Building Effective And Reliable Online Optometry Teams

Telemedicine has significantly increased as a result of the pandemic. With the increase in telemedicine adoption, building effective telemedicine teams became very important. Building great teams does not come easily. Moreover, we are witnessing the “digital divide” after the pandemic and it includes division between those who have access to and can use digital technology and those who do not have access or are apprehensive about using digital technology in the workplace. Data show that 74% of employees now consider working remotely as the next normal. The two biggest challenges of remote work are being able to maintain and improve meaningful relationships among employees without seeing each other face-to-face and adhering everyone to the company’s mission.

Normally effective teams in traditional eye care engage in transparent discussion of challenging cases, reviewing new clinical evidence, and building an organizational culture of cohesion based on the relationship they have in the practice, and the ability to meet outside the workplace to become more friendly. Effective Telemedicine teams are required to do the same however they know that not because the world has increasingly become reliant on remote work, we have to forget the basis of successful traditional teams. In the virtual world, as it is in the workplace, it is very important to ensure that team members are on the same page. Teammates have chosen to work remotely however that does not mean they have to work in isolation. They need to increase connectivity and communication using more than one online tool and phone app. The goal is to respect the project timelines and delivery and designate how accountability will need to be defined. The team’s success will be directly related to how teammates overcome the virtual distance between remote team members relying on the creation of trustworthy relationships.

Trust, communication, and cooperation are not the only things to build and maintain relationships among teammates. One very important tool employed in building traditional teams and can be employed in building virtual teams is using consensus and creating an online method to reach it. Many mobile apps and social media platforms allow you to reach a consensus using polls and forms. Encourage teammates to share information and provide ideas. Set objectives and use the consensus to solve problems and plan for action. Teammates will have a commitment to do the work when they take part in deciding through consensus.