Monday, February 26, 2007

Guest Column

Getting the best return on meeting time investment

By Nancy Settle-Murphy

Your geographically dispersed team is working under a tight deadline to deliver the goods. Whether it's a detailed project plan or new product strategy, they've got to get the work done without connecting face to face.

How do you tap the best thinking of a remote team as efficiently and effectively as possible, while keeping everyone engaged and focused on shared goals? There are some useful guidelines on how "blended facilitation" enables members of a remote team to make the most out of their meeting time, wherever they are.

• Think twice about having some people participate in person while others join remotely.

This dynamic tends to create an uneven playing field and inhibits open sharing among all. Better to have everyone participate remotely, with equal access to the same technology. Or if you want to take advantage of face-to-face interactions by those who can get together in one room, use that face time to plow through the work that can more easily be done eyeball to eyeball.

• Plan your agenda to encourage engaging conversations that will accelerate time to results.

Assume that a group will lose focus after 60 minutes on a conference call -- 90 minutes tops. This means no more tedious slide decks or extended report-outs on the call. Instead, send them out or post them ahead of time. Asking people to do a little homework (e.g. bring "three top ideas" or "two major challenges") is a great way to encourage people to pay attention to meeting prework.

• Make use of asynchronous web conferencing to augment same-time meetings.

This works especially well when participants work across time zones and speak multiple languages. If you open an online conference a few days before the same-time meeting, you can solicit vital input to help sharpen the focus of your meeting. It also provides an easier way to assess priorities, issues and ideas, saving you valuable phone time later on. When everyone finally meets in real time, you can share results and jump right into the needed conversation. Do some research and find the tools that work best for your team.

• Pair web-based tools with phone for a really productive working session.

Say you have 12 people on a call. If you poll each one about top challenges or new product ideas, those who are not talking may tune out quickly. Instead, set up a virtual conference space that people can use while they are together on the phone. If you give them a few minutes to type in their responses, all can quickly see the combined responses, which you can then discuss as a group. Web-based tools, also allow for voting, action planning, and priority-setting. Consider which topics lend themselves to electronic brainstorming, and which are better addressed through an open discussion.

• Communicate and enforce ground rules.

In a teleconference people think they can get away with violating the rules because no one is watching, so it's especially important to be vigilant. For example, let people know in advance that the group needs the undivided attention from all for this meeting, and ask them to clear their calendars accordingly. Once on the line, get a verbal commitment by each participant before you begin. If you suspect people are drifting off to other tasks, call them out, either out loud or via e-mail or instant messaging.

• Maintain momentum through frequent asynchronous communications.

Establish conventions about how, when, where and to whom vital group communications will take place. Make use of shared portals to share progress, review and edit documents, raise issues, and generate ideas. Important e-mail messagess may get buried under a groaning inbox. When teams work from a distance, out of sight really can be mean out of mind. Find ways to keep members of the group working together between meetings and milestones by using multiple channels, both synchronous and asynchronous.

Nancy Settle-Murphy, president of Chrysalis International Inc. of Boxborough, is a facilitator, trainer and coach helping remote teams collaborate. She can be reached at 978-263-2545.