Margaret Aspin speaks to Telstra about the benefits of Teleworking to business owners and managers
Margaret:'This year we have been managing a national network titled: Training and Assessing Remote and Virtual Workers'. The network came about because we and others in training wanted to look at the training needs of workers and managers about to embark on, or currently working in remote locations, Teleworking or virtual teaming. The gap we can see is that there is another layer of training needed. This layer deals with the specific skills of Teleworking and working virtually. These newer skills include IT, human resource management, networking, time management, and collaboration when apart. The levels we can see are: Pre-virtual working or induction into virtual working Management of self and environment while working virtually Communication with remote workers Management of virtual workers. Are we competent to work virtually?
To answer this question, we need to focus on what the competencies are for virtual work. So we've done that. We found various units of competency available in the Australian vocational training and education system that are suitable to use when preparing and managing virtual work. Being competency based training, these are most suitable when building virtual work readiness and continued growth in both understandings and competence. There are also workshop style non accredited courses provided by a few training companies, but most do not bring the participant to a level of competency, rather they are designed more as awareness raising.
How do you manage the performance of a virtual worker? This is a key question. Managing on the outcomes is seen as the best way to manage a virtual worker. You cannot sit with the person in their home, car or wherever else they may be, but you can manage their work by their ability to get the job done. Communication with the worker is critical for performance management, and managers who successfully manage the virtual worker changes their management style to accommodate this requirement. Transactional managers will have difficulty with managing remote workers, and lassie faire managers are unlikely to support the remote worker enough to get the best out of them. Transformational management style is undoubtedly the best in not only managing but leading remote and virtual workers.
