Meeting Coworkers for the First Time
One of the bizarre aspects of telecommuting is that you may go a long time (or forever) without ever meeting your coworkers face to face. Even if you regularly use video conferencing software, a physical meeting is an entirely different experience. When the opportunity to meet your coworkers presents itself, you may even be hesitant to disturb your working dynamic. You may feel that a great showing could inspire management to ask to see you in the office more or a poor one will leave them wondering why you work there at all.
As a virtual coworker, you and your colleagues have probably formed opinions of one another. A physical meeting stands to challenge some of those beliefs and may even allow new biases to form. Will you seem as smart in person? Will you get along? Will you jeopardize your successful relationships? You must remember that these fears are probably shared with your coworkers as well, since they’ll be meeting you for the first time too. The big difference for you is that you are out of your element. Being well prepared for your first meeting should help it to go much more smoothly.
To make the most of your first face to face meeting follow these tips:
Keep it Short
If your main goal is to put faces to names, there isn’t much need for a long drawn out meeting. Obviously you’re not going to just drop by for 5 minutes (especially if you traveled a great distance) but keeping the meeting as short as possible will help to reduce any awkwardness.
Focus on Key Relationships
Your manager might want to drag you around the office to meet everyone who’s ever heard of you, by try to limit your exposure. More time with the people who matter most is much better than casual encounters with the entire staff. You probably won’t be able to remember too many faces, so focusing on key relationships will help the important ones to stick.
Adequately Prepare
Without your computer, files, etc that are normally at your disposal, you may appear under prepared. So allow for some extra preparation time before an on-site meeting. If it’s been a while since you presented in front of a crowd, a dry run (e.g. with your family) before you leave may be prudent.
You Don’t Have to Prove Your Worth
Your value to your company or client won’t be judged solely on your one day in the office. This isn’t a job interview, so don’t press too hard to make a good impression in limited time. If you’re a good worker, your reputation should precede you.
Mind Your Behavior
The behavior that you’re used to when interacting virtually with your coworkers may not translate well to in-person meetings. So even if you have a keen understanding of a particular coworker’s sense of humor, that won’t necessarily mean that they’ll appreciate the normal level of joking. This may be a non-issue, but keep things casual until you get a better read of office culture.
Re-Establish Traditional Contact After the Fact
One of the most important steps in meeting coworkers for the first time is to re-establish your traditional contact method after the visit. If you normally communicate by email, IM, phone, or video conference, follow-up your visit by making contact using that method. This will restore your normal relationship and leave your visit as a brief (but important) anomaly.
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but for telecommuters that isn’t entirely true. You, the telecommuter and you, the office visitor, each have a chance to make a first impression. Making both a great virtual and in-person impression will allow your stock to soar.
