Managing virtual teams takes extra care

“Given the reality of doing business today, I think we’re going to see more people working remotely from home offices and more virtual teams,” said Jackie Green, portfolio manager for the American Management Association, a business training organization.

“Virtual management is more work and takes additional skills,” she said.

When you consider that a large percentage of our daily communication is nonverbal, communicating without face-to-face interaction is more challenging and complex. “Yet companies are doing it every day and accomplishing their goals,” Green said.

“The first thing you have to do is make sure that everyone knows why it’s a team. What’s the mission?” Green said. Virtual teams might be sales teams whose members work simultaneously and independently toward company profit; executive teams that need to report their division’s progress; or project teams that make each member dependent on the others to get the job done.

“If you establish team objectives together, as well as some ground rules for how you plan to operate [how timely you’ll respond to e-mail and how you’ll handle conflict, for instance], you’ll have better buy-in from everyone in the group,” Green said.

Good communication is the key to keeping everyone engaged on a virtual team, she said. Since you can’t walk down the hall to talk or go out to lunch, it’s easier for misunderstandings to happen. Schedule regular meetings and also talk individually with members to avoid problems.

“Fortunately, tools like Skype, Webcams and teleconferencing can help simulate actual in-room meetings. At least you can see facial expressions and make eye contact,” she said. “You’ll probably have to use a variety of media, depending on what members are most comfortable with.”

Global managers need to be sensitive to cultural differences, as well, and have enough conversations to find common ground. Schedule regular meetings at times that are convenient for New York and Tokyo — and honor those times. To encourage participation, Green suggests posting an electronic agenda; rotating who is chairman of the meeting; asking questions individually and of the group; inviting others to take the lead on different agenda items; and tracking when someone is quiet and follow up later.

“However you communicate, the purpose is to build trust,” said Shawn Brown, operations manager at the Atlanta Executive Conference Center of the American Management Association. “I have to know that my boss is there if I have a question or need help, and it feels good to know that he trusts me to handle the job my way.”

Brown has run the Atlanta center for 10 years while working for a supervisor in New York and with a team of four other managers across the country. “It takes a high level of professionalism and mutual respect to make those relationships work,” he said.

When he goes into a virtual meeting, he eliminates distractions. He eats before or afterward, turns off his phone and doesn’t look at e-mail.

“You have to stay focused because you never know when you’ll be asked for input,” he said.

That doesn’t mean the interaction is all business. “Before meetings we chat socially. I’ll ask the guy in Washington about all the snow, and he’ll ask me how my son is doing,” Brown said.

Chat is an important part of virtual communication. “Knowing our counterparts on a personal level helps us share the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to solving problems,” he said.

Virtual teams, like real teams, also need to find ways to celebrate successes and acknowledge accomplishments, Green said. A group newsletter, personal notes, gift cards or social outings, if and when the group meets face to face, can build cohesion.

If done well, research shows that virtual teams can be more effective than real ones, Green said. “You can bring the best experts together, regardless of their location,” she said, “and diversity often leads to better solutions.”