Whether you’re just starting to add remote workers to your team or have been operating virtually for years, it’s important to have your goals and guidelines on paper.
Here’s how to create a Virtual Team Charter:
During a workshop meeting, ask each team member to think about their remote work experience. What worked well? What held up productivity?
Have each person come up with 5-10 principles of remote work and share them somewhere everyone can see.
Use a “heat map” to determine which principles to focus on. Have each member place dots next to the ideas that resonate with them. By the end of the exercise, you can easily see which values are most important to the whole group.
Ask someone to draft a charter (in a shared platform like Google Docs). Then, set a strict deadline for anyone to edit changes.
Pilot the charter for a few weeks and then, reflect on its success in a team meeting. Keep updating the charter as new ideas and processes arise.
After you create your charter, share some ideas with us. What values did your team find important in virtual work?