Manage a virtual team: we all thought it was hard to keep track of on-site staff - until we started managing teams remotely. Here are some tips to help you communicate with telecommuters as effectively as if they were sitting in your office.[] Set expectations about behavior and performance and document them. Define each member's responsibilities, such as e-mail response time, and share the information with all team members. [] Encourage and provide feedback on all team activities to e-staffers the same as you would with workers in the office. [] Use tried and true project management disciplines to ensure the clarity of your messages to both off- and on-site staff: * Make sure all communications define expected actions, responsibilities and time lines. * Track to-do items with tickler files Noun 1. tickler file - a file of memoranda or notices that remind of things to be done tickler data file, file - a set of related records (either written or electronic) kept together and follow up as necessary. [] Provide more formal communications than in traditional same-time/same-place teams. * Circulate agendas and minutes for all meetings. * Because informal information doesn't usually make the rounds on virtual teams, allow time for light conversation and personal tidbits TidBITS is an award-winning electronic newsletter and web site dealing primarily with Apple Computer and Macintosh-related topics. Internet publication TidBITS has been published weekly since April 16, 1990, which makes it one of the longest running Internet publications. that aren't included on the formal teleconference agendas. [] Put someone in charge of documenting explicit and tacit knowledge The concept of tacit knowing comes from scientist and philosopher Michael Polanyi. It is important to understand that he wrote about a process (hence tacit knowing) and not a form of . when communicating among team members and make it easily accessible. Explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. The most common forms of explicit knowledge are manuals, documents and procedures. Knowledge also can be audio-visual. includes facts, policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental . Tacit knowledge is information understood without being openly expressed, such as behaviors ("Is it OK to wait until 10 a.m. to read my e-mails?") and logistics ("When I visit your office, where should I park?"). [] Match activities with performance evaluation Performance evaluation The assessment of a manager's results, which involves, first, determining whether the money manager added value by outperforming the established benchmark (performance measurement) and, second, determining how the money manager achieved the calculated return factors, so what gets done gets measured. Reward good performance with a bonus, day off, dinner on the company, promotion or raise. [] Capture information on all projects and office happenings from e-mails, in-house memos and press releases and share them with remote team members, and archive e-communications in a shared database for new hires. [] Encourage team members to build face-to-face relationships whenever they are physically in the office. [] Consider training teleworkers as potential team leaders to communicate with and coordinate the group in your absence. [] As a team, determine how to address and resolve conflict, whether it involves a face-to-face confrontation or one that occurs electronically. Source: Adapted from Effective Communication and information Sharing See data conferencing. in Virtual Teams by Kevin L. McMahan, www.squarewheels.com/content2/virtual.html. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion