Over the past few weeks I have been thinking through how to create the necessary structure for keeping a virtual office environment under control. I have come to the conclusion that it really boils down to three items: communication, communication, and communication. That sounds ridiculous but I truly believe that it is true.
First communicate your expectations of the position:
Communicate Expectations
As with most examples in our lives, it is tough and unfair to not let people know what you expect. In any office environment you should go out of your way to outline the requirements and expectations of the system. Each resource should understand the system that they work in and where they fit into that system. Also, everyone needs to understand your “grading scale” and what the accountability structure is.
Honestly, I think that this is where many companies run into issues. By not defining the structure and then explaining it they start on the wrong foot by not outlining the foundation. Then, when the people fail to meet your expectations you wonder why they can’t handle it and they are angry because you didn’t let them know what you were looking for.
One of the necessary expectations to outline is how to communicate status.
Communicate Status
This communication must happen both ways. The resources need to communicate the status of their tasks in a reasonable method (defined in expectations) and then the manager should return the favor and provide updates to the team of how far along the entire team is and what is going on with other teams within the project. By doing this the resources don’t feel disconnected from the other project teams.
It is important for the project leads to also keep the other leads and management in the loop. By doing that the other groups can be ready when they are needed and also be able to plan to complete their tasks on time. The updates to other teams keep the teams united toward completing the final objective.
That brings us to feedback and accountability
Communicate Feedback and Accountability
The manager/lead should be providing constant feedback to employees. If there is something that the employee is not doing, the manager should be willing to follow up. Don’t wait until a review because it is a waste of time to not take care of the issue immediately. In addition, managers should also being willing to say good job to team members when it is warranted.
Too many times managers and leads find accountability to be difficult. If you have defined the expectations and then monitored status this should be a fairly straightforward task. By defining expectations and requirements and then measuring the results, it becomes fairly simple to see where issues exist. This is where the feedback/accountability comes in. This step is as important as outlining the requirements. It is an opportunity for the resources to fix issues that they have and learn from mistakes. If you don’t provide feedback and accountability they may not know the issues that they need to fix.
Sometimes the good feedback is as complicated for managers as bad feedback. You should communicate that the resource did a good job. I would highly recommend being specific about some of the things that they did well. Let the people know that you value their work.
Conclusion
I honestly started this article with the thought that it would focus on virtual offices but I think that it really should be utilized for all employees. Sometimes it is easier to get lax on these things when the person sits across the aisle from you. You really don’t have that luxury when they are three states away. Also, your team will operate better if you are a diligent about communication with on-site and virtual resources.
Now… communicate with me… what are your thoughts??
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