未來的老闆須學會遠程控制
A quiz on arcane facts about Bollywood and cricket might seem an unusual way to start a teleconference between workers in the US and India. But the game, used by US insurer MetLife when training its Indian IT team in new processes, has proved powerful in breaking down cultural barriers and building trust.
有關寶萊塢(Bollywood)和板球等鮮爲人知的事實的小測驗，似乎是一種不同尋常的開啓美國和印度員工之間電話會議的方式。但事實證明，美國保險公司大都會(MetLife)在培訓其印度IT團隊新流程時使用的這種遊戲，在打破文化障礙並建立信任方面非常有效。
“We heard them laughing and joking with each other about the questions,” says Janet Conn, who led the virtual training at MetLife and now works at technology company Cisco. As an American unversed in cricket and Bollywood minutiae, she consulted Indian contacts to make sure the questions were suitably challenging.
曾擔任大都會虛擬培訓主管、目前在科技公司思科(Cisco)工作的珍尼特•考恩(Janet Conn)表示：“我們聽到他們大笑，並拿這些問題互相開玩笑。”作爲一個對板球和寶萊塢具體細節知之甚少的美國人，她諮詢了印度人，以確保這些問題具有適當難度。
“In India, people are less likely to jump in and ask questions than in the US, and we wanted them to feel comfortable enough to begin to speak up and give us the feedback needed for successful collaboration,” she says. The questions sparked the Indian workers’ curiosity.
她表示：“與美國相比，在印度，人們不太可能插嘴提問，我們希望他們在感覺足夠自在的情況下發言，向我們提供成功合作所需的反饋。”這些問題激發了印度員工的好奇心。
The importance of the human element cannot be overstated. Ms Conn says the Bollywood-infused training increased connection and discussion between far-flung colleagues. “Too often, offshore teams are treated like a machine rather than a group of people who have useful input. We’re all humans . . . and you have to figure out how to find the commonalities in order to build collaboration.”
人的因素的重要性再強調也不過分。考恩表示，在培訓時問幾個有關寶萊塢的問題，增強了相隔遙遠的同事之間的溝通和討論。“離岸團隊太多時候被視爲一臺機器，而非能夠帶來有用投入的一羣人。我們都是人……要建立合作，你必須搞清楚如何找到共性。”
The role of today’s manager is becoming more demanding with teams dispersed across locations, time zones and cultures. Not only do they need the skills of a good “people manager”, such as empathy and adaptability, they also have to put more effort into planning, communicating and thinking creatively.
如今管理者的任務變得越來越苛刻，因爲團隊分散在不同的地區、時區和文化中。他們不僅需要良好的“人事經理”技能，例如同理心和適應能力，還必須將更多努力投入創造性的規劃、溝通和思考。
“I see it as increasing the level of good management across the company,” says Isla Ramos Chaves, a senior executive at Lenovo, the computer company. Keeping people motivated is even more important if they are remote than if they see each other every day, says Ms Chaves, who has led virtual teams of between five and 200 people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
電腦公司聯想(Lenovo)高管伊斯拉•拉莫斯•查韋斯(Isla Ramos Chaves)表示：“我認爲這麼做的作用是增強整個公司的良好管理水平。”查韋斯表示，與員工每天見面相比，如果員工距離遙遠，保持他們的動力就變得更重要。她管理着歐洲、中東以及非洲的虛擬團隊，團隊人數從5人到200人。
She says managers need to articulate clearly, both to individuals and the team, how they are contributing to the results of the business unit or wider organisation. Failing to do so can lead to staff feeling isolated or unimportant.
她表示，管理者需要向個人和團隊說明他們正如何爲業務部門乃至整個企業的業績做出貢獻。若做不到這一點，就可能導致員工感覺孤立或不重要。
She emphasises carving out dedicated time for each team member. “You have to create a virtual space with people, so you say, for example: ‘On Monday between 9am and 10am, I’m all yours. Whatever happens, this is the time we spend together.”
她強調要爲每個團隊成員騰出專門的時間。“你必須與人們創建虛擬空間，因此，打個比方，你會說：‘週一早晨9點到10點，我跟你們在一起。不管發生任何事，這是我們一起度過的時間。’”
Hybrid teams, where some members are in the same office and others work remotely, pose particular challenges. Managers may allocate lesser tasks to the remote members — but the opposite can happen too.
混合團隊的一些成員身處同一個辦公室，還有一些人則在遙遠的地方工作，這構成了特別的挑戰。管理者可能會將不那麼重要的任務分配給遙遠地區的員工，但相反的結果也可能發生。
In conference calls with hybrid teams, Ms Chaves asks everyone to use the phone, including those who are in the office, so they have the same experience and there is less sense of “them and us”.
在與混合團隊的電話會議中，查韋斯要求所有人都使用電話，包括那些在辦公室的員工，使大家都有同樣的體驗，“他們和我們”的感覺減少了。
Virtual team leaders have to manage by results, rather than how many hours employees are tied to their desks. Objectives need to be clear from the outset, and methods agreed between manager and employee on tracking progress and giving each other feedback.
虛擬團隊負責人必須根據結果進行管理，而不是以員工在辦公桌前呆了多長時間作爲依據。目標需要一開始就明確，管理者和員工需要就跟蹤工作進展以及相互提出反饋的方法達成一致。
“The team needs a clear vision so they know what direction to go in without having to be micromanaged,” says Marc Decorte, vice-president of connected digital technologies at Royal Dutch Shell, the energy group. His team is dispersed around the world. “Performance contracts need to be based on the value of what people deliver, because that’s the value to the bottom line, not the quantity of work or the way it’s done.”
能源集團荷蘭皇家殼牌(Royal Dutch Shell)互聯數字技術副總裁馬克•德科爾特(Marc Decorte)表示：“團隊需要明確的藍圖，這樣他們就可以在不需要被微管理的情況下明白前進方向。”他的團隊分散在世界各地。“績效合約需要基於員工工作的價值，因爲那是對經營底線的價值，而非工作量或工作方式。”
The introduction of technology to virtual teams also has to be handled carefully. Trust can be undermined if remote workers perceive new requirements, such as use of a webcam, as a form of surveillance.
向虛擬團隊引入技術也需要謹慎處理。如果遙遠地區的員工把新的要求（例如使用網絡攝像頭）視爲一種監視方式的話，信任可能會受損。
Managers with no intention of spying on their teams need to make that crystal clear, says Wayne Turmel, co-founder of the Remote Leadership Institute, a US consultancy. “An open and honest discussion about why these tools are valuable, as well as how and when the team should use them, will go a long way to lowering the fear level. On the other hand, if you are using webcams to ‘bust’ your people, or make sure they are where they are supposed to be, maybe they aren’t the ones with the issue.”
美國諮詢公司Remote Leadership Institute聯合創始人韋恩•蒂梅爾(Wayne Turmel)表示，無意監視團隊的管理者需要明確這點。“公開且誠實地討論這些工具爲何重要，以及團隊應如何使用和何時使用這個工具，將大大有利於降低人們的恐懼。在另一方面，如果你要用網絡攝像頭‘突擊檢查’你的手下，或者確定他們是否在他們應該在的地方，那麼或許他們不是有問題的人。”
