Prepare to credential and manage in a virtual world

In a traditional medical staff services department (MSSD), everyone works in the same building, often in the same office. However, that is starting to change, and MSPs must be prepared to work on or manage virtual teams, according to a session at the NAMSS National Educational Conference and Exhibition, held in October in New Orleans.

As health systems acquire more facilities, build new hospitals, or move some tasks to CVOs, these changes mean more MSPs will be working with colleagues in different locations, perhaps with management in another office. Managing these virtual teams presents some different challenges and new twists on traditional team building and conflict resolution, according to Amy Niehaus, CPMSM, CPCS, MBA, a consultant with the Greeley Company, who presented “Is Anybody Out There? Working and Managing in a Virtual Environment” at the NAMSS conference.

When Niehaus first began managing virtual teams for a previous employer about eight years ago, “it was probably not the best experience it could have been,” she says. Initially, Niehaus explained, she tried to manage far-flung teams as if they were in her home office. “I was exhausted. When I was in a location, I wasn’t fully there. … I was focusing on them, but I was also worried about what was going on in other locations. My teams probably felt a little lost because I wasn’t there all the time, and they didn’t know me. It’s hard to trust someone you don’t know.”

Niehaus began to learn about virtual management to improve as a manager and teammate. Her presentation was based on her insights from managing and working with virtual teams in multiple states and other coun­tries, as well as research and training experiences.

Thirty years ago, there were no virtual teams because there was no way to collaborate remotely. However, “today we can talk to anybody, anytime, anywhere almost instantaneously,” she says— noting that this capability brings both advantages and barriers. “Maybe you’re starting to work on policies and procedures, centralizing credential activities. We’re seeing teams in multiple [office] locations, people working from home, a lot of different situations. How do we work with that?”

Some companies have as much as half the workforce working virtually, according to Niehaus. However, it’s important to train both virtual managers and team members to work effectively.

For starters, not everyone is cut out to work from home. “You need to be self-motivated and focused on doing good work [without having] anyone observing you,” she says. The employee is responsible for managing his or her time and providing deliverables. Good virtual team members are very results-oriented. They must also have very strong communication skills that stand up to a lack of face-to-face interaction.

Getting the message

Strong communication and effective management are essential to virtual team success, Niehaus says. Developing a good team requires building relationships, as well as promptly finding and managing conflicts. Other keys to effective virtual teams are:

• Use technology appropriately. For example, email is good for relaying information and can be used for conversations, but it has its limits. “I always tell my teams, if you can’t convey your message in one to two email responses, then you need to pick up the phone and have that discussion because you’re not being clear or it obviously doesn’t fit email,” Niehaus says.
• Listen carefully in telephone conferences. Virtual team managers need to listen carefully to team members’ tone of voice, inflection, and pitch; they must really tune in to what their colleagues are saying and think carefully about how to respond, says Niehaus.
• Repeat important messages. Everyone will walk away from a conference call with a different interpretation of what was talked about and decided, so it’s very important to follow up with an email that in­cludes topics of discussion, decisions, and due dates to ensure everyone is on the same page. The information should also be posted on the organization’s intranet site or other shared space so everyone has it as a reference.
• Identify personal preferences. “Everybody’s different—we don’t all want to communicate in the same way,” says Niehaus. Some people are constantly in email, making that the best way to reach them. Others only look at email occasionally, so a phone call might work better. Using instant messaging may be the answer for team members who are on the phone all day. “Understand that everybody works differently.”
• Consider cultural differences. This doesn't just mean people working outside the U.S. Even in different regions of the country, it’s important to understand customs, holidays, and special occasions in different regions.
• Address language barriers. People who have heavy accents can inhibit communication and under­standing. Speak slower and use confirming statements, Niehaus advises. “If you need to, use a translator.”
• Identify commonalities, but explore differences as well. People are a lot more alike than you might imagine, and working with someone who enjoys the same things you do might make a project go a little more smoothly. However, the differences are also important. Getting to know how team members handle stress, workloads, and deadlines will go a long way toward creating a successful virtual team, Niehaus says.

Relationship building

Building the relationships necessary for team suc­cess is difficult when team members are in different locations. Trust does not come easily when teams never meet in person. Nevertheless, all teams must depend on each other. In the absence of face-to-face interaction, water cooler conversation, and after-work get-togethers, how do you develop those relationships? Niehaus suggests virtual team managers:

• Create online questionnaires to learn more about each other, asking questions such as “What do you do in your spare time?” “What are your goals?” and “What is your dream vacation?”
• Post pictures and profiles of teammates on the organization’s shared space.
• Hold 15-minute virtual coffee breaks once in awhile.
• Incorporate chitchat into communications and meetings. “If you were face to face in a meeting, you would be saying ‘Hi, how are you? How was your weekend?’ Think about bringing that into your virtual communications as well,” says Niehaus.
• Use team-building activities. These don’t have to be big events like bungee-jumping; small and simple can be effective, she says. For example, Niehaus has asked new teams to spend two minutes describing something that is sitting on their desk or hanging on their wall, such as photos or awards.

Conflict management

Working with someone in another location can make conflict resolution harder than if the person is in the same office. It is critical to determine if an issue is an interpersonal conflict or something related to the work, Niehaus says. Although interpersonal conflicts can be thorny, fortunately they don’t crop up often because workers aren’t in the same location.

Task-related problems are a lot easier to deal with. The key is to address issues as quickly as possible; otherwise, task-oriented problems can speedily morph into personal issues. Tools such as online discussion boards can help resolve conflicts or questions. Shared spaces can give team members the opportunity to share opinions and voice concerns.

Sometimes, conflicts arise because team members’ goals aren’t clearly defined beforehand. Don’t assume that everyone on a virtual team knows who’s doing what. “Document it and make sure everybody is very clear about the role they play on the team, what they’re responsible for, and when things need to be done. That goes for the manager of the team as well as team members,” Niehaus says. Develop clear, concise goals and indicate how performance will be measured. “Don’t leave that vague in any way.”

Cultural differences can cause conflicts as well. “Different countries have different ways in which they make decisions. Develop guidelines, if possible, to help people understand what to expect,” she says.

Trust is built and measured differently in a virtual environment. “Most often it’s measured in reliability. Are you as a team member going to deliver on what you’re assigned to do, and are you going to do it on time? If not, you’re losing trust from your teammates and manager.”

Lack of input can be as troublesome as conflict, so it’s important to avoid the out-of-sight, out-of-mind dilemma. “It happens a lot with virtual teams because you feel left out when you’re working from home, as opposed to someone who’s just working in another location,” Niehaus explains. “Do what you can to stay in touch with everybody so they’re feeling like they’re part of the team, no matter where they’re located.”

Picking leaders

Effective leadership makes or breaks virtual teamwork. An ineffective leader will have a hard time meeting goals and deadlines. Ensure that leaders have the right skill sets and give them the right training, Niehaus advises. That includes technical training on project management tools, as well as team building and interpersonal skills. “The team needs to know what they’re working on, how they’re going to get there, and have that direction” to achieve the goal. People can get disengaged, but managers who provide timely feedback, conduct team-building exercises, and seek face-to-face time when possible can help prevent team members from checking out, she says.

Reinforcing goals via different communication, and periodically reassessing them, is also essential. “New projects come up you had no idea were going to happen; things occur that you didn’t plan for, and you have to reassess those priorities to make sure they’re still realistic and you can achieve them,” says Niehaus. As things change, it can be helpful to create a reference tool so virtual team members know where to go for answers to their questions, she adds.

Lack of cooperation can be another concern for virtual teams, but the underlying issue there might be “virtual trust” and inclusiveness. For example, if a manager is in the same office with a team member, he or she might give that team member updates first because it’s convenient to do so. However, managers should try to treat every member of the team the same regardless of location—and make sure everyone gets the same information at the same time, she says.

H If a manager senses a lack of engagement by team members, he or she should assess their participation in conference calls, bring them out, and ask questions. “Is there an issue that needs to be addressed? Look at motivation,” says Niehaus. “Are they volunteering to take on work, volunteering for new roles and responsibilities, or is everyone hanging back? Be aware of what’s going on with your team.”

Inclusiveness should extend to celebrating accomplish­ments, she says. It’s very easy to celebrate when all mem­bers of a team are in the same office, but not when they’re in different locations. Try to celebrate such that everyone can participate—giving out gift cards, for example. “You don’t want to have celebrations in a way that excludes people just because they’re physically not there.”

Sometimes the first step can be the most crucial when it comes to building camaraderie. It can be very expensive to bring everyone in for a meeting, but doing so in the very beginning of a project, allowing everyone to meet each other, can go a long way to a successful team endeavor, she says. Then, “develop your com­munication strategies, let them know how often you’re going to communicate, what methods you’re going to use, what updates you’re going to provide, what will be posted. Set that expectation, and go to the shared site on a regular basis to stay on top of what’s going on.”

Three keys to success

Niehaus concluded with three keys for virtual management and team success:

1. Virtual teams do not work for every project and every situation. For example, if a project is critical and short in duration, it will be hard to manage scattered team members. There won’t be enough time to develop working relationships and trust. “It might be best to pull together people who are colocated and put them in a room until it’s done,” Niehaus says.
2. Virtual teams are different from on-site teams. “Make sure you have training for the managers as well as team members and can address the barriers and obstacles that might emerge,” notes Niehaus.
3. Invest in training, knowledge, and face-to-face meetings to have successful teams. “We work more and more with virtual members, and we just need to be prepared to be successful in whatever we’re working on,” says Niehaus.