Product Description

Virtual working is a fact of life as companies manage teams of individuals dispersed on sites across the country or around the globe; take increasing advantage of improving technology and software to telecommute and teleconference; and begin to think about the human element in disaster recovery.

The key to successful dispersed working is not technological expertise, but a clear understanding of what it takes to get the enterprise ready for virtual work, and of the skills for bonding individuals into cohesive, high-performance teams across distances and differences.

This book provides that guidance - through work charts, vivid "composite" examples, definitions and actual cases - and shows how the technological tools support and expand the options for collaboration.

It answers such critical questions as "What makes working virtually work?", "How do we start?", "How do you develop new leaders in a virtual environment?", "What skills do virtual managers and team members need?", "How do you determine how ready they are?", "Which technologies are most appropriate for your purposes?", "What’s the impact on existing systems and structures?"

This book is an indispensable practical guide and reference for virtual team leaders, HR managers, CEO’s and trainers. It will also be suitable for professional certification and business courses in organizational development.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #474740 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-14
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 203 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Hoefling, a corporate trainer and consultant, says that "virtual" organizations don't develop of their own accord but must be cultivated to meet a particular corporation's needs. The company must identify in advance the type of team, channels of communication, chain of command that it seeks and commit to continuing work on finetuning such details as e-mail and voice mail as well as management. Managers involved first hand with off-site employees will find Hoefling's advice and checklists most useful.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

William E. Schneider, Corporate Development Group, Inc., and author of "Reengineering Alternative"
"If you want the handbook for building, implementing and sustaining virtual teams and work groups, buy this book."

Jennifer J. Johnson, Founder and Chief Virtualist, Johnson & Company, The Virtual Agency(TM)
"Working Virtually lets us all see just how do-able, productive and rewarding the virtual work environment can be."

Customer Reviews

Not worth it...
I have recently read several vitual and distance management books lately. This one was really a disappointment. Very vague to the point of being hard to apply. Even the writing style and formatting led to a dull read. The book "The Distance Manager" was much, much better.

An excellent, clearly written and positive instructional
Trina Hoefling is the founder of Consult One Group, Denver, Colorado, and a professional whose years experience in virtual working included developing one of the first remote training programs. Hoefling draws upon her considerable experience and expertise in Working Virtually: Managing People For Successful Virtual Teams And Organizations to presents examples, definitions, anecdotes, advice, and seasoned wisdom for making the most of telecommunication, teleconferencing, and enabling the team bonding process despite the separation of distance in the modern-day workplace. An excellent, clearly written and positive instructional guide to both personal and technological concerns, Working Virtually is especially commended reading for virtual team leaders, Human Resource managers, CEO's, and corporate trainers.