Overview of Virtual Collaboration

1
Overview of Virtual Collaboration
2
Virtual Collaboration has far-reaching benefits

• Employee to Employee
• RD Insights on regulatory processes, global
  formulations
• Marketing campaigns and promotions that worked
  well, product launch best practices
• Supply Chain global sourcing insights
• Employee to Consumer
• Gain product insights and learn wants
• Build brand loyalty through relationships
• Employee to Customer
• Gain insights on promotions, special packs
• Build loyalty through relationships

3
Some measurable results

• Shorter product/project cycle times
• Greater leverage of existing intellectual capital
• More successful promotions
• Decreased travel costs
• Increased productivity and organization
  effectiveness

4
Why We Really Need to Collaborate Virtually
From Industrial Age to Information Age
Me, Inc.

• Independent contractors
• Competitive advantage is gained by creating
  optimal connections
• Networks
• Teams or communities
• Collaboration
• Adaptable, self-learning workers (dynamic)

• Large companies
• Competitive advantage is gained by creating
  knowledge
• Intellectual property
• Best practices
• Process improvements
• Trained or skilled workers (static)

5
How do people collaborate?

• People share essentially two types of knowledge
• Tacit knowledge what the knower knows, derived
  from experience, embodying beliefs and values
  e.g., anecdotes, advice, intuition,
• Explicit knowledge represented by an artifact
  created with the goal of communicating with
  others, e.g., books, documents, videos.

6
People have various definitions of what virtual
collaboration means
This is often considered knowledge management
Reading Training Watching

• Tacit
• Tacit

• Explicit
• Explicit

Library Search Archives
Conversations Meetings Q A
This is often referred to as collaboration
Interviewing Documenting Recording
Knowledge Management
Collaboration
7
Effective Collaboration Requires Balancing these
Four aspects
Learning is the process of internalizing and
applying others experiences
Finding artifacts allows access to multitudes of
experience and expertise
Building relationships enables trust which
enables learning from others

• Tacit

• Explicit

Capturing experiences allows for easier
dissemination and creates a public memory
8
Different tools support these processes
Web conference eLearning Social networks

• Tacit
• Tacit

• Explicit
• Explicit

Document flow mgr Website Portal Web drive Shared
drive
eMail Web conference Twitter Instant
Messaging Social networks
eMail Web conference Social networks Web drives
Knowledge Management
Collaboration
9
Some of the Tools Available
Explicit
Tacit
10
Keys to Successful Virtual Collaboration
Explicit
Shared Work Space
Attention Management - Easy to access - Easy to
search - Easy to use (help available) - Alert
to important updates
Communications - Formal process plan -
Considers cultural differences - Impromptu
methods - Scheduled - Monitored
Maintenance - Relevant, updated content -
Version tracking - Archiving history - Clean
up
Clear Mission and Purpose
Relationship Building - Team dynamics -
Facilitated discussions - Sub teams - Presence
monitoring - Feedback
Virtual Meetings
Tacit
11
How do you know what to use?

1. Clearly define the mission and objectives of your
   team or project, including deliverables.
2. Envision how your team will work together.
3. Determine what types of knowledge need to be
   shared.
4. Determine how decisions will be made.
5. Choose the tools to support the processes above.
6. Define the practices and habits for using the
   tools and working together!

12
How we use Tools on our team
If you want to. Consider these tools
Share documents Shared drive, website, eRoom
Edit documents collaboratively eRoom, Office change tracking
Hold real-time discussions Outlook, Instant Messaging, telephone, eRoom chat
Hold online discussions (asynchronous) eRoom, Outlook
Hold real-time meetings NetMeeting, teleconference, WebEx, videoconference, Centra
Hold and record meetings for later playback Centra
Use voting or polls Outlook, eRoom
13
Typical Collaboration Maturity
High Performing Virtual Teams
Decision Making
Collaborating on Documents
Information Sharing
Document Posting
Technical Issues must be overcome
Behavior Issues must be overcome
14
Tips for Leading a Virtual Team

1. Establish with your team your communication plan
   and practices (when, how). Consider cultural and
   time zone differences.
2. Maintain focus on the teams mission and goals.
   Identify quick actions that can benefit the
   members.
3. Help team members connect with each other and
   frequently connect with them.
4. Role-model the use of technology for
   communication and collaboration.
5. Establish a process for recording and archiving
   the teams memory.
6. Prepare team members for virtual work challenges.
7. Seek frequent feedback on what is working well
   and what can be improved.

15
In other words - Process, Process, Process

• Meeting Management
• Meeting Roles and Responsibilities
• Team Building and Dynamics
• Project Management
• Facilitation
• Responsibility Charting

Good process management is even more important
for a virtual team than a face-to-face team.
16
Required Roles Responsibilities
Leader Advocate the use of collaboration tools Seek and implement best practices Collect feedback on improvements
Administrator Update information Perform housekeeping Enforce best practices
Help Offer training and ongoing support to help users use tools effectively
IT Support -Local -Global Resolve hardware and local network issues Resolve application issues and coordinate network issues
17
Tips for Team Members

• Schedule time for team collaboration and visiting
  the web share on your calendar.
• Keep the web share portal open on your desktop so
  that team members can reach you.
• Use web share alerts to notify others of new
  files and discussions, rather than email.
• Use version or change tracking to maintain only
  one version of each document.
• Add links to your portal for easy access.

Success Lies in the Teams Daily Work Habits
18
What to Expect

• The technology will not work perfectly the first
  time.
• If you build it, they dont always come.
• It takes about 20 days to create or break a
  habit.

19
Adoption Quick Hit

• Use tools in between face-to-face meetings either
  as a substitute for a meeting or to accelerate
  meeting progress. Examples
• Get input on documents before meeting
• Use discussions to surface issues
• Use polls to gauge consensus on decisions
• Use webconferencing for every other meeting