You’re managing a virtual team. How can you keep everyone’s files and documents organized?

Promote a collaborative vibe where team members freely exchange file organization preferences and innovative approaches. present success stories illustrating how streamlined organization fuels project success and boosts team morale. Embrace diverse working styles with a flexible approach. Leverage file organization not just for structure, but as a tool for transparency and enhanced communication.Establish regular check-ins for file structure updates. Emphasize user-friendly file naming, offer in-depth training on advanced collaboration tools, automate repetitive tasks, and provide standardized document templates for consistency. Ensure accessibility for all team members and share real-time collaboration wins.

Define your workspace and create a centralised file sharing space within it. Record keeping looks trivial but it’s key to everything from simple administrative work to regulations and conformity. It’s good to have a bunch of documents and procedures, but they are all worthless if nobody can find them 😃

Managing a virtual team's files and documents is no small feat, but with the right tools, it becomes much smoother. Personally, I've found cloud-based storage services SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business invaluable in this regard. They provide the flexibility to store, sync, and access files from anywhere, anytime which is crucial when working with a dispersed team. Moreover, the ability to share files securely with team members, and stakeholders ensures seamless collaboration.

In most cases, the company and IT policy defines which cloud based storage can be used. Follow company and IT security policy when using cloud storage. Ensure that only members of the team have access. Manage permissions at document level and in some cases it will also be possible to manage content visibility at paragraph level.

Cloud-based storage solutions break the barriers of traditional on-premises infrastructure allowing for greater flexibility for remote teams. A solution should be considered that not only meets your requirements from a functional perspective but from a secure standpoint too. Choosing from workplace tools to offerings from cloud solution providers really depends on technical aptitude and your ability to manage. These solutions then may need to be supported by an informed 3rd party to ensure they are maintained appropriately.

When it comes to folder structure, a few points to consider: -What content are you storing? -Does it need to be organised or unorganised? -How will you control permissions to the content you store? The list is not exhaustive hopefully, the above provoke a thought process prior to rolling out a folder/content structure. Organising by department and then sub-function is a common approach as is per-project folders but enforcing consistency to ensure the preferred approach is always adopted is a must. With this in mind, ensuring processes are required to ensure compliance. Finally, don't forget to get team input into how the folder structure will be. Failure to do so, adoption & compliance may be limited.

If a virtual team is using Microsoft Teams, they have all communication and files in one place. Folders should be avoided as much as possible. Instead channels are created for individual departments or projects. Within these channels files are kept in SharePoint. SharePoints strength is search. Folders can inhibit search and any file structures should be no more than 3 deep. Instead, tags can be created to further organise files. Working effectively in the cloud requires a change of work practice but once people get used to it, they usually prefer it.

Naming conventions go hand in hand with a folder structure. Defining both at the same time may make things easier or increase overall adoption. Naming conventions needs to be easy and clear for people to understand otherwise people may become confused or ultimately name things wrong. Storing a copy of your defined naming convention in a file at the root of your structure, staff handbook or training may assist in reducing errors.

Use naming conventions that are familiar to all team members. If defining a new convention, Ensure that the rest of the team is aware. Use conventions that actually relate to the purpose and/or content of the document.

Document management systems are what they are described as, a way of managing documents. There are several popular ones which may assist virtual teams to effectively collaborate and share documents. Once again there is a level of management that they require, from user access to taxonomies. Picking the correct one will definitely help business processes and boost productivity even but be careful to not invest time into features that may be used lightly or not at all.

Use proper document control. Activate revision management and version tracking. It is sometimes usefull to know who wrote what and who changed this and that to avoid mis-understanding.

Not everyone in the team will be at the same level of competence when using technology. Ensure that everyone has the same base understanding or knowledge by conducting a short training followed by a demonstration. Give each one an excercise using test documents to assess their level of understanding. Be ready to respond and document recurring questions in an FAQ. Record videos of the demonstration so that they can always refresh their understanding.

Perform regular clean-up by archiving documents that are no longer required or have already served its purpose. It doesn't have to be deleted (depending on policy). Archived documents should remain searcheable on demand.