How do you foster trust and collaboration among virtual teams using unified communications?

One thing I've found helpful when using UC tools to manage a project is the ability to pin the project plan with tasks and responsibilities, due dates, owners, at the top of the channel. One file to be updated by all team members, always visible, always up to date. Easy to see who's contributing on time and who needs an accountability buddy. Executive sponsors can pop in at any time to check in on progress. Very efficient way to manage and communicate status.

Interesting and a topic near and dear to my heart. The premise seems a bit misplaced. If the purpose of collaboration is to share knowledge and specifically implicit knowledge or the knowledge that each member of a team has that can benefit the rest of the team then trust is paramount and it’s generally not built on technology but our human interactions. The best one can hope and strive for with the technology is to Eliminate the friction associated with some collaboration tools. In virtual teams, trust is more difficult. There is a lack of consistent social interaction. One has to facilitate opportunities to build trust through social interaction by allowing a team to interact and share experiences and contribute to the team goals.

As Travis and Christine have said, it's all about accountability and responsibility - allocate the tasks, make it visible to all parties and stakeholders, track accountability. Once the individual is seen as accountable and responsible, they earn the trust of their collaborators. But does this foster trust in the team, or is it the outcome of individuals who already know how to collaborate? How do you foster the trust in individuals who may not be good project collaborators? I like Christine's suggestion of an accountability buddy and will try that next time there is conflict in the team.

A few things to note here. First, if this is an internal team, it might be best to use the standard UC platform. This keeps costs down and most people will be familiar with the features. Second, if you have external teams, you should think through the decision to choose a platform that is agnostic and can best serve all parties. Some companies don't allow their employees to access other tools, or they make it difficult to join. Also, think through what features you might need for that particular group to check against the feature inventory of a product when deciding.

Choosing a UC software is really only the first step when it comes to collaborating effectively in the modern workplace. Camera's, speakers and microphones need to be carefully selected to support your selected UC software. One example of this is selecting certified peripheral devices for your UC client. This goes a long way in ensuring your technology solutions don't detract from collaborative work.

Asynchronous communication takes me back to the old voice messaging days - record (and re-record) your message, and send when you are ready, the recipient can listen in their own time (and time zone). Asynchronous video communication is the latest option - great for interaction, and getting across the whole message (much better than a dry email whose tone may be misinterpreted), and the recipient can choose when to watch, at their discretion, without interrupting their thought process.

I agree, it is important to use the tool for celebrations such as big project milestones, hearing great feedback from a customer, celebrating someone's outstanding work, winning a new client, hitting quarterly numbers. Find a way to bring some fun and levity to work for even 15 minutes. Also, I encourage my teammates to schedule 15 minute coffee chats with new members to welcome them and help build rapport.

Don't wait....until your current system dies... Start your planning now and make sure you have researched all the above tips, but the biggest tip from me is find a trusted advisor that can walk you through all the steps that need to happen before the install and the most important part....finding a provider that will be there to support you with proper training and post installation timely support.