Virtual Team Meetings
With rural health care settings and the general need to increase efficiency in
all settings, "virtual" team meetings are more and more a reality. Team
members can sit at their desks and have a team meeting utilizing their Personal
Computers.
Team member roles remain the same although their mode of communication is
different. It is crucial to the successful development of a virtual team to decide
which technologies are best for all members:
- Local Area Networks (LANs),
- Internet / email
- Teleconferences and videoconferences
… and realize that technologies for both hardware and software are constantly
changing.
Members must also be cognizant of the facts that:
- Email messages can be misconstrued since no voice is involved;
- Cultural differences still need to be realized;
- Trust among all members needs to be developed.
Jill A. George offers some helpful information on developing virtual teams in
the Best Practices for Teams, Volume 2, listed in the reference section. 