or celebrate their learning achievements.

4 Recognize and reward learning efforts

One of the biggest challenges of learning new skills remotely is maintaining motivation and engagement. Virtual team members may feel isolated, overwhelmed, or frustrated by the learning process, especially if they encounter difficulties or setbacks. To keep them motivated and engaged, you need to recognize and reward their learning efforts, not just their outcomes. You can do this by providing positive and constructive feedback, acknowledging their challenges and achievements, celebrating their milestones and successes, or offering incentives or rewards such as certificates, badges, bonuses, or promotions.

5 Apply and evaluate the new skills

Learning new skills is not enough if virtual team members cannot apply and evaluate them in their work context. Applying and evaluating the new skills can help them consolidate their learning, improve their performance, and identify areas for improvement. You can help them apply and evaluate the new skills by assigning them relevant and challenging tasks or projects that require the use of the new skills, providing them with feedback and support along the way, or asking them to reflect on their learning outcomes and experiences.

Learning new skills remotely can be a rewarding and beneficial experience for you and your virtual team members, if you follow these tips and strategies. By assessing the skill gaps, providing flexible and accessible learning options, encouraging collaboration and communication, recognizing and rewarding learning efforts, and applying and evaluating the new skills, you can help your virtual team members overcome the difficulties and acquire the skills they need to thrive in the virtual environment.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?