Virtual Team Charter

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:

1. During a workshop meeting, ask each team member to think about their remote work experience. What worked well? What held up productivity?

2. Have each person come up with 5-10 principles of remote work and share them somewhere everyone can see.

3. 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.

4. Ask someone to draft a charter (in a shared platform like Google Docs). Then, set a strict deadline for anyone to edit changes.

5. 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?

Managing Remote Teams

According to a study published in 2018, 70% of people around the world work remotely at least once a week.

Our next series of Coaching Catchups are designed to keep up with that number by sharing some of Ward Certified’s tips and tricks for managing remote teams.

First tip: You can never be too descriptive.

When writing, emailing, calling, or even video chatting with a remote employee, the more explanation, the better.

For example:

• Before: “We need to respond to our clients ASAP.” After: “We need to respond to our clients within 24 hours.”

• Before: “Can you get this to me on Friday?” After: “Can you have this to me by 5pm CST on Friday?” (Tip: Time zones are very important when working with remote employees!)

• Before: “How does this sound?” After: “Can you tell me what you like and 2 potential changes you would make to this document?”

Fight ambiguity with clarification.

Let us know: How many members of your team work remotely?

It's like a family here…

Sometimes your colleagues can be like annoying siblings. But what can we do?

• Remember you don’t have to like everyone. It is called ‘work’.

• Try to see the job or situation from their point of view. Why might they be doing that thing that annoys you? 

  • Perhaps they are asking a lot of questions because that information is required in their role. 

  • Maybe they are late getting you information because they are receiving it late from someone else.

  • It might be that they really like when someone smiles and offers a chipper “Good Morning!” because they like that.

• Have a conversation with them and try to reboot the relationship. Delete the cache, which may contain baggage or negativity from past interactions. Start fresh by asking for their advice on a situation, project, or communication.

  • “Hey Bart, you’ve been at the company longer than me. I’m having a tough time with all the changes, how are you keeping up? Have you got any advice for me?”

 We find whatever we’re looking for. Look for the best in others.

Team Ward Certified

It's Party Time!

You know how to plan an office party. But what if your team is all virtual?

Team Ward Certified is spread across the States, but we still need to connect and have some laughs.  How do we do it? This year our holiday party was a virtual one- and it was a blast!

• We kicked it off with some success stories from the past year.

• Participated in a virtual Secret Santa and played Virtual Pictionary.

• And we had snacks too- Ann sent each of us a box of goodies that arrived the day of the bash. 

Want to know how we did it? Email Sam for more details.

Smile, Breathe, and Meet on. You got this!

Think your team could benefit from Leading Effective Meetings Training? Click here to check it out.

Finish Early

Question:  How do you make meeting participants happy?

 Wrap up early.

Sounds like a great plan, but how?

1. Stick to your agenda. If the conversation goes off topic, add it to a “parking lot” or “wish list” then get back to business.

2. Use the time wisely. If you’ve got status updates and for-your-info-only content, send that in an email instead.

3. Use a timer and set an alarm for yourself 5-10 minutes prior to wrap up time.

4. Invite less people to the meeting- think to yourself: who needs to be there?

5. Have a stand-up meeting- The movement is good for you and will remind you to keep things short and sweet.

6. If it’s virtual, have people share their cameras.

Think your team could benefit from Leading Effective Meetings Training? Click here to check it out.

Roll call

Got a virtual meeting in your future? Build accountability and collaboration by having each person come off mute, say their name and answer an icebreaker question.

Might sound like this:  "Let’s go around the room and introduce ourselves. I will call on you in alphabetical order, then you can announce yourself and share with us where you are today and what color socks you are wearing.”

Then use the participant list and call on each person by name, let them speak, then call on the next person.

Tip: Giving each person the chance to speak and add some of their own personality (i.e. sock color, last show they binged, favorite thing about where they’re calling in from) will engage them right away and set the tone for a collaborative meeting.

Smile, Breathe, and Meet on. You got this!

Think your team could benefit from Leading Effective Meetings Training? Click here to check it out.

Bueller, Bueller, Anyone…

We get asked all the time: “How do I get people to participate in my meetings?”

What happens when you ask a question and get blank stares?

Here’s the fix:

1. Set the ground rules at the beginning of the meeting. “I’ll be asking each of you for your thoughts and feedback on this new process.”

2. Follow through. In person, call on people around the room one by one. If the meeting is virtual, tell them you’ll be calling on them in alphabetical or geographical order. 

3. If you’re looking for feedback on many things during the meeting, let them know they can take one pass. That means, call on everyone- but if they’ve got nothin’- let them pass.

Be clear about your goals, be clear about your ground rules!

Think your team could benefit from Leading Effective Meetings Training? Click here to check it out.