Question

Noreen is planning to attend a WebEx online meeting today at 11:00 a.m. Her boss has asked her to participate in the meeting with other Petro-Go Go Points team leaders from around the world. The group is to compile statistics regarding the Go Points program as well as discuss strategies for expanding the program and improving customer retention. They are to submit a report in one week, detailing their findings and suggestions.

Noreen begins the set-up and login process on her computer at 10:45 a.m. She finds that because she has never participated in a WebEx conference, she is unable to prepare her computer. She calls the technical department, and a technician comes to set it up for her. She finally connects with the group at 12:30 p.m. By this time they are ending the meeting and planning to meet tomorrow at the same time. Noreen apologizes and explains what happened, but she feels rather embarrassed.

The next day Noreen connects on time but is somewhat behind the discussion because she does not know what was discussed the day before. She tries her best to share information but is scrambling to find the data she needs to share with the group. The group divides the workload among them and asks everyone to meet online again at 11:00 a.m. in three days to share and review their work. Noreen types her team's statistics and suggestions for expanding and finishes early. When she meets the group again she discovers that not only did everyone type their team's statistics and suggestions for expanding the program, but they also compared their team's performance with two other office teams and gave suggestions for improving customer retention. Noreen was not aware they were supposed to include all of this information. One team leader volunteered to compile everything and said he would contact the others tomorrow if he had questions. Noreen knew she would be out of the office for the next three days of training. The report was finished on time, but Noreen's team's section was incomplete. Her boss was not happy.

Questions to consider before starting the task
- Why did Noreen not know what was expected?

Answer 1

Noreen did not know what was expected due to missing the initial meeting and lacking clarity on the scope of the task. Ensuring proper communication and protocol for catching up on missed information is crucial. Proactive steps are necessary to maintain the same level of understanding as other team members.

Step-by-step explanation:

Noreen did not know what was expected in the Petro-Go Go Points team leaders meeting due to a series of unfortunate events and communication issues. Initially, technical difficulties with setting up a WebEx conference caused her to miss the first meeting where key information and expectations were likely shared. Subsequently, she joined the next meeting without being fully briefed on the previous discussion or the full scope of the task, which included comparing their team's performance and providing suggestions for improving customer retention. These compounding factors resulted in Noreen's team's section being incomplete, leading to her boss's dissatisfaction.

It is critical in a collaborative environment to ensure proper communication and clarity of expectations. Taking the initiative to inquire about missed information, taking notes for reference, and requesting feedback are all good practices that could have helped Noreen avoid this oversight. Specifically, upon realizing that she would miss future meetings due to training, Noreen should have communicated proactively with her team to ensure she was up to date with all tasks.