Virtual Teams
Abstract
The nature of teams is increasingly changing as a result of changes in organizations along with the nature of operations they undertake. Organizations are becoming more distributed in terms of geography and industry. Consequently, relationships between exterior stakeholders (customers, suppliers, managers of partner organizations etc) and people inside the organization have increasingly become significant. This has brought into light the value of collaborative work and thus the need for virtual teams.
Virtual teams are increasingly becoming popular in the corporate world as organizations pick up on them in concert with globalization, the need for innovation, the development of the knowledge worker, and ever growing utilization of information and communication technology (ICT). The idea of virtual teams has its roots in the mid-1990s (West, 2012). Many organizations today are gaining competitive advantage in the global environment by using virtual teams to maximize their strengths, respond to threats, and increase their speed of operation.
Nonetheless, it must be admitted that the new phenomenon is still proving problematic for many organizations across the globe and in turn limiting them to reap full benefits of the otherwise essential tool (Duarte L. D., 2006). A major challenge facing organizations is how best to connect their knowledge workless irrespective of physical distance, time zone, or diverse culture, so as to either form short-term or permanent business alliances through formal virtual teams or informal working relationship together of knowledge exchange systems (Nemiro et al, 2008). If well designed and conducted, the impact of virtual teams to an organization can be extensive: from positively influencing organizational policies, technology, boundary crossing on the dynamics of the virtual team itself, as well effectiveness and increased productivity of the organization (Nemiro et al, 2008).
Definitions of virtual teams
There are several definitions that have been put forward for virtual teams by different authors and economists. A Virtual team refers to a group of people who work across time, space as well as organizational boundaries and having links reinforced by webs of communication technology (Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). According to articles by Powell, Piccoli and Ives virtual teams are “groups of geographically, organizationally and/or time dispersed workers brought together by information and telecommunication technologies to accomplish one or more organizational tasks.” Other commentators have defined virtual teams as small temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/ or time dispersed knowledge workers who coordinate their work predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in order to accomplish one or more organization tasks”.
The above definitions have particular common aspects pertaining to what a virtual team is. The members of a virtual team are primarily separated by time and/or space besides primarily interacting electronically (Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). In other words the three main aspects characteristic to a virtual team are: Purpose, People, and Links. However, it is worth noting that virtual team members may occasionally meet face-to-face to deliberate on or implement the resolutions they handling.
Structure of virtual teams
Virtual teams often have a typical structure that involves the inputs, the socio-emotional processes, task processes, and outputs. The figure below shows the basic structure of a virtual team.
Figure 1: structure of a virtual team (Powell, Piccoli and Ives, 2004, p.8).
Framework of virtual teams
There are four main aspects of a virtual team: purpose, people, links and time. The following figure is a diagrammatic representation of the framework of virtual teams.
Figure 2: typical framework of virtual teams in organizations
Reasons for virtual teams
The decision to form virtual teams in organizations is mainly founded on the existing differences of time and space that team members in an organization face. An organization would opt for a virtual team in instances where the members of a team are not physically collocated, it is not practical to arrange for a face-to-face meeting because logistical issues, and where team members are arranged on different shifts (Gibson & Cohen, 2003).
Globalization has brought about new realities to organizations translating that teams are distributed widely. Such realities relate to organization-wide initiatives or projects, alliances with other organizations in different countries, mergers and acquisitions, need for telecommuting, need for business travel through ICT, desire to reduce costs, and the need to reduce the increasing velocity in business (Harvard Busines School. Press, 2010). In theory, team members of virtual teams serve to compliment each other as well as share identical goals. The members are committed to a similar purpose in their working together and also hold each other or themselves accountable for the success or missed targets of the organization. The notion of virtual teams has enabled companies all over the world to recruit the best of the best notwithstanding the limitations of physical distance. This has been made possible by the rapidly evolving technology especially the way people communicate with each other across the world. As a result, virtual teaming is fast emerging as an effective structure for group planning, knowledge and information sharing, decision making together with relationship building (West, 2012).
Advantages of virtual teams to organizations
A company or organization that chooses to utilize the new tool of virtual teaming has lots to gain from it. First, the organization stands to realize more efficient use of time in its overall operations. This is especially the case because the virtual team is able to keep close constant touch and maintain an accurate record reflecting its own progress which translates that it is highly able to carry out its tasks on time and under budget (Harvard Busines School. Press, 2010).
Secondly, the organization has better internal communication through virtual teams formed by its staff. Where there are clear channels enabling free flow of information, virtual teams serve as sections of the feedback loop which establish and maintain the channels. Virtual teams are positioned outside the limitations of linear time meaning they have access to an even greater pool of resources from diverse contexts and locations.
Thirdly, virtual teams provide an organization with a greater chance to reach more informed decisions on critical matters. Through the interaction of different members at different levels inside the organization, members of a team are enable to generate valuable information and ideas from each other and from other teams. Virtual teams are best placed to stay well attuned to the current condition and health of the whole organization, while digging for emergent issues and future trends pertaining to the industry in which they are. Ultimately, they able to converge their observations and perspectives and positively influence the overall decisions of the organization.
Fourthly, through a virtual team an organization is rendered more flexible and efficient by virtue of the team being able to easily manage and track the organization’s multiple projects at the same time. In the same vein, through virtual teams an organization is able to cut on transport, accommodation, and other expenses synonymous with face-to-face arrangements.
Finally, use of virtual teams is beneficial to a company in terms of increased productivity. Virtual teaming is able to cut on time spent to have all members attend a face-to-face meeting. Furthermore, members have privilege or working from the comfort of their homes or office desks which generally results to increased productivity. Greater autonomy is one of the greatest benefits that virtual teaming affords to team members (West, 2012). In the same vein, members have the freedom to make better use of individual time because meetings are virtual and asynchronous in nature. There is also greater sense of connectedness on the part of team members because they are not isolated and often feel to be part of something much bigger than themselves.
Given that in virtual teaming the organizational hierarchy greatly fades into the background, members are able to give their point of view more fully and easily. The team members also feel a greater sense of accomplishment in the sense that they do distribute their individual resources across diversified projects at the margins of productivity (Levin, 2010). Finally, there is greater chance for accountability with virtual teaming because individual members are able gauge their contributions with those of the large network and improve themselves accordingly.
Launching a new successful virtual team
Organizations are launching new virtual teams in the effort to accomplish its organizational goals. However, many organizations fail to realize the success they desire because they make a mistake of not channeling the necessary resources for productivity and survival (Gibson & Cohen, 2003). On the other hand, organizations that more successful have realized that virtual teams are integral and unique, thus direct much focus and energy into making teams work for them. In order to out into a place a functional virtual team, an organization should make sure to undertake the following:
i) Keep the virtual team at a manageable size – an effective virtual team should have a smaller numbers of members, between five to eight individuals. The role of each member should be clearly defined and their participation in multiple virtual teams reduced so that they focus on achieving the specific goals of the team.
Careful choice of virtual team leaders – an organization should select an effective virtual team leader, able to balance the implementation-oriented practices with the interpersonal, cultural, and communication aspects of virtual teams (Lepsinger & DeRosa, 2010). Furthermore, the organization should assess the leaders’ effectiveness from time to time and give them feedback on how best to enhance their performance.
ii) Have right mix of virtual and technical skills – the members should be able to collaborate well from a distance, be self-directed, ambiguity tolerant, strong communication and interpersonal skills, structured & organized, flexible, collaborative, and have diverse expertise. The scope of the problem should be considered when determining the virtual team membership.
iii) Selection of the right communication technologies – an organization should implement effective communication through such technologies as e-mailing, v-meetings, instant messaging, videoconferencing, blogs, wikis, collaborative group technologies, and web-based bulletin boards (Brown et al, 2007). Training on the use of the communication technologies should be done in the beginning. In addition, the virtual team can use social networking to learn more about each other.
iv) Determination of how to recognize and reward performance – the organization should consistently recognize the efforts of members and reward them so as to boost their commitment to the team and organization. This can be done through online mechanisms such as e-certificates and e-newsletters.
v) Holding a memorable kick-off meeting during launch – an organization should invest time and money to assemble members together within the first month of the virtual team’s launch so as to align everyone (Pauleen, 2004). This will help them to understand the scope of the project or work, know each other and agree on team structure and processes.
vi) Creation of a sense of purpose – members should be frequently informed on how the virtual team contributes to the overall goals of the organization. The “Purpose Pyramid” below gives four building blocks necessary to creating a sense of purpose for a virtual team.
Figure 3. Pyramid of Purpose
vii) Clarification of goals – there should be a discussion on how the virtual team will assess its overall performance and establish key milestones together with performance metrics. The goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, aligned, realistic, and time-bound).
viii) Thereafter, the organization should clarify the roles of members, design team norms and values, develop a communication plan among team members, hold team development activities, and make sure to monitor & assess team performance after the launch.
Conclusion
For a successful virtual team, an organization should take time to consider factors relating to its constitution and operations (Gibson & Cohen, 2003). The overall company should be prepared to offer necessary support to the virtual team work.
References:
Brown et al. (2007). Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools. Texas: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
Duarte, L. D. (2006). Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, And Techniques That Succeed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Gibson, B. &. (2003). Virtual Teams That Work: Creating Conditions for Virtual Team Effectiveness. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Harvard Busines School. Press. (2010). Leading Virtual Teams: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges. Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
Lepsinger, R. &. (2010). Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide for Working and Leading from a Distance. New York : John Wiley & Sons.
Levin, G. (2010). Interpersonal Skills for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers. United States: Management Concepts.
Lipnack, J. &. (1997). Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations With Technology. New York: Jeffrey Stamps.
Nemiro, J. B. (2008). The Handbook of High-Performance Virtual Teams: A Toolkit for Collaborating Across Boundaries, Volume 10. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Pauleen, D. (2004). Virtual Teams: Projects, Protocols and Processes. Pennysylvania: Idea Group Inc (IGI).
West, A. (2012). Effective Teamwork: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
