Incentive - June 2009 - (Page 34)

STRATEGIES Keep Your Virtual Employees IN THE LOOP BY TOMMY LEE HAYES-BROWN AND LISA MASSIELLO W hether they are called remote, telecommuters, or off-site, your virtual workers are an integral part of your workforce and culture. A virtual team can give an organization flexibility, and a geographically diverse workforce can yield a deep talent pool. Unfortunately, because they are rarely seen, virtual employees can become disengaged if they feel isolated, disconnected, and unimportant. Your virtual workforce should never be your invisible workforce, but, unfortunately, many managers and coworkers don’t trust remote staff, and virtual staff is further disengaged. For a group of people who may never get the opportunity to meet face-to-face, it is the manager’s responsibility to consistently look for ways to keep the entire workforce engaged. Managers are often faced with the challenge of keeping the virtual team members connected with not only the home base of employees but with each other. First and foremost, if it’s at all possible, pull the team members together initially so that they can meet, socialize, and get to know each other. Putting faces to voices can help pull a team together and can be especially effective if team members are interdependent. You will definitely treat a coworker differently once you’ve met him or her and subsequently connected on a human level; you can have more compassion and understanding of who they are, and this transcends into better communication and work results. The following are 10 solutions that will help turn your virtual workers into a productive workforce, no matter their location. 1. Many organizations confuse communication with information, concentrating on disseminating basic facts rather than providing context, commentary, and two-way dialogue. Make your communications relevant, timely, and engaging. 2. Develop a communication plan with each individual employee that illustrates your commitment to keeping him or her engaged (e.g., one-on-one meetings, coaching, regularly scheduled staff meetings). 3. Learn your virtual employees’ communication styles by asking them, not guessing. Understand whether they prefer e-mail, instant messaging, or phone and what types of messages should be used with those methods. 4. Develop a team communication commitment plan that involves all the team members (e.g., e-mails will be responded to within 24 hours, or messages left before 3 p.m. will be returned in the same 34 | Incentive | June 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - June 2009

Incentive - June 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note: Motivation 2.0
Headlines
Cover Story: 8th Annual Industry Roundtable
Interview: Roger Dow
Research: Sales IQ
Marketing Trips to Success
HR Guide to Incentives
Strategies: In the Loop
Primer: Cash Is Secondary
Case Study: Centennial Comm. Connects With Gen Y
Travel News: Where To Go
Captivating Colombia
South Africa Beckons
Potentials: Here and Now
Electronics: Thin and Green Are the Trends
Power & Hand Tools: Building Up When Economy’s Down
Concern Grows Over A Genuine Scare: Luxury Counterfeits

Incentive - June 2009