Accountability: Who, Me?
Accountability: Who, Me?
Accountability: Who, Me?
Virtual teams have different challenges than collocated teams do yet the goals for the team stay the same, but many of the protocols are different. You can no longer rely on non-verbal clues or face to face interaction which can make accountability that much more difficult. Accountability is essential within a virtual team because member's responsibilities are often interconnected. If one team member falls behind on a task, other team members may also fall behind because responsibilities may be linked; one task may depend on another. Time zone challenges will likely make connecting more difficult which can also delay the completion of the task.
Create Accountability Structure
To create an accountability structure for a virtual team you need three basic elements: define the task, communicate the task to your team and remove the obstacles to performance.
Define the basic structure of your virtual team and team goals. Make S.M.A.R.T goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound and ensure that everyone has the same understanding of them. Spend time with each team member individually via teleconference to review the goals then meet virtually as a team to discuss strategic direction.
Be very specific when communicating with your virtual team, and clearly define what your expectations are for each team member. Expectations are not limited to an accountability structure, expectations can also include protocols for how you will communicate with each other, how decisions are made and finally your protocols in meetings.
Define how progress will be assessed on a virtual team. Progress assessment for a virtual team can be very different from an on-site team. We often hear our clients say that "how do we know that work is being done when you can't see someone face to face?" Here are four tips: Have your team members send in daily one sentence status updates.
Have a 30 minute daily meeting with your team to deal with any task related issues.
Have a clear vision for the team that everyone has discussed and is committed to.
Have clear expectations with an agreed upon approach for monitoring.
Establish a chain of command. Make sure they know whom they need to answer to. It is not always just to the team leader, different members can take the lead at different stages of a project.
Communication Guidelines How will your virtual team receive updates to the schedule? This should be something that the team can have access to from anywhere. Whether it is through company intranet, shared drive or online documents like Google docs, Windows Live, Skydrive or other similar method.
Who should be contacted when there is a change on their portion of the project and how will that contact happen? Email, live chat, phone, or online scheduling program.
Remove Obstacles to Stick to deadlines, when a team leader constantly is adjusting deadlines the team members will become frustrated. It also creates instability in the team and breaks down trust.
Reinforce that each team member is connected. Team members rely on one another for tasks to be completed.
Remove obstacles that hinder team goals and promptly address problems when they arise. Your team members need to know to "speak up" if they are having challenges.
Creating team and individual accountability will help build trust, reinforce expectations and keep everyone focused on the goals.
Don't forget to tune into this week's podcast. We will discuss the team leader's role in the accountability of a virtual team. Don't miss next week's blog when we will be talking about some of the top free programs and resources to help you stay connected with your team.
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