Strategies for Working Successfully Within a Virtual Team

I’ve been working on virtual teams for several years now and recently started to think about some of the tools and techniques that I’ve seen used to effectively engage employees when there is little or no face-to-face (f2f) interaction. Some of the little interactions that we take for granted in a traditional work setting are not as easily replicated in a virtual work environment. In a traditional office setting, employees typically greet one another, even if it’s just a passing hello on the way to one’s desk. These settings allow for virtually endless opportunities to connect throughout the day whether it’s as they walk by colleagues on their way to another office, the lunch room, or just to stop by to check-in on a project. Then, of course, there’s the coffee/lunch room – a veritable meeting place for most workplaces.

With the ever-increasing advances of technology and the subsequent comfort people have using it, virtual or distance workers are becoming more commonplace. Some of the techniques I’ve seen for engaging virtual work teams are listed below:

• Annual retreats, allowing staff to reconnect, build relationships, and engage in professional development opportunities
• Regular team meetings (e.g., weekly teleconferences, audio conferences)
• Regular project meetings using suitable communication technologies
• Online document storage to ensure that all team members have equal access to required documents
• Effective use of available communication technologies, including:
• Telephone
• Chat (e.g., MSN)
• Videoconferencing using web cams (e.g., Skype)
• Audio conferencing (e.g., GoToMeeting)
• Email
• Online planning software as a virtual white board (e.g., mywebspiration.com)

Some of the challenges that virtual teams may face, include:

• Taking longer to build relationships and trust amongst team members
• Misinterpreting electronic communications (e.g., email, telephone, audio conferencing, text chat) because of a lack of body language
• Developing processes for communication and providing feedback amongst team members

Despite there being some challenges to working within a virtual team, there seem to be an endless number of benefits that this type of work arrangement can offer. Some benefits include:

• Working with colleagues from other regions and countries
• Enhancing one’s technology skills
• Working flexible hours, particularly when a team is spread across various time zones
• Saving money by not having to commute to an office (e.g., transportation, parking)
• Decreasing wardrobe costs if working mostly from home
• Experiencing a sense of well-being from lessening one’s environmental footprint

Although not an option for every workplace and not for every individual, I am happy that I’ve been able to work on virtual teams and experience the wonderful benefits of doing so!

Shifting Priorities

As I was sitting here contemplating my next blog topic I was having difficulty thinking of a new and exciting employee engagement topic for which to focus my next blog on; so I started to think of everything that I’ve done today and began thinking about how it’s near the end of my day and how I have stayed productive and engaged throughout the entire day. After thinking about it for a while I looked back over my task list I noticed that I have been able to switch from one task to another several times throughout the day. After working on one project for a considerable length of time and feeling my creative juices for that project fading fast I decided to put it aside and refresh with a new task: writing my monthly blog entry. So this is where I am now.

[1].

If you have the flexibility within your own job to create your own schedule throughout the day – I encourage you to do so. If one project begins to become mundane, set it aside and pick up a new one. At least for myself I find this helps my productivity throughout the day. I find that I cannot force myself to be creative and once that runs out, the best thing to do is to switch up the project and come back to it at a later time. If shifting to another project is not an option, one source suggests shutting down your computer temporarily and taking a break as an alternative to staying productive

Now in the last few minutes I have been able to complete my next blog entry where if I had stayed focused on the project I was working on before I likely would not have accomplished nearly as much.

[1] http://lifelearningtoday.com/2007/08/23/25-tips-to-become-more-productive-and-happy-at-work/

Professional Development

In any field there are opportunities for engaging in professional development in some shape or form. This might include taking part in an educational course, attending a short presentation/workshop, or going to a conference. I’ve been lucky enough to take part in all of these forms of professional development through Life Strategies. This has allowed me to not only further develop my skills but also keep me engaged in my work.

Educational courses can be the most time consuming option for professional development and may require time away from work. This might not always be an option and many would not dedicate their vacation to study. However, with online learning, correspondence/independent study, and/or night class options, it’s easier than ever to continue your education by working your studies in and around your work/life commitments.

There are a variety of reasons why an employer may host a presentation or workshop internally (e.g., to introduce new policies/procedures, to train workers on new technologies/practices, to strengthen team functioning) and workers may or may not be required to attend. Externally you can access an endless choice of topics – anything from improving your editing skills to managing conflict. Conferences are a great way to attend numerous presentations/workshops over the course of few days. They also provide invaluable networking opportunities for you to connect with others in your field.

Some organizations invest in professional development and others unfortunately do not. Professional development is a great way to not only ensure employees have the skills necessary to do the job but also to let them know that the company is willing to invest in them. If your organization offers professional development opportunities or funding for them I really encourage you to take advantage of this. Even without funding from your organization, developing your skills is a great way to keep engaged. Learning something new could help you perform your job better and maintain an energetic and enthusiastic approach to your work.

"over-engagement"

When you hear about employee engagement, you likely think about how to ensure you increase and maintain high levels of engagement in the workplace...after all, studies show that engaged employees are more productive. However, do you ever think about whether your employees are over-engaged and the problems which may arise from over-engagement?

In reading a recent article about job loss and subsequent identity loss for some people, it became clear that it is possible for employees to become over-engaged in their work and over-identifying with their jobs. Workers with a great passion and interest in their work may be at risk for over-engagement.

The upside of over-engagement is that a job may not feel like work if the employee feels a personal connection and passion for the work. It may in fact feel like a dream job if personal and work interests are interconnected. On the surface these are likely attributes employers feel make positive contributions to their work sites.

Unfortunately, over-engaged workers may:

• Identify strongly with their jobs thereby losing personal identity
• Have unclear boundaries between work and personal life
• Find it easy to sacrifice family, friends, and health for the sake of their jobs

In a turbulent economy, over-engaged individuals may be at risk of experiencing personal collapse if they lose their jobs. They may be more likely to experience workplace stress and burnout and the resulting stress-related illnesses can be incredibly costly to already over-burdened employees.

Here are some tips for ensuring employees aren’t over-engaged
• Make vacation mandatory
• Don’t make “busy a badge of honour”

• Avoid rewarding those who work constant overtime and penalizing those who don’t
• Employers should model valuing personal time by taking vacation, leaving early/on-time
• Reward quality not quantity
• Encourage volunteer work or involvement in community-based projects
• Support health and wellness initiatives in the workplace

Life Strategies Ltd. offers a range of training opportunities, workshops, and services related to work-life sustainability, managing stress in the workplace, and healthy workplaces. For more information, visit: http://www.lifestrategies.ca/

Best Job in the World Competition

You may have heard of the recent competition to be the caretaker of an island in Australia. The “gruelling” position (please note sarcasm) has earned the winning candidate a 6 month contract worth $150,000. The successful candidate’s job duties are to explore the island (e.g., lie on the beach, go snorkelling), complete some minor tasks, and blog about his experiences.

This contest attracted well-over 34,000 candidates. However, only one lucky candidate, Ben Southall, beat out the competition.

[1] Yes, it is easy to see why this would be such a brilliant job, but what can you do in your position to make it your own “Best Job in the World?” Now you may be thinking “I certainly cannot go lie on a beach and get paid for it,” which may be reality for most of us; but what about spreading out your vacation time? Perhaps taking a day here and a day there to go do the things that you really enjoy would make your job more of a “dream job.” Try planning your vacation days around work milestones, for instance after completing a major project take a day to explore your city like a tourist, going to events or attractions you wouldn’t normally visit. If taking vacation days isn’t appealing, perhaps working in some flex time would be. Is it an option to work 4, 10 hour shifts Monday through Thursday one week to take the Friday off? Your employer may be very open to such options as a refreshed and relaxed employee is likely to be an engaged and productive employee.

Time off or holiday days may not be the component you need for your “dream job.” Take some time to write out a list. Title the list “If I Could Do Any Job in the World I Would…” Next compare your list to your current position, what on the list could you try and incorporate? Even if you think something is farfetched, it is always worth speaking to your supervisor or HR department to see what is feasible. Another idea is to list all of your current duties, ranking each duty with a 1, 2, or a 3 (1 = very satisfied, 2 = neutral, and 3 = not very satisfied). Next take a look at all the duties you ranked with a 1, is there any way to be doing more of those in replacement of the duties you ranked with a 3?

Have fun in creating your “dream job,” get together with friends or co-workers to brainstorm “dream job” scenarios. However, be sure to move it forward, don’t stop at creating the list; look up workplace policies, speak with your supervisor, HR department, or other co-workers to see what is possible.

[1] http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25437797-5012671,00.html

Involving Employees in Diversity Initiatives

Employers are slowly coming to seeing the advantages of creating a diverse workforce and fostering an organizational culture which accepts and supports individuals from diverse backgrounds. Diversity makes good business sense for a lot of reasons including reducing turnover/absenteeism, fostering creativity/innovation, and improving marketplace understanding (Robinson and Dechant (1997) as cited in HRM Business Case for Diversity Management -http://www.managementmarketing.unimelb.edu.au/mcib/include/diversity/HRM%20Business%20Case%20for%20Diversity%20Management.pdf). It can also foster employee engagement by creating a safe and accepting workplace.

But what about actually involving employees in creating and organizing workplace diversity initiatives? What about creating “diversity champions” or “diversity committees” to spear head such initiatives? These are individuals or groups of individuals who are the “go to” people for anything related to diversity. They can be just regular employees, not experts, who have a passion for diversity and know where to look or who to consult with to get the answers you need.

Begin a “diversity champion” or on a “diversity committee” offers employees a chance to get involved by shaping organizational culture and improving diversity within the organization. It also provides the opportunity for employees to get involved in something they really care about. Perhaps they’ve been itching to help orientate newcomers into the working environment but never had the opportunity or perhaps they are a newcomer themselves and empathize with the challenges newcomers can face drawing on their own personal experiences. Whatever the case may be, getting involved in diversity initiatives is a great employee engagement strategy.

Developing Essential Skills to Lead to Employee Engagement?

Do your employees have all the essential skills needed for their job? If not, there is a possibility that a lack of required essential skills could lead to a disengaged employee. Think about it; let’s say you are the manager of payroll services at a busy hospital; you have just hired Samantha on as she comes with great references for having excellent interpersonal skills. At the same time Samantha is hired, the department has just upgraded to a fancy new computer system. You make the assumption that as Samantha is pretty young she will easily transition to her position and easily learn the new computer system. After about a month you begin to notice that Samantha is already beginning to show signs of a disengaged worker: she has already phoned in sick, her morale is low, and there is room for improvement with her productivity. Samantha’s current behaviour is not reflecting the eager, enthusiastic employee you hired a month ago. There could be numerous factors which lead to an employee’s disengagement however one factor to think about is whether or not your employees have the necessary skills to do their job (i.e., would Samantha have been more engaged had she had more training on how to use the new computer system? Was the lack of knowledge and skill leading Samantha to be frustrated at work?)

The Government of Canada has identified nine essential skills that will benefit employees and help employees transition to change in their working environment. For a detailed description of the essential skills visit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/essential_skills/general/understanding_es.shtml

As an employer looking to increase employee engagement in the workplace a strong suggestion would be to assess the skills of your employees. If you feel that your employees could benefit from essential skills training – try to build in activities once a week that concentrate on enhancing the essential skills most needed by your staff.