Tweet
The Art of Virtual Communication
by Alyson Preston
With more and more companies recognizing the benefits of hiring telecommuters -- remote employees who work out of their homes -- the business of how to fit these employees into the traditional organizational structure has come to the forefront. Just as there are big differences between working at the office and working at home, there are big differences between managing employees in the office and managing telecommuters. Whether or not either group can put its finger on exactly what those differences are, both groups should know that communication is the key to a successful telework arrangement.
"What happens in a remote relationship is grounded in what would happen in person," explains Gil Gordon, president of Gil Gordon Associates, presenting information about telework and alternative officing. "If you pick up the roof of any office building you will see all kinds of miscommunications and other things that are the reality of organizational life." It's easy to throw stones and blame a remote working arrangement for communication breakdowns, he says, but the breakdowns are just manifestations of things that happen when people are together.
"The two pieces of a remote relationship are communication and trust," explains Lilly Platt, president of Legato Consulting, a Boston area firm specializing in distributed workplace strategies. "Communication can either build the trust or erode it. Following through on expectations is what builds the trust, and one of the places where it often falls through is that people haven't communicated about expectations."
A concrete example illustrates the point. Let's say Bob, a telecommuter, tells Sue, his boss in the office, that he will call her on a regular basis. Then four days go by and Sue hasn't heard from Bob and she thinks, "What's wrong? Where's Bob?" When Bob finally calls, Sue is annoyed and asks where he's been for four days. But Bob thinks four days between check-ins is fine.
In this situation, Sue's expectations have not been met and her trust in Bob is diminished. Bob may feel as though Sue didn't give him adequate direction. How can this misunderstanding be avoided? A brief discussion about specifically how often Bob should call Sue would have created a situation in which more trust could have been built. "The up-front work needs to be done in a way that there is a very clear mutual understanding about what each person expects," Platt sums up.
Close Encounters
When you're a telecommuter in a remote location, you miss the casual opportunities for clarifying expectations that you normally get when you are in the office. "When everybody is in the office, you have the luxury of frequent close contact," says Gordon. "There are continuous opportunities for fine tuning and calibrating and defining of the work product."
Accordingly, Gordon explains, "when someone is remote, you have to do two things: Make sure the expected deliverable is much more clearly defined at the outset; and build in some structure of voice or email contact to do progress checking and get mid-course correction."
With clear goals and clearly defined expectations, both managers and telecommuters can feel confident about being on the right track. "Being clear about what you expect is nothing more than management 101," Gordon points out.
Both Gordon and Platt agree that the onus is on the telecommuter to make the effort to communicate with their manager and coworkers. "It's really true, 'Out of sight, out of mind'," Platt says. The telecommuter must therefore make every effort to be a visible part of the office team. For instance, Platt says, "If there's a conference call, send in your picture and have someone put it on a chair, just so they remember you are there. It's cutesy, but it works."
by Alyson Preston
With more and more companies recognizing the benefits of hiring telecommuters -- remote employees who work out of their homes -- the business of how to fit these employees into the traditional organizational structure has come to the forefront. Just as there are big differences between working at the office and working at home, there are big differences between managing employees in the office and managing telecommuters. Whether or not either group can put its finger on exactly what those differences are, both groups should know that communication is the key to a successful telework arrangement.
"What happens in a remote relationship is grounded in what would happen in person," explains Gil Gordon, president of Gil Gordon Associates, presenting information about telework and alternative officing. "If you pick up the roof of any office building you will see all kinds of miscommunications and other things that are the reality of organizational life." It's easy to throw stones and blame a remote working arrangement for communication breakdowns, he says, but the breakdowns are just manifestations of things that happen when people are together.
"The two pieces of a remote relationship are communication and trust," explains Lilly Platt, president of Legato Consulting, a Boston area firm specializing in distributed workplace strategies. "Communication can either build the trust or erode it. Following through on expectations is what builds the trust, and one of the places where it often falls through is that people haven't communicated about expectations."
A concrete example illustrates the point. Let's say Bob, a telecommuter, tells Sue, his boss in the office, that he will call her on a regular basis. Then four days go by and Sue hasn't heard from Bob and she thinks, "What's wrong? Where's Bob?" When Bob finally calls, Sue is annoyed and asks where he's been for four days. But Bob thinks four days between check-ins is fine.
In this situation, Sue's expectations have not been met and her trust in Bob is diminished. Bob may feel as though Sue didn't give him adequate direction. How can this misunderstanding be avoided? A brief discussion about specifically how often Bob should call Sue would have created a situation in which more trust could have been built. "The up-front work needs to be done in a way that there is a very clear mutual understanding about what each person expects," Platt sums up.
Close Encounters
When you're a telecommuter in a remote location, you miss the casual opportunities for clarifying expectations that you normally get when you are in the office. "When everybody is in the office, you have the luxury of frequent close contact," says Gordon. "There are continuous opportunities for fine tuning and calibrating and defining of the work product."
Accordingly, Gordon explains, "when someone is remote, you have to do two things: Make sure the expected deliverable is much more clearly defined at the outset; and build in some structure of voice or email contact to do progress checking and get mid-course correction."
With clear goals and clearly defined expectations, both managers and telecommuters can feel confident about being on the right track. "Being clear about what you expect is nothing more than management 101," Gordon points out.
Both Gordon and Platt agree that the onus is on the telecommuter to make the effort to communicate with their manager and coworkers. "It's really true, 'Out of sight, out of mind'," Platt says. The telecommuter must therefore make every effort to be a visible part of the office team. For instance, Platt says, "If there's a conference call, send in your picture and have someone put it on a chair, just so they remember you are there. It's cutesy, but it works."