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February 19th, 2008
How to engage a virtual workforce
As companies become more global, office space is more limited and employees prefer more flexibility, an increased number of companies are providing the opportunity for their employees to work virtually. In fact, our recent survey data states that at least 75% of employees are working from home at least some of the time. As communicators this creates an interesting challenge for us. For years we have touted the importance of face-to-face communication, and that is becoming more and more difficult to achieve.
Here are some quick tips to help leaders and employees effectively communicate with virtual workers:
- Think of your world in a bigger way. Put a sign on your computer or in your office to remind yourself to always consider people around the world or across the country as you make decisions and plan communication.
- Put follow-ups on your calendar for birthdays, events, etc. Remember virtual workers are people too and it’s important to connect with them on a personal level for special occasions, not just when you need their help with work.
- Remember the power of a phone call. Pick up the phone and check in with someone just as you might when you walk by someone’s workspace. Schedule time each week for this type of informal communication with virtual workers. This is moving from "managing by walking around" to "managing by calling around".
- Conduct communication check-ins. Once a week, ask yourself what communication people in close proximity have received that others haven't – then act on that.
Some of the other challenges that virtual workers encounter are:
- Feeling part of the team
- Acceptance of the situation by their co-workers
- Support and trust from their manager
- Sustaining high levels of engagement
If this is a topic that is of interest to you, complete the Virtual Working Survey and we'll provide you with a free executive summary of the results, so you can learn about best practices in virtual communication from people around the world. We would appreciate your participation!
See you next month.
Chris Gay
Partner, Bridge Consulting
engagement@melcrum.com
How to communicate with a global workforce With business growing increasingly global, fresh communication challenges have arisen for the 21st century. How to communicate with a global workforce is the new research report from Melcrum that will give you best-practice examples of how to overcome these challenges. |
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About
Melcrum
Melcrum is
a research and training business, expert in all aspects of
internal communication. Through our global networks, we connect
more than 18,000 professional communicators in sharing what
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