When people who work geographically apart need to meet, the lack of interaction can mean that something is lost in the translation. The inability to read body language or follow what’s being sketched out on a whiteboard can result in misunderstandings and lost productivity.

According to Jack Penkoske, director for manpower, personnel and security at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), staff had to be trained to know when they should be on-site for meetings and when phone conferencing would work. If it’s a standard type of meeting — where it’s a status report thing, where you’re updating on things — they’re very conducive to that e-collaboration type of setup.

If it’s a strategy discussion or you’re getting into a lot more dialogue on issues and concerns and brainstorming, sometimes you might find that you go back to wanting to have face-to-face meetings for those.

But then, in our opinion, that’s an advantage of working from home or telecommuting to work. Preparation for the meeting can be done in the quiet of your own home office. Productivity increases without the constant interruptions of working in an environment where office mates are forced to share inadequate space.

click here for article

search for : e-collaboration, home office