Virtual Teams For Dummies

Chapter 14

Measuring Virtual Team and Team Member Success

IN THIS CHAPTER

Gauging your virtual team’s progress

Knowing which measures matter most

Using the engagement and accountability with your virtual team

You can’t manage what you can’t measure, as the saying goes. Tracking and measurement is even more important for managing virtual teams where you don’t have the benefit of daily face-to-face check-ins or seeing how much someone is actually working. With remote workers, measures should focus on output and results. In order to do so, rely on good technology tools to measure your team’s success as a whole and keep track of individual team members.

Successful virtual team members must be able to work autonomously with little supervision for their work. They must be able to self-motivate, self-direct, and make decisions independently. But that doesn’t mean that they’re excused from keeping the team — and you, their leader — updated on their progress by using project management and tracking tools. If you’re not using these tools that I discuss in greater detail in Chapter 16, then most likely you’re struggling to keep a handle on what your team members are up to and whether they’re ...