AI-Assisted Project Management in Remote Teams with Artavolo


Imagine the Avengers are tasked with saving the world… only this time, over a Zoom meeting. And here is the twist – you are the manager of this team of superheroes, and it is up to you to assign the various tasks. But suddenly, Thor disappears right in the middle of battle strategy planning, his Wi-Fi connection dropped. Meanwhile, Hulk has muted his microphone because the conversation became too emotional for him. And instead of sharing his ideas, Tony Stark is sending memes, distracting an otherwise stellar team. Sound oddly familiar. Yes, this is what the exciting and somewhat wild world of remote team
management looks like. 
Welcome to the professional paradox of our millennium – we manage teams that are everywhere… and yet nowhere at the same time. A touch of Black Mirror, a sprinkle of Aristotle meets Silicon Valley, and a generous dose of funny GIFs. For a manager, handling teams spread across different time zones, continents, and, most critically, caffeine dependence levels is a daily
challenge. Not to mention the constant wondering whether Alex is ignoring messages or has been lost forever in a maze of 167 open browser tabs. When was the last time anyone saw him? 
Let’s be honest – remote work is no longer a new phenomenon. What is new is how we successfully manage all the processes tied to it. Just a decade ago, leadership was measured by having a private office and authoritative presence. 
Today, it is a different story. Now, it is about being able to read the virtual room, emotional intelligence, and a well-curated emoji collection. Remote work is reshaping the dogmas of the workplace. We are fighting against evolutionary programming that tells us we must be physically connected. We are rewriting the rules of team dynamics. We are even challenging the philosophical concept of Theseus' Ship – if we replace every single part of traditional office culture with a digital one, is the team still the same?, what is Artavolo’s role in all of this? Our project and task management platform is designed to be the philosopher’s stone for all managerial alchemists leading virtual and remote teams. In the next lines, you will find out exactly how – stay with us!
 

Challenges Faced in Managing Remote Teams


An increasing number of employers have chosen to reinstate the remote
work model after its peak during the global pandemic. And more and more
statistical data confirms that remote work undeniably has its advantages. But
let’s take a look at the challenges as well:
  • According to a Pumble survey from last month, a quarter of managers identify poor communication as the main issue in remote teams. Statista presents the employees’ perspective – 35% report difficulties in collaborating with colleagues.
  • According to Buildremote, a quarter of employees have significantly deteriorated their social skills, struggling to have conversations with coworkers, which in turn affects their ability to collaborate.
  • The same study reveals that 60% of managers still have concerns about how remote work impacts productivity. Almost half of employees, on the other hand, worry that managers perceive in-office workers as more reliable and hardworking.

Although these challenges and concerns are not unfounded, there are ways to improve digital team management. One of the most effective solutions is integrating Artavolo into your organization’s workflows. Let’s explore how you can efficiently manage virtual teams with the help of our platform.
 

Clear Roles and Expectations


When forming a team of remote professionals, one of the first key stepsis to ensure that every team member is fully aware of the purpose behind forming the team. This could involve working on a specific project, a specific task, multiple projects in a given field or business, and so on. Your next responsibility is to make sure that each member understands their role in achieving that goal. Make sure to provide clear guidelines on the work procedures needed to reach that goal and clarify who is responsible for what. Geographically dispersed teams often require more tactical guidance. Artavolo is the perfect assistant for achieving this. Thanks to the platform, tasks for each project can be clearly visualized in a table format or as cards in a Kanban view. Additionally, each task can be assigned to the employee or employees responsible for completing it. Any changes or edits to tasks and projects can be promptly communicated to the relevant team members via automatic email notifications. This eliminates the risk of confusion and delays.
 

Best Practices for Virtual Communication and Asynchronous Communication


Good and clear communication is extremely important for the productivity and effectiveness of virtual and remote teams. As shown by the statistics shared earlier in this article, many remote workers and their managers consider poor or untimely communication to be a core weakness of this type of work. With its integrated chat and discussion features, Artavolo significantly improves communication among all team members. The ability to create comments and send notifications by email and SMS is also highly valuable. Asynchronous communication is often widespread among teams whose employees are located in
different time zones.
 

Efficient Virtual Work Tools


Teams that work remotely often need a range of virtual tools not only to perform assigned tasks, but also to communicate and collaborate successfully. Artavolo is the ideal platform for easily organizing and distributing tasks. Different teams and professionals from various fields can collaborate effectively using this centralized system, where everything is visible and accessible. In addition to creating projects and working on tasks in different views, you can also use the Calendar view in Artavolo to keep track of deadlines and other important timeframes.
 

Promoting Team Cohesion


Physically distant teams often find it difficult to feel truly close and connected, which is completely understandable. However, this can affect their collaboration, mutual understanding, and have a negative effect on their productivity. It’s hard to unite around common goals if you don’t see your coworkers as teammates. Additionally, remote work can often lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can negatively affect the emotional health of employees and lead to burnout. Good leaders know that to avoid these risks, they need to regularly organize non-work-related group activities where everyone can participate, have fun, and get to know each other better. But when it comes to international and virtual teams, it can be really challenging to figure out what will appeal to such a diverse group of people from different cultures. If you find yourself in this situation, simply use Artavolo’s Form creation and distribution feature.
 

Avoiding Micromanaging


One of the specific aspects of remote work that employees greatly appreciate is the flexibility and autonomy they have to approach their tasks in a way that suits them best. This often means not having a manager constantly watching over their shoulder. On the other hand, managers are still responsible for tracking work progress, efficiency, and productivity. With Artavolo, this can be done without making remote teams feel overwhelmed or overly supervised.
 

Tracking Work Output


A team’s productivity isn’t measured solely in hours worked. In fact, it doesn't matter much if employees spend eight straight hours online. Especially considering that they come from different parts of the world, different time zones, and that synchronous work is a major challenge. What’s much more important is whether the assigned tasks are completed on time, with quality, and with good results. Artavolo allows managers to track far more than just working hours. Thanks to the platform, you have access to information and metrics related to the projects and tasks themselves.
 
Want to learn more about how Artavolo can help you manage remote teams more efficiently and intelligently? Get in touch with us today, we will answer all your questions!