Make it Work...From Home (Part 2) Communication and Collaboration

Having worked with virtual teams for more than 15 years, I recognize the effectiveness of a virtual team relies heavily on one factor – communication. Without the face-to-face interaction in an office environment, it’s important to compensate for it in other ways. Obviously we will lean on technology for email and video and teleconferences. However, we have to recognize that there are people - our colleagues and clients - on the other side of the phone and we have to step up in different ways to make it work better that goes beyond technology.

 Interoffice communication

There are so many options like instant messenger, emails, internal social boards and the ubiquitous conference calls. Every organization or team should establish their primary modes for communication. This is usually determined based on the company’s access to solutions, as well as security. Do you need to have email chains so there’s a history of discussions or is it acceptable to resolve questions through chat? Email boxes are so easily cluttered so decide when to get off email and pick up the phone.

Collaboration

Teams need to effectively collaborate, maybe to reference documents or build new projects collectively. Based on the organization's access to solutions and security, there should be a common environment, whether it Google Docs or OneDrive or intranet site for the team to share work or access legacy documents.

Conference Calls and Web Meetings

Web meetings are optimal way to ensure everyone is looking at the same documentation and actions. Here are recommendations to make it a bit smoother and be productive.

1. Too many meetings start late due to technology misses. Therefore, request participants to test connectivity prior to the meeting.
2. Determine who is going to be sharing and “driving” the sessions so they are prepared with their materials. Sometimes they may need to log in or download something in order to share relevant content.
3. It is helpful to have a visual for the participants, even if it is someone typing meeting notes. This also allows all participants to agree on decisions and content together.
4. Set up regular meetings so teams can be prepared and ready to engage. Note that this is how teams become over-scheduled so determine whether you need those meetings. Be aware of people's time so only invite participants if they are needed.
5. Speaking of over-scheduled, promote 25 minute or 50 minute meetings. The default in calendars starts at 30 minute meetings and jumps to 1 hour. You don't have to accept it. Set meeting times for how much time you truly need. This gives participants some free time before their next call.

 Navigating Through Conference calls

One difficult aspect with the conference call culture is there may be many attendees who are on just to listen, and only few people will drive the discussion. To improve engagement on team calls, here are some suggestions.

1. When there are a lot of attendees, it is easy for people to sit back and not participate. Consider polling the group and calling on individuals.
2. Conform to meeting etiquette by not interrupting speakers and ask others to permit another to finish.
3. I've coined a saying "A meeting without an agenda is a therapy session." Have a defined agenda or at least a purpose for the discussion. Otherwise, participants just want a forum to be heard. When conversations go off topic, it's easier to push the discussion back to the main topic.
4. At the end of the call, restate the actions or next steps or even the decisions made on the call. People may be distracted or multitasking or it’s difficult to track conclusions. If there are multiple voices, certain ideas or points may have been overlooked or not heard. Restating the decisions or next steps allows everyone to confirm before ending the call.

Lessons from working with Global and Virtual Teams

1. Speak slowly and clearly. It may be hard for people who learned one style of English to handle the wide range of American accents. This is not limited to foreign team members since some Americans have a hard time understanding regional accents from different parts of the country! This is where documentation and email follow ups prove critical.
2. In some countries, there’s a stronger sense of organizational hierarchies and may not speak if a senior manager is on the call. People may be hesitant to speak up during large meetings. By asking questions, they may create a negative impression or appear incompetent. Asking questions is actually critical. To workaround this, I’ve found directly contacting some key people offline to be more successful. Encourage your team to point out concerns they have openly. Let them know communication lines are open and they can express themselves without consequence.
3. When scheduling meetings, be considerate of time differences. Ask participants about their availability and be aware of their limitations. Request their regional and religious holidays schedule, and identify the ones that where people tend to take time to spend with families.

Working with virtual teams has been the norm for me for so long, and every organization finds its own rhythm on what works best. I heard another manager is coming up with "Focused Fridays" to promote one day free of calls so people can focus and finish deliverables.

Has your organization adopted a small change in collaboration that has made a different in collaboration? Please share! And, if you have any suggestions or requests for topics or issues you're facing, please leave a comment for me.