This short walk down the corridor often speaks volumes more than the weekly project meeting. To me this signals a time when a one-to-one meeting is required, in order to get to the bottom of the problem.

With remote team members this type of reaction seeking or non-verbal communication is not evident. It is possible to hear fear when a person speaks, yet in a teleconference it is possible to hide – simply by remaining silent. When you are in a teleconference with your remote team members do you ever ask for personal feedback from every person present? Trouble is that it is all too easy to forget the silent ones even in a face-to-face meeting.

Generally speaking in any meeting there are two reasons to be silent. Firstly shyness, and secondly because that individual has something to hide.

Shyness is a symptom of managing comfort zones. We can all be shy when confronted with something new, and perhaps a little intimidated particularly when we understand very little about it. It can normally be managed by coaxing that person out of their existing comfort zone and expanding that comfort zone to include the new working environment.

Having something to hide is a different matter. These team members are the onces who are most likely to bring bad results on a project, irrespective of the circumstances. Projects are always limited by time and resources, whenever there are problems it is always vital to share. Managing projects via Agile methods does allow problem areas to be ring-fenced and focused on more thoroughly at a later stage. I am always more concerned about those who hide away because they have a problem than I am the shy person.

Despite sayings like “a problem shared is a problem halved” having entered the main-flow of society, people tend to be concerned that when a problem is identified then it is their personal challenge to solve it. They hide the problem in the hope that no-one finds out about the problem. Sadly this is the point when it starts to have a negative impact on everything that you do. Project working is not generally the place for heroics. That person who focuses on the problem and tends to lose sight of their deliverables.  Here we are back at the team member who rushes back the other way when when they see you, their manager, in the corridor. Something is wrong here and needs to be solved.

BUT how do you do this when the person is working remotely? Many project managers believe that having remote workers is too risky. Yet it is the things we do not wish to do that we are often forced to do.  There is a certain amount that can be achieved by regular visits to remote sites, yet at all times you remain a stranger at that remote location – so there is a psychology to managing remote visits. Remote project workers are a fact of life, as are constrained project budgets. The latter reduces out ability to complete regular remote-site visits, so it is essential to identify remoteness challenges of virtual teams in other ways.

It is vital all virtual team members are a part of developing and following the team plan – this must be lived and breathed. Knowing each remote worker is important – you probably need to spend a disproportionately high amount of time developing this relationship. You need to stay in touch, daily is best; set and follow an agenda for all meetings – ensure it is business focused. Leverage technology where appropriate – particularly collaboration tools.

Essential tools include:

= A mobile/cellular phone. Which must be answerable at all times.

= Instant Messaging. This aids in visibility as on-line and available at all times.

= Remote Meeting Software, and a high quality phone so that you are involved in all meetings

= On-line training facility

= Status reports. They may not be needed for your job, but they assist visibility.

= A professional email signature and corporate email account if you are a contractor.

Phone availability is essential having the mobile with you at all times is essential, staff must be available during normal business hours. The tele-worker needs to be more visible than their office counterpart. Many office workers are expected to be available at all times these days, hence the popularity of the dreaded Blackberry.

Tele-workers should be given a corporate email account along with Instant Messaging capabilities. We want to ensure that they are a part of the corporate entity, and directories should include them.  They should accessing applications on the corporate network (through VPNs and firewalls). Depending on the role that they are required to perform granting access to corporate applications should be through virtual systems; what they have access to may need to be more limited than if they were doing the same job at the corporate office.

Instant messaging and remote meeting solutions are a part of the employee’s visibility in the role that they are performing. Many offices have found that use of IM within the office environment improves the flow of communications within the office in a non-destructive way. I have though seen it used to save one company money as one of the warehouse employees spotted an exceptionally large order for a customer – tried to call, engaged; turned to IM – success, there was a typo on the order which was corrected saving the company both money and reputation.

On-line training is very important in the new environment as the tele-worker can miss out on trainign about new procedures. Products like Camtasia are inexpensive and make the setup of an on-line training capability easy. Now the company is able to provide a suite of training materials for all of its employees.

In IT remote meeting software, like GoTo Meeting have been very widely used, they are rapidly becoming a must have tool in training. When two people can share a computer screen, the need ability to “show me” presents itself and knowledge and communication can flow freely. This can also facilitate conference calling even where no computerised element is required for the discussion.

Video conferencing software and webcams are certainly something to consider in making the tele-worker and effective part of the corporate entity.

When it come to providing status reports the majority of people groan then say “Must I?”. For the tele-worker, this is a key component of the work, their trumpet. A tele-worker must turn this into an art-form, but always be brief. The manager will always appreciate the 25 words that states concicely what has been acheived. and perhaps another 25 words about the challenges ahead. Where problems exist suggest solutions.

A challenging time ahead? I certainly think so.

I am grateful to Ray Mannion for his “Must Have Tools for Working Remotely” in preparing this item.

For IT that means making the off-site working ideals aspired to a decade ago a reality. For industries such as transport, logistics, shipping, airlines, and emergency services this means more than having access to key employees at all times. Each of these industries is making demands about cost effectiveness that starts at keeping in touch with staff, is enhanced with the capability of optimising routes to save on fuel costs, but also looks at how to improve profit margins and provide better service quality to customers. Any industry involved in moving product will have been impacted by rising fuel costs, yet is unable to rise its own costs due to market demands.

But Enterprise Mobility is about more than shipping it also encompasses the need for our sales-forces to be ‘connected’ when visiting the customer; the ability to remotely manage systems (this service may also be outsourced); demands to work-from-home; etc..

Will we ever be able to manage all of our business from a single mobile device? Much of the technology already exists and software developers are finding new ways to include the Blackberry, iPhone and other hand-held device application interfaces for corporate software. The type of device used seems to matter least when it comes to deciding to use mobile applications. Software as a Service may be a key contributor here. Although today the laptop is still seen as a more important tool than the cellular, or mobile phone. Electronic paper will enhance some of the limits faced today as a signature can be taken on a ‘paper’ and transmitted for processing with an order.

According to Phillip Winthrop fixed mobile convergence, and its ability to create a borderless office much as did mobile email, will breathe new life into mobility, thus accelerating adoption.
What is surprising is the number of people that do not need to travel as a core part of their job that are part of the enterprise mobility revolution. This is not just the new-mum that is given equipment in order to work from home, but others who can identify a business case to change their working conditions. Most of these workers have access via either the laptop or a virtual desktop and not through a mobile device. On the PC side security is less of an an issue that it was perceived to be 10 years ago. There are still questions about the security of mobile applications but the demand to access corporate systems will give the impetus to resolve these.

Peter B. Giblett