Best Practices to Increase the Success of Your Virtual Project Team V

Communications

It is essential to set up processes and procedures for effective communications early on in virtual teams. Involve the virtual team members in determining processes and procedures for effective communications as undoubtedly each team member has a preferred way of communicating. I try to accommodate the team members’ individual preferences as much as possible in mapping out the communication plan for the project. When the team is involved in developing processes and procedures to communicate, they are more apt to follow those processes and you are more likely to have processes that work for the entire team.

One way to communicate is never sufficient for a virtual team. Communications may be inconsistent when working globally and team members are used to certain methods of communicating. Always set up communications via a number of channels such as email, phone, instant messaging, virtual meetings, collaboration portals, social media, etc. This variety enables for more effective communications overall. Be sure that you work with the team to determine when you will communicate via a certain method – e.g., email for “need to know” information, instant messaging for emergencies, collaboration portal to share documents, etc.

As a best practice, when developing your communication plan, include these components:

• Communication needs (e.g., what needs to be communicated and when)
• Communication paths (e.g., from whom to whom)
• Communication channels (e.g., email, phone, virtual meetings)
• Communication response times (e.g., 4 hours for emails, 2 hours for emergencies – keep in mind time zone differences, holidays and vacation time!)
• Communication status (e.g., priority, important, routine, information only, no rush – I like to include a status in the Subject line of the message – for example: PRIORITY: Updated Project Plan)
• Timing of communications (e.g., daily, weekly)

Plan for your communications early on in the project and regularly evaluate the communication plan to ensure that it properly reflects any changes in how the team needs to communicate based on changes to the project, new stakeholders, new team members, etc.
In addition to communications regarding the project, remember that regular social communications are just as essential to build rapport and strong relationships among the team.